By Ahmad Ibrahim

We are not short of great minds. We have Malaysians who spent a big part of their lives thinking how to make the country great. Despite what is normally portrayed about politicians, there are some rare breed who place the interest of the country first rather than self. There are also academics who never tire sharing constructive thoughts about making the country great.

One such academic, who needs no introduction among many Malaysians, is Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz. Through his many research undertakings, he contributed many progressive ideas in support of the country’s development. It is unfortunate that his legacy is slowly forgotten. Some young Malaysians, when asked, have no clue who he was, never mind his pivotal ideas for the nation.

The 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 tells a lot about how incredible the persona was.

Now that I have been made associate fellow of the Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, I have the opportunity to know more about his life and the contributions he made.

The book “Ungku Aziz’s Vision Of Development” well-articulated by author Muhammad Syafiq B. provides a good reading about Pak Ungku, as he was normally referred to. Many believe more should be done to preserve his legacy of a truly 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 equitability concerns among the population. Much of his groundbreaking socio-academic ideas could be traced back to the time he spent at Waseda University in Japan.

One which stood out was his obsession with the concept of cooperatives, a key success factor of the 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 hajj are pooled together in a common fund for investment, and the return shared.

The challenge for us is the efficient management of such fund. Many cooperatives in the country have succumbed to poor management. I know of many such under-performing land development programs

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 (Hajj) 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 the 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 are 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 radio giving his analysis on the pantuns which to him speak a lot about the nature of earlier Malay thoughts.

Our higher education should cultivate more such great thinking.

_{The author is a Professor and Associate Fellow, Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, Universiti Malaya.}