Tun Razak My Hero, Says Economist

A leading Australian agricultural economist has paid tribute to former prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein for his vision in promoting land development schemes and improving smallholdings in Malaysia in the 1960s."Tun Abdul Razak was a personal hero of mine," Dr Colin Barlow told the 18th biennial conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia at the University of Adelaide in South Australia Thursday, when he presented his paper entitled "Malaysian Agriculture in Transition 1960−2010”.

Dr Barlow said soon after arriving in Kuala Lumpur in 1963 to work at the Rubber Research Institute, he realised rural agencies and research bodies lacked the weight to improve Malaysian agriculture and much had to be done.

"What was needed in this 1960s situation was to focus much more on bettering individual and group smallholdings. We needed a person with authority, having a common touch and in tune with rural people's aspirations."And we found him in Tun Abdul Razak. He became the architect of giving practical application to popular desires - a personal hero of mine." Dr Barlow said Tun Abdul Razak, the then Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Rural Development, was`an individual combining great vision with skills in leadership and administration.He facilitated the organisation of replanting and new land development schemes, he said.

"Tun Abdul Razak engineered major improvements to rural education and health, along with roads and other infrastructures, proceeding in the 1970s to pioneer wider national transformation through the New Economic Policy," he said.Dr Barlow, who has been involved in rural development for many years, especially in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, told the Adelaide conference "a further crucial initiative" of the 1960s in Malaysia was the establishment of the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), which was fashioned after difficult beginnings into a highly successful body".

This opened up and managed many new planted areas, first under rubber and later oil palm, he said. A crucial key to Felda's success was Tan Sri Raja Muhammad Alias Raja Muhammad Ali, a person who worked in the organisation for 35 years and was chairman for almost half that time. He was an effective and a visionary leader and administrator, without whom the giant social enterprise was quite likely to have faltered and failed," Dr Barlow said.

He said former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had pre-dispositions towards developing agriculture and achieving socio-economic equity while his predecessor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad tended to emphasise the development of manufacturing and the IT sector. Dr Barlow, who has a deep attachment to Malaysia, said he was looking forward to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's New Economic Model, cited as the route to Malaysia becoming a high-income nation.

"I profoundly hope it leads to Malaysia's continuing success," he said.

He said Malaysian agriculture, which has been described as a "third engine of growth", has potential for further expansion, but it depended on the intentions of future governments.

Dr Barlow has written several books on Malaysia, his most recent book was titled "Malaysian Economics and Politics in the New Century" (Edward Elgar, 2003, edited with Francis Loh Kok Wah).

BERNAMA

SERDANG - the cradle of National Development?

For most, the UPM Alumni (PAUPM) pride would rekindle and strengthen their sense of belonging. Till this day the alumni are not just, Malaysia-based, from Perlis to Sabah or Kelantan to Sarawak, they traverse from as far as China to Iran and, Bosnia to Nigeria. UPM has come so far since its inception in the early 1930s, from a humble beginning as Sekolah Pertanian to its current mainstream presence as Universiti Putra. And from merely producing agricultural graduates it has produced thousands of engineers, food technologist, economists, MBAs, etc. It has even produced medical doctors. What is pleasantly `shocking' is that it has even churned out more than 400 aeronautical engineers. In short the former `sekolah pertanian' has availed teaching scopes that has touched the frontiers of science.

CONGRATULATIONS to Tan Sri Prof Datuk Dr. Nik Mustapha (class of 76) the VC and management of UPM.

Tracing back its history, its growth certainly runs parallel to Malaysia’s industrialisation journey. Where were we before the era of electronics and automobile? If it weren’t for the systematic and methodical evolution and implementation of industrial crops such as rubber and oil palm, we would not have the `learning curve’ as a nation to move into the `heavy industry era. And this certainly has been attributed to the human capital inputs generated by UPM (since the sekolah pertanian days). UPM Alumni dominated giants such as Sime Darby, Felda, Tradewinds and the likes continue to dominate and contribute our national economy. Alumnus Tan Sri Rashdan Baba, Tan Sri Dato Dr Mohd Noor Ismail, the late Tan Sri Basir Ismail , and Dato Dr Aziz Abu Bakar (ARAB) are, to name a few of the technocrats, that have influenced corporate Malaysia.

As Alumni we are certainly full of pride for what UPM has done to the nation, and our lives. The SERDANG VILLE Blog is initiated as a platform for the PAUPM members to connect and interact. SERDANG - the cradle of National Development? Is offered as a starting provocation.

Anas Ahmad Nasarudin (class of 76)