Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar - Hang Jebat versi Pahang

Acong

Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar, the Hang Jebat of Pahang
Friday, 25 September 2009 18:33

The best way and no other way to describe the relationship between the Menteri Besar and the Palace was that they were in a state of war. Rahim Bakar whacked the Sultan to kingdom come and he did not care a damn what the repercussions would be.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Ex-Pahang MB Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar dies

Former Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar died at his home in Jalan U-Thant here at 7.10pm yesterday, believed to be due to a heart attack. He was 66.

His second child, Rosnita, 35, said her father was waiting for the azan call to break the fast when her mother Datin Rosnah Kamaruddin found him unconscious.

She said they contacted paramedics from Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre, who pronounced him dead.

"Father did not show any signs prior to his death. As far as we know, he was not suffering from any illness... his death could be due to a heart attack," she said.

Rosnita said since all her brothers and sisters had returned home to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri, they were at their father's side when he died.

He will be buried at the Taman Kosas Muslim Cemetery after Friday prayers today at the Kampung Pandan mosque, she said.

Meanwhile, Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Datuk Noh Omar said Abdul Rahim's demise was a big loss to politics in the country, especially Umno.

"I had known him when he was actively involved in Umno. I have always admired his high values and struggles towards Umno because despite coming from a poor family, he achieved tremendous success," he said.

Abdul Rahim leaves a wife and four children — Roslina, 37, Rosnita, Mohd Rizal, 32, and Rosazreen, 25 and four grandchildren.

Abdul Rahim was born on Feb 7, 1943 in Beserah, Kuantan and started his political career as the state assemblyman for Beserah after winning the seat in the 1978 general election.

An economics graduate from Universiti Malaya, he was Pahang Menteri Besar from July 19, 1978 to Nov 7, 1981. — Reuters

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That is what the mainstream media wrote. It is very short and, of course, just sticks to the ‘core issues’. But what the mainstream media failed to mention is that Rahim Bakar was somewhat of a loose canon who held the post of Menteri Besar of Pahang for slightly over three years.

Rahim Bakar was a most outspoken individual and the Pahang rakyat loved him. He would blast away, even in public, and there were no ‘sacred cows’ as far as he was concerned. In fact, whenever there were palace spies around, Rahim Bakar would purposely raise his voice so that they could hear what he says. Then he would sit back with an amused look on his face to see the spies scurry away to report to the Pahang Sultan what Rahim Bakar just said.

The best way and no other way to describe the relationship between the Menteri Besar and the Palace was that they were in a state of war. Rahim Bakar whacked the Sultan to kingdom come and he did not care a damn what the repercussions would be.

At that time, the Prime Minister was Tun Hussein Onn, a jewel and no-nonsense of a man. He was brought up in the British tradition and acquired his discipline in the British army. Hussein Onn would not tolerate any shit and in spite of his Johor Palace links he would keep the Royal Family on a tight leash and would offer them no slack.

It was always an unwritten rule that the nine Malaysian rulers would be allowed certain ‘excesses’. For states like Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, and so on, these excesses would include large tracts of timber concessions. States like Negeri Sembilan, which did not have too much timber land left, the ‘concessions’ would be in the form of pig farm licences. Why do you think they call that state Negeri Sembilan Darul Khinzir?

The Sultans would be given a certain timber ‘quota’ every year, which they are expected to use wisely. Most Sultans would have Chinese partners to work the timber concessions and for Pahang it was the infamous ‘Tengku’ Wong -- who was exposed and stripped naked by no less than the Gerakan President at that time, Lim Keng Yeak.

This was back in the 1980s. Lim went before TV, and with spit splashing on the TV cameras, he lamented about ‘Tengku’ Wong, who, Lim said, is the Pahang Sultan’s business partner. Lim said that ‘Tengku’ Wong and the Sultan have ripped off the state out of hundreds of millions worth of timber. What Lim did not know was that ‘Tengku’ Wong was not just the Sultan’s partner. He was also ex-Pahang Menteri Besar Khalil Yaacob’s partner. So there were actually three parties involved.

