MY IDOL

Idola

Apa itu idola?? Idola adalah dari perkataan Inggeris 'idol' yang bermaksud ' is a man-made object that is worshiped in some way'.

Setiap orang ada mempunyai idola masing-masing. Kadangkala kita sebut sebagai 'role model'.
Idola pun macam-macam jenis atau kategori. Idola pemimpin, idola seni/artis, idola falsafah
dan sebagainya. Idola, kadangkala boleh membakar semangat untuk maju ke depan, ada
juga yang sekadar jadi pujaan atau ikutan sahaja.

Who is my Idol?

Siapa kata zaman sekarang ni je, artis jadi idola muda-mudi. I was growing up in 1960s, most of the youngsters at that time were influenced by 'Pop Yeh Yeh' syndrome. Almost every kampong had their 'KUGIRAN' acronym for Kumpulan Gitar Rancak. The singers' name like A.Ramlie, L.Ramlee, J.Sham, Jaafar O, M.Ishak, Kasim Selamat, Salim I, Jeffrydin, J.Kamisah, S.Roha, Fatimah M.Amin, Rafeah Buang, S.Rohani, A.Rahman Hassan, A.Rahman Onn and other were running on the youngsters' lips. Their songs were in the air throughout the days. One of the famous radio programme (at that time my kampong still do not have electricity, mean no TV) was 'Lagu2 Permintaan'. So, morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night and midnight were enlighted with this programme. Varieties of 'lagu permintaan', eg: dedicated for 'kaum ibu', for perajurit, open and etc.

Who is my favourite singer. Hehehe. A.ROMZI from The Hooks. Among his famous songs are Lagu Tiga Kupang, Dendang Remaja, Katakan Padaku And Zunika. A.Romzi married to S.Roha (later divorced). However he was not my idola, just my favourite singer.

In 1970s, my appetite in music was also changed. From pop-yeh-yeh to sentimental. New singers made a debut. One of them was Uji Rashid (Fauziah Harun AlRashid) with his song, Tangisan Semalam, Semakin Hari Semakin Sayang, Kali Terakhir Kulihat Wajahmu, Ku Ingin Selalu Disampingmu etc. Any new record disc (piring hitam) from Uji, I will buy. The trade mark of Uji is her eyes. Sampaikan ada satu jenis ikan 'bermata bulat'orang namakan 'Ikan Uji Rashid'. Dulu pun ada gosip juga, Uji ni orang gosip dengan Hail Amir dan D J Dave. Tapi akhirnya Uji kawin dengan seorang yang mengaku sebagai jutawan....namanya...Harahap. Dapat lah anak bernama 'Chico'. Walaupun dah ada cucu, aku ada terserempak Uji kat pasar Keramat, masih manis. Kak Uji.... Semoga Allah kurniakan Kesejahteraan mu.

Antara nama penyanyi 60an yang aku masih ingat ialah: A.Ramli, L.Ramlee, M.Ishak, A.Halim, Jaafar O, Kassim Selamat, Jeffrydin, Ismail Harun, A.Rahman Hassan, A.Rahman Onn, A.Karim Jais, Adnan Othman, M.Osman, J.Sham, Rukimin Judi, Rickino Bajuri dan A.Rymie.

Manakala penyanyi wanitanya ialah J.Kamisah, Fatimah M.Amin, Maria Bachok, A.Nandung, Sanisah Huri, Rafeah Buang, Helen Velu, S.Rohani, Afidah S, Alina Rahman dan Norsiah A.Hamid.

Masa tu...ramai la orang-orang kampung yang menamakan anak-anak mereka dengan nama penyanyiatau nama-nama lagu yang dinyanyikan oleh penyanyi berkenaan. Tak terkecuali nama sepupu dan anak sedaraku.

When i was in primary school (1966-1971), one of my favourite was collecting ministers' pictures from newspaper. At that time, the only papers available in my house was UTUSAN MELAYU in Jawi. My mother cannot read roman only Jawi. My father can read both but he preferred Jawi. The price of the paper at that time was about $0.25 only!.

At that time i could remember all the ministers' name. Tunku, Tun Razak, Tun Dr Ismail, Tun Tan Siew Sin, Tun Sambanthan, Tan Sri Sardon, En Khir Johari, Rahman Yaakub, Lee Siok Yew etc. My favourite cum idola was Tun Dr Ismail (allahyarham, he died on 2nd Aug 73- i was in Form 2).

Almarhum Tun Dr Ismail bin Dato Abd Rahman

Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman (November 4, 1915 – August 2, 1973) was a Malaysian politician from them UMNO. He held several Malaysian ministerial posts and was appointed as the second Deputy Prime Minister in 1970 by then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. Three years later, Tun Dr Ismail died in office due to a heart attack. Ismail has been called "the man who saved Malaysia" for his actions as Home Minister after the May 13 Incident of racial rioting in 1969"

I did not know why i like him. At that age i knew nothing about integrity, incorruptible or what not. May be because of I am Johorean, and he is from Johore, and potential first PM from Johore. Anyway, later, i found out that i did a right person to be an idola.

Generally, Almarhum Tun Dr Ismail has been regarded as reliable and incorruptible, "remembered for his deep dislike of incompetence and bigotry, his strict adherence to the virtues of hard work and honesty, and his belief in the principles of national independence and multi-racialism".

