Tun Ghafar Baba Passed Away
Tun Ghafar Baba (1925 - 2006), the former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, passed away peacefully at Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre on April 23rd 2006. The late Tun Ghafar Baba was 81 years old. He body is buried at the Royal Mausoleum on the same day with full national honour.
Rest in Peace, Sir.
May God bless your soul.
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Passing of a patriot: Sincerity, honour his lasting legacy
24 Apr 2006
The New Straits Times
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MALACCA: A man of his word; a sincere friend. A great orator with an impressive memory and a politician who genuinely cared for the rakyat.
These and many more glowing accolades flowed from the close friends of Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba here.
An avid golfer who was also passionate about cars, Ghafar was described by best friend and former Malacca MCA chief Datuk Tan Ching Swee as a companion who always had a good store of jokes to lighten up his friends’ days.
"Clean jokes, dirty jokes, he loved to make his friends laugh. He once told me, ‘If my friends are happy, I’m happy’," Tan said in a telephone interview on Saturday after visiting Ghafar at the Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
"It was so sad to see him lying there. When I first visited him during Ramadan last year, the nurse asked him if he remembered me.
"He just grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go, all the while repeatedly muttering my name."
Ghafar’s collegemate and Umno veteran Tan Sri Aziz Tapa, who studied with him at the Sultan Idris Training College in Tanjung Malim in the late 1940s, described Ghafar as "the greatest orator of our time".
Ghafar, he said, had reunited Malacca Umno when it was at its lowest point in the early 1950s.
Known as a man of strong character, Ghafar was also humble and hardworking.
"I remember working alongside him in the 1950s. He didn’t mind doing everything he could for the good of the party, from posting letters to cleaning the office, campaigning and giving public speeches."
Aziz said Ghafar was a teacher then and received repeated warnings from his school inspector to stay away from active politics.
"But he was a rebel at heart. He just continued doing what he thought was right and necessary to strengthen the party and win independence from Britain."
To Aziz, Ghafar’s biggest and most unforgettable contribution to the country was his role in setting up Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), formerly the Rural Industrial Development Authority.
"Without Mara, Malays would not have achieved the success they have today."
For his unwavering support of Umno and his passion to serve the people, Ghafar won the love and admiration of the first prime minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman.
"Tunku used to call him mutiara dari Melaka (the pearl from Malacca)," Aziz recalled.
Perhaps the simple but emphatic words of MIC veteran Datuk S.K. R.M. Dorai Raj best described Ghafar: "He was a legend, a man who fought tirelessly for a better life for his people."
Passing of a patriot:
Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba (1925-2006)
24 Apr 2006
Kalimullah Hassan
The New Straits Times
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He scrounged for food as a child in an impoverished family. He caddied for the well-heeled to earn the few cents to feed his family and see him through school.
It would have been totally natural for a little ego to creep in when later in life, he served term after term under the country’s first four Prime Ministers — as Chief Minister of Malacca, as Member of Parliament, as a minister in the Cabinet and eventually, as Deputy Prime Minister.
But Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba remained plain Abdul Ghafar Baba, a simple man from the people, unassuming and humble, a nationalist and, to the end, a patriot.
He was that rare breed of politician who never believed in playing the race card to get ahead.
Oh yes, he had the little imperfections. Who among us is perfect?
If the truth be told, Abdul Ghafar Baba was a giant among men.
He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth yet he never let that prevent him from striving to get out of the shackles of poverty by working his way to becoming a teacher at the then premier Maktab Perguruan Sultan Idris.
How many poor people of that era had the fortune and luck to even make it to school, what more a university?
At the age of 15, he was already aware of the need for Malayans to be freed from the shackles of colonialism, and he was a freedom fighter in the ranks of Datuk Onn Jaafar, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak, Tun H.S. Lee, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun V.T. Sambanthan, and the many more unheralded forefathers of modern Malaysia.