Datuk Fauzi Rahman, the one-time Member of Parliament for Kuantan, actually made a police report on this matter some years back but until today nothing has been done about it. Instead, Fauzi was kicked out, as is the fate of all whistleblowers in Malaysia who lodge police reports or sign Statutory Declarations not favourable to those who walk in the corridors of power.

The ‘Pahang Constitutional Crisis’, if I may be permitted to call it that, started when the Pahang Sultan used up his timber concession quota super-fast. Actually, the Sultan lost it all in the casinos where he spends most of his time.

In one casino in the UK, the Sultan lost so much money, millions of Ringgit, that he could not afford to pay off his debt. Sultan or no Sultan, the casino would not allow him to leave until he paid up.

The Sultan summoned the Malaysian High Commissioner to the UK and the hapless diplomat had no choice but to get out of bed and make his way to the casino. The Sultan then made the High Commissioner guarantee the debt on behalf of the Malaysian government. Only then did the casino allow the Sultan to leave.

When the Sultan returned to Malaysia he asked for more timber concessions. But His Highness had already used up his quota for the year. So Rahim Bakar brought the matter to the attention of the Prime Minister.

Hussein Onn was still boiling mad that the Malaysian government was forced to guarantee the Sultan’s gambling debts and he put his foot down and said no more timber concession for the Sultan.

Rahim Bakar, being the loose cannon who takes no shit from anyone kind of man, told the Sultan in a not so diplomatic way to bugger off. (I just love this Rahim Bakar and when I grow up I want to be just like him).

The Sultan was pissed and he wanted Rahim Bakar sacked and declared persona non grata. (Now you know why I just love the man -- we persona non gratas have to stick together).

Rahim Bakar was eventually forced to resign halfway through his term and they put an interim Menteri Besar, Rashid, to warm the seat while waiting for the next general election in a couple of month’s time.

The Sultan wanted Najib Tun Razak, an orang istana, who was then in the federal cabinet, to take over as Menteri Besar. In the 1982 general election Najib contested a state seat and went back to Pahang as the new Menteri Besar so that he can fulfil his main function of granting the Sultan all the timber concessions that His Highness wanted plus, as his secondary job, run the state administration.

Rahim Bakar was not the first Menteri Besar to fall because he refused to bow to the Sultan’s demand for timber concessions. Ghazali Jawi of Perak and Nik Hassan of Terengganu too were forced out when they refused to give their Sultans what they wanted.

Isa Samad, in a way, suffered the same fate, but he refused to grant the Negeri Sembilan ruler what His Highness wanted not based on principles but because Isa wanted it all for himself (hmm…let’s hope we meet him in this coming by-election in Bagan Pinang).

So there you have it. NST, Utusan, Bernama, Malay Mail, etc., would just report what Reuters reported above. Boring! Malaysia Today gives you the untold story. So let us honour the late Datuk Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar and one-time Pahang Menteri Besar for being the true patriot that he is. He opposed the Sultan and he paid the price. And this is what he must be remembered for, the Hang Jebat of Pahang, the Anak Pahang Tulin.

http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/27219/84/


takziah kpd keluarga arwah.........


semoga ditempatkan dikalangan org2 yg diredhai-Nya......!

Acong

Saturday, 26 September 2009
Dato Rahim Bakar dalam kenangan.


Dato Abdul Rahim bin Abu Bakar
(1943-2009)

Apakah satu satu nya ingatan yang kebanyakan dari kami, jenerasiimmediately selepas Dato Rahim Bakar ada tentang beliau? Dalam tahun2akhir 70an, saya baru hendak memasuki university Malaya. Rahim Bakarketika itu sudah pun jadi menteri Besar Pahang. Memory yang terpahatdalam ingatan kami dan memberi impression kepada pelajar pelajaruniversity ialah Rahim Bakar adalah jebat moden.

