We are not short of great minds. We have Malaysians who spent a big part of their lives thinking about how to make the country great.
Despite what they say about politicians, there are a rare few who place the interests of the country first, rather than their own. There are also academics who never tire of sharing constructive thoughts about how to make the country great.
One such academic, who needs no introduction among many Malaysians, is Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz Ungku Abdul Hamid.
Through his many research undertakings, he contributed numerous progressive ideas in support of the country’s development. It is unfortunate that his legacy is slowly being forgotten. Some young Malaysians, when asked, have no clue as to who he was, never mind his pivotal ideas for the nation.
Universiti Malaya, where he served as vice-chancellor for almost 20 years, honoured him by naming a centre for poverty studies after him. Just reading about him in the newspaper reveals how incredible the man was.
Now that I have been made Associate Fellow of the Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, Universiti Malaya, I have the opportunity to learn more about his life and the contributions he made.
The book ‘Ungku Aziz’s Vision of Development’, well-articulated by author Muhammad Syafiq Borhannuddin, provides a good read about Pak Ungku, as he was commonly referred to. Many believe more should be done to preserve his legacy of exemplary academic leadership.
Academics today can take lessons from the way he engaged with society, especially the more impoverished rural community. He did not just publish his research, but essentially put knowledge to work.
Pak Ungku’s work was closely associated with initiatives to alleviate poverty and address the gaping inequalities in the population. Much of his groundbreaking socio-academic ideas can be traced back to the time he spent at Waseda University in Japan.
One that stood out was his obsession with the concept of cooperatives, a key success factor in Japanese society. As we are aware, the concept is about pooling and sharing resources and wealth. He used that idea to push for the establishment of Tabung Haji, where savings to perform the Haj are pooled together in a common fund for investment, with the returns then shared.
The challenge for us is the efficient management of such funds. Many cooperatives in the country have succumbed to poor management. I know of many such underperforming land development programmes.
There is no doubt that Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz was one of Malaysia’s most respected intellectuals and academics. He was an influential figure in Malaysia’s development, particularly in the fields of economics, education, and social welfare.
Pak Ungku made significant contributions to the understanding of rural poverty and the economic conditions of Malaysians, especially the Malay community. His work led to the development of various economic policies aimed at alleviating poverty and improving the livelihoods of rural Malays.
As alluded to earlier, he was instrumental in the establishment of Lembaga Tabung Haji in 1963, designed to help Muslims save money for their pilgrimage to Mecca. The fund has since grown to become a major financial institution in Malaysia.
His academic leadership was exemplary. He served as the vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaya, the oldest university in Malaysia, from 1968 to 1988. His tenure was marked by efforts to expand and improve higher education in Malaysia.
He was one of the first scholars to pinpoint “low productivity”, “exploitation”, and “neglect” as the root causes of material poverty, disagreeing with the view that Malays were lazy.
He was the only Malaysian to hold the title of Royal Professor, a recognition of his outstanding contributions to academia and the nation. The title was bestowed upon him by the King.
Pak Ungku was also known for his work in promoting Malay culture and heritage. He was deeply involved in efforts to preserve and document Malay traditions and customs. Occasionally, we would hear him on the radio, giving his analysis of the pantuns, which to him, spoke volumes about the nature of earlier Malay thought.
Our higher education should cultivate more such great minds.
Professor Datuk Dr Ahmad Ibrahim is affiliated with the Tan Sri Omar Centre for STI Policy at UCSI University and is an associate fellow at the Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, Universiti Malaya.
The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of Twentytwo13.
