KUALA LUMPUR: “He was like any other father even though he was the prime minister,” said Datuk Mohamed Nizam Razak.
Despite being honoured as the nation’s “Father of Development”, who was busy visiting rural areas and travelling around the world, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein was always around whenever his family needed him.
“He would read every school report card and discuss our education progress in detail,” said Razak’s third son.
While building new schools and universities at home, he already had in mind which boarding school and university that his sons would go to and what they should do upon graduation.
“Somehow, he always knew I was suited for the civil service,” Nizam told the New Straits Times.
He said the family would have liked to have more of Razak in their lives but everybody understood his obligations as the prime minister.
Nizam went to study overseas when he was 13 years old and was 17 when his father died. Having had very limited time together, he cherished every single moment they shared.
“They were far too few (moments).”
A family tradition, as Nizam recalled, was when Razak was home, the whole family would gather in his
study after dinner to talk.
They discussed family issues, education and holiday plans. Nizam felt privileged to perform simple tasks for his father, like fetching a file or making a telephone call for him.
“Walking with him at the golf course was special because we were away from the pressure of politics.
“He loved being at the sea and I remember a memorable holiday when he took only me aboard KD ‘Hang Tuah’ on a trip to Burma. I was the only kid on the boat,” Nizam reminisced fondly.
Knowing his father in person, and the principles and beliefs that he held, were the guiding forces in Nizam’s life.
“He held the highest standards of integrity, trustworthiness, moral, fairness and responsibility, and we were expected to keep the same standards.
“I have tried to maintain them throughout my life because these were his universal principles that remain with me.”
His family was only told that his father was “seriously ill” when he was in a London hospital, just a few days before he died.
Nizam was hopeful that his father would recover.
“I kept asking him to eat because he had lost so much weight. I even bought the supplementary meals and drinks, hoping to restore his vitality.”
His father’s death was furthest from his mind.