Beliau lah orang yang di katakana 'mendurhaka' kepada Sultan Pahangmelalui keengganan beliau meluluskan kawasan balak tambahan kepadapihak Istana. Tapi ramai orang hanya menumpukan kepada aspek ini sahajadidalam menilai Rahim Bakar. Walhal, Dato Rahim Bakar lebih ketaradalam perwatakan nya sebagai seoang yang mempunyai no-nonsence dalammentadbir negeri Pahang. Sebelum memasuki lapangan polituik, RahimBakar sudah pun mejadi pengurus besar PKNP ketika itu. Bakat pengurusannya di 'lihat' oeh Hussein Onn yang menjadi PM. Hussein Onn sebagaimana yang kita tahu ialah seorang yang hidup dengan disiplin. DalamRahim Bakar, Hussein Onn melihat ujud suatu 'kindered spirit'. RahimBakar di lihat sebagai seorang yang mahu menjalankan kerja yang betuldan betul betul kerja.

Kehadiran Rahim Bakar dalam senario politik Pahang yang di ramaikandengan tokoh tokoh yang melihat tugas wakil rakyat dan ahli politiksebagai suatu kerjaya yang hanya untuk mengisi masa dengan keraian dansuka ria, tentulah mengjengkilkan Rahim Bakar yang berperwatakan ' aman in a hurry'. Terlalu banyak perkara yang di lihatnya perlu ditukar. Working ethics sang wakil rakyat, cara negeri memantaupengurusan syarikat syarikat milik kerajaan dan yang terlebih penting,bagaimana kerajaan negeri menjalankan amanah mengurus harta benda milikrakyat.

Saya berpeluang berjumpa dengan Dato Rahim Bakar beberapa kali. DatoRahim Bakar merupakan seorang sahabat karib kepada rakan saya, WanIqbal Wan Hamid. Wan Iqbal seperti saya, merupakan bekas ADUN dalamsatu kawasan di Parlimen Pekan. Rahim Bakar banyak menhadhiri majlismajlis yang di adakan oleh Wan Iqbal sama ada bersifat rasmi atausecara informal seperti majlis makan makan di rumah Wan Iqbal. RahimBakar has no problem interacting with a younger and crtical generation.

Maka di rumah saudara Wan Iqbal inilah saya berkesempatan bertemudengan Dato Rahim Bakar dan berpeluang mendengar dan menimbang'kedalaman' fikiran Dato Rahim Bakar. Kali terakhir saya berjumpadengan Rahim Bakar ialah kira kira 5-6 bulan yang lalu di rumah WanIqbal. Kebetulan waktu itu, hanya kami bertiga sahaja yang ada dan kamitelah dapat bercakap secara terbuka dan candid.

Dato Rahim Bakar ada menyentuh mengenai pergeseran dengan pihak Istana.Cerita nya tidak lah seperti yang di gambarkan oleh pihak media.Diantara beliau dengan pihak Istana tidak ada pergeseran yangfundamental. Rahim Bakar terus dan secara konsisten, mendaulatkaninstitusi Istana. Dia hanya berbeza pendapat apabila kepentingan rakyattidak sehaluan dengan kepentingan Istana. Dan apabila kepentinganrakyat bertembung dengan kepentingan Istana, kepentingan rakyat didahulukan. Ertinya, Rahim Bakar melihat tugas primary nya ialah menjadimenteri besar kepada rakyat. Dia tidak berkonflik dengan pihak Istana-dia hanya tidak berkompromi diatas kepentingan rakyat.

Konflik yang terurai ke pengetahun umum dan di dramakan oleh pihakmedia, adalah suatu konflik yang di reka oleh petualang petualangpolitik. Rahim Bakar menerangkan bahawa kehendak pihak istana semua diselesaikan setakat yang di perbolehkan. Selebih yang di perbolehkan,Rahim Bakar bertegas dalam hal tersebut. Yang tak boleh, tetap tidak dibolehkan. Dan dia tidak buat keputusan sendiri. Kesemua di bincangdalam exco. Dan Rahim Bakar menerangkan dalam banyak kes, excobersetuju dengan tindakan yang di ambil. Mistake Rahim Bakar ialahmembuat andaian semua orang ikhlas seperti nya. Sebab ada dalam barisanexco dan ADUN2 ketika itu yang bermuka muka. Mereka lah yang berkejaranke istana menambahkan cerita bahawa Rahim Bakar lah ketua pendurhaka.

