The death of Sarawak chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem came as a shock to us. It marked the exit of a great leader, not only revered and respected in his state, but also in Malaysia.
He was “his own man”, not beholden to anybody, including his predecessor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud
He had the hallmarks of an outstanding leader: soft spoken, astute and caring for his people.
He had no qualms calling a spade a spade.
Good government is about fostering community wellbeing in education, health and welfare, as well as building national physical and community infrastructure.
And Adenan epitomised all that. His focus on these areas spearheaded the “jobs and growth” that proved valuable to his state.
Piano tuners will tell you that if you tighten one string, you invariably loosen other strings.
So a good tuning job requires the adjustment of nearly all the strings and Adenan was adept at that. He brought the people together to make Sarawak the ideal state for racial unity.
He believed that people with different beliefs and customs should be free to practise those beliefs, so long as the law was not violated.
He was pragmatic and saw to it that the English language was placed alongside Bahasa Malaysia as an official language in his state.
He said: “The reason why so many graduates these days cannot get a job is because they cannot speak proper English.”
He was down to earth and humble, not given to pretentiousness.
He would walk into any coffeeshop and talk to people.
It was no surprise that his popularity exceeded 85 per cent in the last state election.
He was a statesman like no other.
Rest in peace, Tan Sri.
DR A. SOORIAN
Seremban, Negri Sembilan