I bought and always willing to buy any book about him. The latest and most comprehensive' is The Reluctant Poltician, written by Ooi Kee Beng.

Sehingga hari ini, aku tak pernah terjumpa atau 'cross in my mind' ada mana-mana pemimpin politik Malaysia yang setanding dengan Almarhum Tun Dr Ismail. I think not even 50% of him. Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat dan mengampunkan dosanya. Amin

Salam taazim saya untuk Toh Puan Norashikin (Neno) and his children Taufik, Badariah, Zailah, Tarmizi, Zamaqshari and Mohd Ariff.

Nota terbaru: Toh Puan Norashikin telah pulang ke rahmatullah pada 2 Julai 2010.

Tun Musa bin Hitam

After the death of Tun Dr Ismail, new young face in Malaysian politic admires me. Musa Hitam, also a Johorean was the Political Secretary to Tan Sri Sardon Jubir (former Minister of Transport). He climbed his political ladder from the grass root level, became a Deputy Head of Pemuda UMNO (under Dato Harun Idris), later became a Deputy Minister, full Minister and his highest achievement was Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Tun Musa bin Hitam (born 18 April 1934), is a Malaysia politician and a former Deputy PM of Malaysia, serving under Dato Seri Dr Mahathir. He was born in Johor Bahru in 1934.

Before becoming Malaysian's fifth Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs in 1981-1986, Tun Musa held a number of key government posts, including

• Chairman of the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA)
• Deputy Minister of Trade & Industry
• Minister of Primary Industries (1974-1978); and
• Minister of Education (1978-1981).

He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Malaya and his Master's degree from the University of Sussex, UK. He has since been awarded with various honours, including an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sussex and an Honorary Doctorate from Ohio University (in 1980). Tun Musa has held various posts at the international level at various times. These included being Chairman of the Commanwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Member of the Board of UNESCO, Leader of the Commonwealth Observer Delegation to the Malawi general elections and Member of the Commonwealth Ministers Delegations to Nigeria, Pakistan, Fiji and Gambia.

In the 1960s, Musa was briefly Acting Secretary-General of UMNO. He was later expelled from the party in the wake of the May 13 racial rioting for insubordination to then Prime Minister and UMNO President Tunku Abdul Rahman. During his political exile, he obtained his Master's from the University of Sussex.

In 1971, he was readmitted to UMNO under the Tunku's successor, Tun Abdul Razak. He rose quickly, becoming Deputy Whip of the Alliance Party coalition in Parliament, and was elected as a member of the UMNO Supreme Council. He was elected as a UMNO Vice-President in 1978.

When Dato Seri Dr Mahathir succeeded Tun Hussein Onn as Prime Minister of Malaysia, he declared the election for the Deputy Presidency of UMNO open; and thus by extension the Deputy Prime Ministership — was open; he would not support any candidate. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah joined the fray, and his main opposition was Musa Hitam. Eventually, Musa won the election with 722 votes to Razaleigh's 517 votes, becoming the new Deputy President and Deputy Prime Minister. Razaleigh blamed himself for taking "a rather passive stance" and not having a campaign strategy.

In 1987, Tengku Razaleigh challenged Mahathir for the presidentship of UMNO. Musa Hitam, who was then having a growing rift with Mahathir, resigned as Deputy Prime Minister, citing irreconcilable differences with Mahathir. He then joined Razaleigh's Team B as UMNO deputy president candidate. In the election, Dr. Mahathir and his Team A managed to retain his position and power over the party. However, UMNO was split into two separate entities as Tengku Razaleigh was left unsatisfied with the result.

The split forced the Malaysian court to declare UMNO as illegal. Shortly after the court ruling, Dr. Mahathir reestablished UMNO as UMNO Baru (New UMNO), though the new UMNO was badly weakened. Tengku Razaleigh at the same time went on his own path and found a new political party called Semangat 46 in 1989. The number 46 refers to the year UMNO was originally founded.

Musa, however, decided to retire from politics and has not joined the fray since.

Between 1990 and 1991, he was Malaysia's Special Envoy to the UNO, and since 1995 he has been the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG). Tan Sri Musa also led the Malaysian delegation to the UN Commission on Human Rights from 1993 to 1998 and was elected Chairman of the 52nd Session of the Commission in 1995. As a member of UMNO, Musa has held various positions within the party up to Deputy President until 1987.

He also served as the Chairman of SUHAKAM, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, from 1999 till 2002. In 2007, Musa became the chairman of Synergy Drive Bhd, the entity which arose out of the newly formed merger between Sime Darby, Guthrie and Golden Hope Plantations. He also serves on the International Advisory Council of the BrookingsDoha Center. Tun Musa is currently the Chairman of the World Islamic Economic Foundation.

Tun Musa was born to a Malay father and a mother of Chinese descent, who was adopted by and grew up in a Malay household at the age of five. Tun Musa was married to Datin Ines Maria Reyna, a Peruvian of Spanish descen. They had 3 children: Mariana, Carlos Abdul Rashid and Rosana. Tun Musa is now married to Zulaikha Sheardin, with whom he has one son, Hanif. Tun Musa has three grandchildren: Marisa, Lara and Kaelen.