WHEN Toh Puan Dr Aishah Ong gave birth to her first child, Ariffin, her husband, the late Tun Omar Ong Yoke Lin, had telephoned then-prime minister and family friend, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, to share the good news.
“He immediately sent his wife (Toh Puan Rahah Mohd Noah), who was the first person to visit me after I delivered my firstborn. He really cared for us. He even performed the belah mulut (blessing) rite for Ariffin,” said the 72-year-old Universiti Malaya pro-chancellor.
“I did not know him personally, but I was close to Rahah and I could see that Razak was a very loving husband. He was always pulling her leg and making her giggle.”
Omar and Aishah had a special relationship with Razak and Rahah. In fact, Razak was the witness at their akad nikah.
“So generous were Razak and Rahah, that they even paid for the wedding reception expenses, as a gift to the couple,” reads a passage from the book, Fulfilling a Legacy: Tun Razak Foundation.
Aishah described the second prime minister as a soft-spoken leader, who cared for the country and made sure that the rural poor would not have less than those in urban areas. She said he was truly the country’s “Father of development”.
“The times that we had dined together during official or private functions, I never heard Razak raise his voice.
“When he launched the New Economic Policy, he believed that education was a social equaliser that would improve the lives of Malays, who were then the poorest in the country.
“When the British left the country, the population was left in a mess — the result of the colonialists’ divide-and-rule policy. Razak did a lot to push for national unity,” she said.
Aishah, who has been dedicating her life to social work since the 1970s, was born into a successful tin-mining family here. She was sent to a boarding school in England in 1958, where she studied medicine.
“I am giving back what I have received,” she was quoted as saying in the Tun Razak Foundation book, on why she chose philanthropy as her life’s work.
On returning to Malaysia after studying and working in England for 15 years, she served in the Health Ministry for three years and, during that period, got
married to Omar, who was one
of the founding members of
the Malaysian Chinese Association and a former cabinet minister.
Her contributions to social and charitable causes have inspired many and granted her a long list of accolades and made for an il- lustrious resume, yet her media appearances have been few and far between.
The mother of three and grandmother of eight has been serving in the Welfare Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Bakti) since 1977 and now chairs the association’s welfare committee.
She is the only woman on the Tun Razak Foundation’s board of trustees and is honoured to be given the opportunity to help preserve Razak’s legacy.
“Razak’s death in 1976 was a huge loss to the nation and it came as a complete shock, because no one, except his doctor in England, knew he was suffering from leukaemia.
“So great was his love for Rahah that she did not know her husband was terribly ill. He wanted to ensure that he only shared fond memories with her,” she said, adding that Razak died a day after her late husband visited him in London.
Aishah said Razak began his tireless efforts to help the poor, especially in the rural areas, when he was deputy prime minister.
She said Tunku Abdul Rahman Al-Haj once remarked that he was the happiest prime minister in the world because he had a deputy who did all the work.
She said Razak spent a lot of time away from his wife and children to develop the country.
“Razak was the one who built the foundation of the country that has eliminated poverty through the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara).
“There are many photos of him walking around with his cane, visiting the rural poor. He worked very hard because he knew he was working against the clock, due to his illness.”
Razak was the National Operations Council director of operations during the emergency rule after race riots broke out on May 13, 1969.
“He could have been a dictator, but he gave up his powers to make way for the restoration of Parliament. He had great respect for the democratic process.”
Aishah said it was important to note that Razak’s foreign policy ensured that, despite being a young nation, Malaysia did not cower before either the Western or communist powers.
“He was a farsighted leader and a champion of democratic rule. He took the first parliamentary delegation to China to boost our diplomatic relations so that both countries could trade with each other.
“He realised that we could not rely so much on the British or
the Americans because we were too small to take sides, and if we did, we would be subjugated again.”
Aishah said the Tun Razak Foundation was set up because the country suffered a huge loss when Razak died, adding that it was essential that the next generation understood that Razak wanted Malaysians to uphold unity, rule of law and maintain peace and prosperity.
“Everybody, including the opposition, realised that he was a great leader, and this was why Parliament unanimously decided to set up a foundation in his memory to preserve his legacy.”