His passing today signals the end of an era; the end of one of the last surviving original fathers of independence.
There are many things I can say about Tun Abdul Ghafar Baba. I served him as Press Secretary for a short period when he was Deputy Prime Minister, and have kept in touch with him and his family over the years.
Two nights ago, as we stood outside the intensive care unit of the Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre, watching son Asri massaging his arms and reciting prayers for his unconscious father, the only signs of life displayed on a screen registering his blood pressure and respiratory levels, family members related an incident that reflects what Ghafar Baba was all about.
Just before he slipped into unconsciousness last week, he went into a state of depression, worrying family members and medical staff alike.
No one could prise out of him what his worries were until the hospital assigned two psychiatrists to speak towith him.
Slowly, speaking with great difficulty despite the tubes in his respiratory passages, Tun Ghafar told them he was concerned about Umno, about the people and about the future amid all the challenges facing the country.
Even in his last moments, his concerns were not for himself. They were for his people, his country.
Yes, he loved golf. He loved tennis, he loved keroncong music and, in his younger days, the joget. But most of all, he loved his country, his people, Umno and the Barisan Nasional, with a passion not many have shown.
In an era when many strive to become Datuks, Tan Sris and Tuns, Ghafar Baba never felt it was his right to be rewarded with awards, turning down numerous offers from Sultans and Kings, remaining a plain “Encik”, or more affectionately, Pak Ghafar, until he retired in 1993.
Ghafar’s loyalty to Umno and the country is perhaps best illustrated by looking at his political career.
Despite being one of the most senior vice-presidents in Umno when Tun Abdul Razak died in 1976 and was succeeded by Tun Hussein Onn as prime minister and president of Umno, Ghafar was not chosen for the deputy prime minister’s job.
It went to Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Ostensibly, Ghafar’s lack of educational qualifications were was the main reason for his exclusion. He could have made an issue of this and created a row, as many were known to do before that time and many more since.
But he resigned his Cabinet position, supported Hussein and Dr Mahathir, and remained a party loyalist, not uttering a word in protest.
In 1985, when the Malaysian Chinese Association faced its worst internal crisis, Ghafar was chosen and accepted by the Chinese to temporarily chair the party’s affairs and resolve the problems.
A year later, when Datuk (now Tan Sri) Musa Hitam quit as deputy prime minister, throwing Umno into a crisis, Ghafar was asked to leave his business and serve as deputy prime minister. With nary a complaint, he dutifully took the job.
When Umno was declared unlawful in 1987 by the High Court and many party heavyweights left to form a rival group, Ghafar stood by Dr Mahathir, rebuilt Umno literally from scratch, and led the campaigns in by-election after by-election against former colleagues, ensuring the party’s survival.
In 1990, when the ruling Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) pulled out of the Barisan Nasional coalition, of which Ghafar was the first and longest-serving secretary-general, on the eve of general elections to back Umno’s rival group, Ghafar was entrusted with setting up Umno in the State.
He persuaded his long-time friend Tun Datu Mustapha Harun to dissolve the United Sabah National Organisation (Usno), and that became the foundation for Umno in the State. Today, Umno is the strongest political party in the State and Sabah has seen an enduring period of political stability.
In 1992, when the Government faced a stand-off against the Malay rulers in the country’s worst constitutional crisis, it was again Ghafar, with his tact and ability to soft-talk even the most hardened opponents, who played a crucial role in resolving the issue.
Any number of people can try to take credit for all these, but the truth and reality is that as deputy prime minister, Ghafar was entrusted by his boss, Dr Mahathir, to lead the campaigns and to resolve the issues.
And he did it with none of the flamboyance or crassness of other leaders of that time. It was easier because he was trusted by those who dealt with him. He had no personal agenda; only the nation’s agenda.
Perhaps the worst thing that ever happened to Ghafar was in 1993, when those he had led and nurtured turned against him in a bid for power in one of the ugliest and most vicious election campaigns in Umno.
