LETTER: On the 16th of this month in 1919 in Sungei Siput was born a Malaysian named VT Sambanthan. He was destined to make waves in the political and social landscape of his time.
He went on to become the fifth President of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and one of the founding fathers of Malaysia, along with Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tan Cheng Lock. He was the MIC president from 1955 to 1973 during which time he served in various ministries, namely Labour, Health, Works, Posts and Telecommunications and National Unity.
Throughout his political career, which spanned 25 years, his undercurrent had always been the doctrine of unity amidst diversity. During the debate on the draft Constitution at the Federal Legislative Council on July 10, 1957, he advocated greater cooperation among the communities.
He told the Council: "We belong to a plural society, and we should always remember that in such a society we have to recognise that psychology has its own place. It is not enough if one's own attitude towards a problem is good. It is necessary that he should see what reaction, what effect it would have on members of different communities".
After May 13, 1969, emotions ran high in the country and the government sought to ban the Chinese lion dance, but Tun Sambanthan, as National Unity Minister in the early 1970s, met Chinese leaders for frank discussions, following which, the lion dance ban was lifted because the government realised it was important to maintain the culture and traditions of each community.
Tunku Abdul Rahman held Tun Sambanthan in high esteem and often assigned important tasks to him, separate from his ministerial duties. In 1968, Tunku Abdul Rahman dispatched Tun Sambanthan to Fiji on a peace mission. The Chief Minister of Fiji acknowledged Tun Sambanthan's contribution in a letter to Tunku thanking him for the "great success" of the delegation "under the superb leadership of Sambanthan".
After the Indonesian Confrontation, Tun Sambanthan was sent in 1966 with a delegation to Jakarta to normalise diplomatic relations with Indonesia. Tun Sambanthan was also acting prime minister for one day when both the prime minister and his deputy were out of the country at the same time.
I was a secondary school student when I first had the privilege to listen to Tun Sambanthan speak. He was no rabble rouser, but a soft spoken man with a measured voice that conveyed the intended message with clarity and simplicity. He spoke in Tamil but emphasised the importance of learning the English language, quoting Tunku Abdul Rahman that "English was the language that sent Man to the Moon".
Tun Sambanthan was altruism personified. His father had a 2.4 sq km rubber estate and did not think twice about selling it to help the Indian community, and also to strengthen his party. He died virtually a pauper, but happily so.
He was a reformist not only in words but in deeds. He steadfastly implored the Indian community to be thrifty and ensure that their children be sent to school, and he transformed the South Indian Immigration Labour Fund into an education fund for the children of plantation workers.
One of his greatest challenges came when the British began to fragment estates in a sell-off adversely affecting the livelihood of all Indian workers. Tun Sambanthan sprang into action and formed a co-operative called the National Land and Finance Co-operative Society (NLFCS) to acquire estates and prevent displacement of workers.
At the time of his death in 1979, the cooperative had bought over 18 estates, totalling 120 sq km and had a membership of 85,000 workers. The NLFCS created a record of sorts in giving a 6 per cent interest in fixed deposits for the workers – something which even the banks could not provide!
He was a leader par excellence who contributed immensely to the betterment of his fellow Malaysians in more ways than one. His legacy will be forever etched in our memory.
DR A SOORIAN
SEREMBAN
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times