#16: Ungku Aziz 92th Birthday

Dear memory,

Last week I read this one article in newspaper, it was an interview between the newspaper with Professor Diraja Ungku Aziz. Apparently, 28 January 2014 marked the 92th birthday of the renowned economist and academician.

Prof Ungku talked about so many issues in that article, some of which I'd really like to quote or share in this post.

• Melayu tak mungkin bersatu...Penyatuan Melayu hanya angan-angan..Orang Melayu macam Orang Arab payah bersatu.. Tak seperti orang Jepun yang sentiasa bersatu...Melayu  dari segi sejarahnya Melayu dijajah oleh pelbagai bangsa, selain sifat orang Melayu itu sendiri yang suka tikam belakang dan dengki..Cumanya, kalau orang Melayu itu pandai, mereka akan lebih bersatu...

• Prof Ungku juga kongsikan habit beliau yang tak makan gua dan makanan segera, sayur pula yang mentah rather than yg bergoreng or berminyak. Itu rahsia kesihatan beliau selain regular exercise. Beliau turut menegur diet orang Malaysia yang tidak sihat dan malas bersenam.. Beliau berpesan agar kita ambil berat pasal diet dan kesihatan dari sekarang supaya tidak hadapi pelbagai masalah kesihatan bila umur mencecah 40 nanti.

• Dan antara pesan beliau yang kurasakan paling penting ialah bagaimana his daughter described him as man guided by values. Fortify yourself with accumulation of knowledge. Develop thinking skills. Always aim to excel and not be distracted by desire to accumulate wealth or power.

• Prof Ungku juga shared his experieced of how he dislike berhutang, according to him, if you could not afford to buy something, hold it until you do, otherwise, just dont buy it. As a result, Prof Ungku tak pernah dibelenggu hutang walau seminit pun dalam hidupnya. Diawal kehidupannya pun beliau hanya membeli kereta terpakai, itu pun pabila sudah punya wang. Jika tidak, beliau tak akan membelinya.

But one thing I am truly amazed or rather inspired by him, is his reading habit. He likes to read. He would rather spend money on books than other stuff. He even bought one of his house just to keep the collection of his books since the day he was a student! About 4 thousands books he has until now!

Membaca ini tersangatlah bagus. Its a known fact. Tak rugi banyak membaca ni. One thing I regret about my past is that, I dont read that much when I was student. When we talk about reading, its not those cartoons or comics books, but more of a serious stuff kind of books. 

Even the first ayat dalam Al Quran pun Allah suruh BACA. Itu bukan saja-saja. Bila Allah suruh tu maksudnya its something big. Membaca sharpens your thinking skills, makes you critical. Like what they say, Brain, if you dont use, you're gonna lose it. Tapi budaya orang-orang muda sekarang ni lebih sukar tengok movie, or video rather than reading. Otak jadi tumpul, masa terbuang.

Jadikanlah buku itu teman, dengan membaca engkau akan tahu. Knowledge and information is power Engkau akan merasa kehidupan di tempat yang kau tak pernah jejak hanya dengan membaca.

Salah satu azam aku tahun ini juga adalah untuk membanyakkan membaca. You should too.


p/s: Banyak beza orang yang banyak membaca and orang yang tak membaca. Dari cara kita berbicara dah tahu habit membaca seorang. Ini yang aku kutip dari pengalaman aku semasa bekerja. Itu juga cara boss kenal staff dia banyak membaca atau malas membaca