That was the year when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim decided to challenge Tun Ghafar for the Umno deputy president’s post.
Even then, few know that Ghafar twice offered to resign his post to allow Anwar a free pass, because he did not want Umno to be split. But his offer was declined.
In the end, the vicious campaign saw Tun Ghafar Baba being attacked and ridiculed in public and in the media by those who ingratiated themselves with the younger Anwar.
Yet, in all the years I knew Ghafar, he never once displayed any vindictiveness or viciousness against his attackers; only hurt and puzzlement, not knowing what his sins had been.
He was forgiving; he was not mean. He was the quintessential Malay gentleman with that old-world charm so lacking these days.
I have seen how he forgave his enemies and his critics; I saw how he would never allow anger to force him to utter words he would regret.
In 1995, when the dust had settled and Ghafar was all but forgotten, the Government tried to honour him by getting him to accept one of the nation’s highest awards, the Seri Setia Mahkota (SSM) from the King, which would make him a “Tun”.
Ghafar avoided taking calls and receiving visits from Dr Mahathir’s office, and eventually, Umno secretary-general Datuk (now Tan Sri) Mohamed Rahmat sought my assistance.
Ghafar’s son, Sofi, and I went to see him and persuaded him to let Mohamed meet him. I remember we said that whatever was to happen, Dr Mahathir was still Umno president and Prime Minister and Mohamed was his emissary.
It was this that made Ghafar relent — loyalty to his prime minister and his president in Umno.
Some days later, Sofi and I brought Mohamed and then Umno executive secretary Datuk Yaakob Mohamad to see Ghafar.
He was hurt by what had been done to him but Ghafar never showed any anger or resentment, although he did seem a little aloof when he met Mohamed and Yaakob at first.
I stayed out of the meeting, but was later informed by Sofi that Ghafar had agreed to meet Dr Mahathir. Eventually, he accepted the award — but not because he wanted to be known as a “Tun”. After all, he had turned down awards for more than 40 years.
He accepted it because he wanted to ease a conscience pricked by what had been done to him. He accepted it because he wanted closure. He accepted it because he did not want Umno to feel that the Ghafar Baba chapter was still open.
Throughout the 66 years since he joined the struggle for independence and 55 years since he joined Umno, Ghafar Baba never went against his country or his party.
Loyal and patriotic from the beginning; loyal and patriotic to the end.
How does a nation bid farewell to a loyal son like Abdul Ghafar Baba?
With respect. With gratitude. With a great sense of loss.
The writer is a former group editor-in-chief of the New Straits Times Press Group. He served as Press secretary to the late Tun Abdul Ghafar when he was Deputy Prime Minister and is currently deputy chairman of the NSTP Board of Directors.
Ghafar Baba – a Malaysian leader through and through
Comment by WONG CHUN WAI
24th APril 2006 The Star Malaysia
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IT WAS never easy for reporters who had covered the late Tun Ghafar Baba as a Deputy Prime Minister. He was humble, approachable and kind, but for the press, he was never good copy.
In journalistic term, it means he was not an exciting person and neither would he make any sensational news.
There was seldom any chance of getting page one news items at his assignments. Certainly, one could not expect him to make a controversial statement.
He shunned the limelight, preferring to work quietly for the country and Umno, instead of plotting and scheming away.
But he was consistently a Malaysian leader. As an Umno leader, one legacy that he left behind was that he proved that one did not need to make a racist remark to be popular to climb up the political hierarchy.
He wasn’t sophisticated and neither was he internationally urbane, but he made Malaysians, especially the rural folk, comfortable.
At a time when politicians are disliked and perceived to be easily bought, people continued to look up to him as a trusted politician.
He had a constant reminder to his family members, friends and journalists – Malaysians should not waste time fighting each other.
“I would like us sitting together and discussing on how we can make more money together for the country,” he once told me, saying disputes were a waste of time.