Apa yang saya hendak nyatakan disini, ialah Rahim Bakar tidakberkonflik dengan istana. Aspek ini sengaja di gembar gemburkan olehmusuh poilitik nya. Apa yang dia ada, yang tersangat kurang pada dirikebanyakan pimpinan UMNO hari ini ialah tidak berkompromi diatasprinsip.

Ada dua perkara yang saya ingat daripada pertemuan saya dan rakan rakanlain dengan Rahim Bakar. Kali pertama saya berjumpa dengan Rahim Bakarialah sebaik sahaja pilihanraya ke 12 berlansung. Kami telah bertemu dirumah Wan Iqbal untuk bertukar tukar pendapat mengenai masa depan UMNO.

Dalam pertemuan yang pertama ini, beberepa bakas ADUN yang di gugurkanhadir sama. Majlis kali pertama di hadiri 7-8 orang. Terdapat 2 atau 3orang yang telah memutuskan untuk berkerat arang dan berpatah rotandengan UMNO. Mereka telah memberi alasan mengapa UMNO yang menyepakmereka keluar, harus di tinggalkan.

Rahim Bakar yang merupakan bekas MB dan bekas Ahli MKT UMNO mendengardengan penuh perasaan 'kebapaan' terhadap rintihan bekas bekas ADUN.

Pada penghujung perbincangan Rahim Bakar telah bertanya satu soalan.Sudahkah anda semua fikirkan mengenai alternative kepada UMNO?

Soalan tersebut disambut dengan beberapa jawapan yang tidak bersemangatdan kurang meyakinkan. Rahim Bakar meneruskan- with respect kepadaperasaan yang menyerlah pada hari ini, kita semua kena fikirkanmengenai alternative kepada UMNO.

UMNO itu, landasan perjuangan nya apa? Jawapan nya ialah Melayu danIslam. Ini prinsip asas UMNO. Melayu erti nya, UMNO itu tempat suakatenteram orang Melayu. Itulah tempat bergantung harap orang Melayuketika susah dan perlindungan kepada malapetaka. Bagaimana statussebagai tempat bergantung harap dan bentuk mana perlindungan di beritertakluk kepada kualiti kepimpinan UMNO. Bahagian itu kita bolehberbeza pendapat tapi bahagian fundamentals dan asas kita tidakberkompromi. UMNO tidak boleh meningalkan dua perkara ini- iaituperanan nya sebagai tempat bergantung orang Melayu dan pendukung agamaIslam.

Saya faham saudara saudara semua tengah marah- tapi fikirkan hal ini.Boleh kah PKR memainkan peranan ini? Saya tidak fikir mereka bolehlakukan ini. Kepada saya, UMNO sudah pun nazak, kerana ia sudah tidakfaham fundamentals perjuangan UMNO. Alternative yang paling serioussaya lihat ialah PAS. Sama ada saudara boleh melanggani prinsipperjuangan PAS, saya tidak tahu.

Saya tidak menyokong atau suruh saudara saudara menyokong PAS. Tapilihat secara rasional- jika UMNO gagal, alternative nya hanya satu-PAS. Saya tak cadang kita semua berbondong bondong masuk PAS- tapithink of the possibility of aligning with PAS.

Rahim Bakar telah berjaya mengutarakan satu persoalan yang membuatramai antara kami melupakan tujuan kami bertemu pagi itu. Secarakebetulan, dalam pertemuan itu, seorang emissary dari PKR juga turuthadir. Kami telah memberi dia peluang untuk berkempen mengapa PKRpilihan lebih baik dari UMNO.

Acong

KALI TERAKHIR.

You tahu, ariff, Musa Hitam once told me- penyakit UMNO ni ialah penyakit tua. Ubat nya ialah meremajakan UMNO.

