We have just been informed of the demise of a great Malaysian. Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Arshad is no ordinary educationist. He is the crème de la crème of the nation's list of academic greats. Many must feel the sadness of his passing. His contributions to the nation's educational aspirations deserve special mention. His rise to prominence as an educationist should inspire the young that nothing is impossible.
Much has been written of his early childhood days when he and family struggled to put food on the table. His father tapped rubber for a living. We know even to this day, for a fact, that rubber tappers remain trapped in a hard life. At a young age, Tan Sri would assist his father on his tapping rounds in the early mornings before walking to school. Yet, he managed to overcome the odds to become an exemplary educationist the nation should be proud of.
I first knew Tan Sri Rahman when he taught us Bahasa Melayu at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, way back in the 60s. I was even more fortunate because he engaged me to help him add up the BM marks for the LCE examination in 1964. I took the LCE the same year. But, what made me really excited was that Tan Sri got to mark the papers from my friends in Ketereh English School.
So, I had first hand knowledge of their marks. I remember being paid RM60 for the clerical work. Tan Sri, as a young bachelor, then shared the college housing with another teacher, Encik Kudus. Both were from Melaka. So, I also had the opportunity to learn about all the Melaka jokes. Even then, I found Tan Sri to be a man who was approachable and always willing to share his knowledge about things.
In Malay College, we were very familiar with Tan Sri's style of public speaking. Most eloquent and highly impressive. In fact many among the student debators then would try to imitate his very appealing way of delivering his speech. One who came very close to his manner of speaking was Rastom Ahmad Maher, a student from Kelantan, one year my senior.
He carried that style into his later career as a lawyer and politician. In fact, I would not be surprised that that could have been the reason why Rastom was later made the Deputy Menteri Besar of Kelantan. Many others tried to emulate Tan Sri's unique delivery mannerism. And many have benefited from that persuasive communication style and achieve success in their later careers.
After MCKK, Tan Sri rose up the ladder of academic achievements to eventually become the DG of education. During his seven years helming the education portfolio, he made many impressive contributions. Upon his retirement, his service was sought after by many academic institutions. I met him again at the UCSI University where he was for many years the university's Chancellor.
I joined UCSI as a lecturer in the Chemical Engineering Department. I have no doubt that Tan Sri had played an important role to make UCSI University among the nation's top universities. In fact, the university was recently named the nation's top private university for two years in a row. As a relatively young university, just around 30 years old, UCSI university has also built an excellent reputation among foreign students.
At the University's annual convocations, I could see that Tan Sri had not lost his unique speaking style. But, more important, he was always speaking off the cuff telling the young graduates the importance of education in nation building. I am sure his many touching speeches have inspired many among the graduating students. He spoke about how respect for parents and the society at large should always be a priority when pursuing careers.
He always spoke from the heart, sharing his vast experiences in life and the undying commitment to serve the nation. I think he deserves to be made a Tun. For me, Tan Sri has taught me the importance of good clear communication as one pursues a career. Communication which is persuasive and articulate would be invaluable.
The writer is Fellow at the Academy of Science, UCSI University