He blamed politicians for twisting facts to get themselves elected but lamented that Malaysians did not spend time finding out the truth.
“They just listen to the speeches made by their leaders and get angry at what they hear,” he said in his biography, written by former aide Datuk Dr Alias Mohamed.
He never liked any references to the Chinese and Indians as “immigrant races”, particularly by young politicians.
“They live here and they will die here. I advise the Chinese and the other races not to get hurt when the Government appears to help the Malays more, because they lag very far behind. But I know that the Malays would not want the Government to help them forever. They too want to stand on their own two feet eventually,” he said.
He was the last of the Mohicans, as one Umno veteran put it. The former cikgu from the kampung did not mind being talked about behind his back as a simple man.
He had always been forgiving, as his name meant. Those who were closed to him had seldom seen him losing his temper.
As a plain “Encik” for a long time, he did not care about honorifics, titles and perks.
He was fond of telling his listeners proudly that one Singapore newspaper reported that “the Chinese have Ali Baba, the Indians have Sai Baba and the Malays have Ghafar Baba”. That anecdote, he made sure, was included in his book.
His family home at Lembah Pantai was a spacious house with a swimming pool but it was always empty when I visited. Once, I just drove into the porch because there was no guard.
A maid showed me into the house. His long-serving secretary, Rahman Yunus, had telephoned to say that Ghafar wanted to see me to keep him updated on the latest political developments.
He wasn’t very healthy by then and had sought both Western and Chinese medical treatment.
I asked him whether he could climb the stairs but instead he showed me a room at the ground floor, where he said he slept mostly. It was almost spartan but the easy-going elder said he did not mind.
He had fought for the independence, was the youngest chief minister at one time and held a record of being unbeatable as a Member of Parliament. He had helped formed Malaysia, in short.
Ghafar was truly a nationalist and a leader of all Malaysians, who understood the importance of moderation and the politics of consensus, which continues today to be the hallmark of our Government.
We bade Ghafar farewell but he will remain in the hearts of Malaysians forever.
A humble statesman
April 24th 2006, The Star
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KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Ghafar Baba was a simple person who did away with protocol, making the masses feel comfortable with him, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.
“Tun Ghafar was a simple person at heart, simple in his desires and simple in almost everything,” he said after paying his last respects to the former deputy prime minister at his residence in Bukit Pantai.
Najib said that unknown to many, Ghafar was a very close friend of his late father – second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.
“My father trusted and relied on Ghafar for a number of things like solving political problems and both of them worked very hard to unite all the races and component parties in the then Alliance Party.
“I can in fact describe Tun Ghafar as a very close political confidant of my father,” Najib said, adding that his father had made Ghafar acting prime minister for a short while.
Najib said he would greatly remember Ghafar's chairing the committee responsible for his father’s funeral arrangements.
He said he learnt simplicity in doing things from Ghafar, as he could reduce a complex problem to something basic and easy to understand.
“When he was the deputy prime minister, he was very involved in rural development and loved to meet the people.
“A lot could be learnt from him. I hope the younger generation will emulate his ways. A person of his stature deserves a state funeral,” he said.
MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said Ghafar was a humble statesman who tried to unite the various races through his speeches and actions.
“He became a friend to all because of that. He was very considerate of each ethnic group,” said the Works Minister.
He also remembered Ghafar for his compassion.
“Whenever something came up, he would sympathise with all parties. He was the one who changed the term pendatang haram to pendatang tanpa izin in referring to illegal immigrants.”
Gerakan president Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said that from the time he met Ghafar in 1972, he saw him as a man who was ever willing to make sacrifices for the country and the party.
“When I met him again two years ago, he was still talking about the country and the party.
“Our country has lost a great son. He had his ups and downs in politics but he never complained,” the Energy, Water and Communications Minister said.
”He was a simple man, a man of few words but a big heart.”
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