Saya tak tahu macam mana Musa Hitam berfikir, tapi pada saya, penghujung sakit tua ialah mati. Ini yang saya tengok berlaku pada UMNO. Tengok saja kualiti pimpinan UMNO. Ada setengah nya( identity di lindungi) entah apa apa cakap nya? Saya sendiri pun pernah menyergah pemimpin ini- apa yang kau cakap ini? Berbelit belit lah- kalau aku tak faham, orang lain lagi tak faham.

Saya lihat masaalah UMNO sekarang ialah masaalah mutu kepimpinan. Tak de prinsip. Sebab itu negeri Pahang ni tergadai. You tengok, berapa bayak harta benda negeri ini yang tergadai. Saya pergi ke Rompin tempoh hari, saya lalu ikut jalan Kuantan-Segamat. Tiba tiba saya tengok ladang IOI. Aik, saya tanya dalam hati- bila pulak IOI ini ada kat Pahang? Saya rasa masa saya dulu, saya lulus tanah ini kepada LKPP. Saya tanya rakan saya dalam kerajaan- macam mana ni terjadi. Bukan kah taanah ni LKPP punya dulu? Oh- LKPP kena paksa jual ke satu pihak, pihak ini yang jual ke IOI.

You tengok pula Berjaya Resort di Tioman. Ini dulu LKPP juga yang punya. Apa pasal LKPP jual ke Berjaya. It's the same modus operandi , kata Dato Rahim Bakar.

What's wrong with UMNO sekarang? You ada so many fronts to lawan. Tekanan Islam, pressure dari jenerasi muda, dari UMNO warlords,. Dalam keadaan begini, you perlu ketegasan. Don't compromise.

Saya nak beritau you satu wisdom yang saya sendiri belajar dari Hussein Onn. You tahu, dia ini bekas askar. Penuh disiplin dan ada ilmu ketenteraan. Dia kata pada saya- Rahim, you remember this- you want to go into battle, don't open up so many fronts.

Itulah beberapa perkara yang saya dapat ingat dari perbualan saya dengan Dato Rahim Bakar. Setelah bersalaman dan berassalamualaikum, kami pun beredar dari rumah Wan Iqbal. Rahim Bakar drove off in his trusted old Benz with the number plate 55. Alfatihah- semoga Allah mencucuri Rahmat ke atas roh nya.

http://sakmongkol.blogspot.com/2009/09/dato-rahim-bakar-dalam-kenangan.html

Acong

JOHAN JAAFAR: Integrity was former Pahang MB's middle name
Saturday, 26 September 2009 13:43

Rahim made his name as a man of principle. He was a menteri besar who said no to his ruler. He was the MB of Pahang for hardly three years (1978 to 1981) but he made his mark as a no-nonsense leader. When things worsened with the palace, he was told to leave in November 1981.


By Johan Jaafar, NST

WE were the "crazy farmers" of Sungai Lembing and Gambang, Pahang; two gentlemen venturing into big- time farming with hardly any knowledge and expertise back in 2002.

He was trying his luck cultivating padi with his own money and I was growing Cavendish (pisang montel) for Singapore investors. He dug huge ponds and planted padi; I nurtured bananas from tissue culture. When it rained, his padi was submerged.

When it flooded, the whole area was a sea of water. In my case, growing bananas in an area where the soil was unsuitable and the land largely sandy was like attempting to grow rubber trees in a desert. But to us, farming was fun.

We soldiered on, most of the time losing money, but we learnt precious lessons along the way. He gave up planting padi eventually and grew oil palm on the land. I did remarkably well, but gave up when we couldn't find the right acreage to be economical.

Datuk Abdul Rahim Abu Bakar or Rahim Bakar (or known in his village, Beserah near Kuantan as Yusof) loved to be a contrarian. Why plant padi when he could have tried something else? He wanted to prove that padi growing could be a successful venture even without government help and subsidy. Prior to that he lost money in bamboo cultivation. It was too late to realise that the kind of bamboo planted successfully in Taiwan did not have the desired qualities to be made into chopsticks when grown in Janda Baik. A few years ago, he took goat-rearing seriously. He built goat houses from good quality logs (among them cengal and keruing) found in his farm. We joked about his goats being more fortunate than most humans.

Rahim made his name as a man of principle. He was a menteri besar who said no to his ruler. He was the MB of Pahang for hardly three years (1978 to 1981) but he made his mark as a no-nonsense leader. When things worsened with the palace, he was told to leave in November 1981.

Rahim was later appointed deputy energy, telecommunications and posts minister after his "sabbatical" to the United States. Later, he was involved in the tussle within Umno. He supported Team B, but never left Umno like many of his friends. His "rehabilitation" took a long time. He never fully recovered politically from the aftermath of 1987. Yet, Umno members did not really forget him. Even as an outsider and without any position in the government, he won a supreme council seat for two terms in the 1990s.

Rahim was appointed chairman of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in November 1986. When he left in 2002, he made history as the longest-serving chairman of the institution: 16 years. I was a junior officer with DBP when he came in. He "discovered" me and gave me a chance to prove my worth.

When I was head of the magazine division and also its chief editor, Rahim was my pillar of support. When we launched the expensive investigative reporting into the Nadrah (Maria Hertogh) series, Rahim was instrumental in green-lighting the project.

The Nadrah stories we ran from February to May 1989 made Dewan Masyarakat, a magazine published by DBP, a massive hit among the Malay populace. When the Nadrah issue was brought up in one of the supreme council meetings ("reopening old wounds" was the reason), he defended us ferociously.

When I was promoted to head of general publishing shortly after, Rahim wanted me to publish great and memorable titles. When he heard that a fellow Pahangian, who was one of the last surviving members of the 1930s generation of writers, was ill, he made us drive to Kuala Lipis to extend financial help.

Ahmad Kotot, a little-known writer, was a pioneer of the modern Malay novel. His Hikayat Percintaan Kasih Kemudaan published in 1927 helped redefine the genre.

He was more than a chairman to us. He was a father, mentor and protector. He came to the office like the staff, at 8am sharp. His signature car, a Mercedes Benz SLC280 bearing the number plate CQ55, was parked at the entrance. He called it Old Faithful. He loved the car and its engine is in good condition to this day.

I left DBP to join the Utusan Melayu group in 1992. He was still chairman of DBP when I left six years later (1998). We lost contact with each other when I was in the "wilderness". We met again in 2002. He was starting his padi farm and I had my misadventures growing bananas in Lenga, Muar, and was venturing into vegetable horticulture near Segamat.

He made himself useful in many ways. It was Rahim who came out with the idea to modernise the collection of zakat (tithe). He founded Pusat Pungutan Zakat (PPZ) for Wilayah Persekutuan in 1990. Zakat collection had been in disarray. PPZ was the first computerised, integrated zakat collection centre in the world.

Before PPZ, the collection was hardly RM5 million, PPZ now handles RM150 million in zakat a year. Together with his capable sidekick, Datuk Mohd Dahan Abdul Latiff, who was the general manager until 2003, PPZ was the pride of Muslims in Kuala Lumpur.

PPZ's success was replicated in many states. We teased him for being so honest. Had he taken a stake in PPZ, he would have been a very rich man. He was its chairman until 2005. "I do it for God," he told us. That was typical of Rahim.

He became chairman of the ailing Shamelin Holdings in 1991. He nurtured it to good health. He was chairman of Angkasa, a post he would not have contested had Royal Professor Ungku Aziz decided to contest. He had a lot of respect for the man. But he reserved his unkind remarks for the corrupt, the unprincipled and the unscrupulous. Rahim died last Thursday while waiting to break his fast.

He will be remembered as an indefatigable crusader against corruption and bad governance. In fact, integrity was his middle name.

jebat_malang

nice info TT.... Al Fatihah utk arwah...

aw76

a good read. many thanks to the contributors for the effort.

if what is written is true, i hope and pray that the state and country (plus the whole world) be blessed with more of leader such as Abdul Rahim. God knows we need it badly.

For God and Country.