Zahid the man of religion

IT MAY have come as a surprise to some but not Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, when he was appointed as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department with the responsibility of managing religious affairs.

Zahid believed his religious background was a factor in Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi selecting him for the task.

Zahid’s parents Raden Ahmad Tarmidzi Raden Abdul Fattah and Tuminah Abdul Jalil were adamant in ensuring he had a good religious upbringing. Born in Bagan Datoh, Perak, on Jan 4, 1953, he pursued his secondary school education in a religious school in Ipoh – SMA Izuddin Shah.

Zahid: Believes that Abdullah picked him because of his ability to organise and promotemajor Islamic religious activities

As a matter of fact Zahid’s grandfather Raden Ahmad, who was born in Jogjyakarta in Indonesia, was a mudir or director of a tahfiz (Quran-reading) school in Bagan Datoh and also taught at religious schools and mosques there.

“My father also studied religion and was well-liked by Syeikh Abdullah Fahim, who was the mudir of Madrasah Idrisiah in Kuala Kangsar.

“Syeikh Abdullah, who is the Prime Minister’s grandfather, was later appointed as the Penang mufti and brought my father along to study at a madrasah in Kepala Batas near his home,” he added.

Zahid said it was not a problem for him whether people categorised him as a “modernist Muslim” or a “conservative.”

“People also know that I’m an avid biker, a sort of person who likes the rugged life.

“I have also never put on an image of someone who is seen to be religious, like wearing a kopiah (skullcap), growing a beard and putting on a jubah (robe).

“But Pak Lah has recognised my contribution to Umno as well as in various religious organisations and I will do my best,” said Zahid, who is the chairman of the Superbikers Association of Malaysia (SAM).

He escaped serious injuries while leading a SAM convoy during the “Tour de Indonesia” motorcycle expedition last year.

Zahid believed that among the things that caught Abdullah's eye was his ability to organise and promote major Islamic religious activities, including the special meeting between the Prime Minister and state muftis, and a national imam conference.

The Bagan Datoh MP is also the chairman of the Hadhari Foundation and Hadhari secretariat and chair of the Dewan Amal Islam Hadhari, which is an umbrella organisation to help unite the country’s Muslim NGOs.

On his plans as Minister in charge of Religious Affairs, Zahid said he would give more input to strengthen the moderate Islam approach and improving relations with religious leaders in the country.

Zahid joined Umno in 1976 soon after graduating from Universiti Malaya. He said his uncle Ustaz Raden Zabidi Abdul Fatah, an Umno branch leader, was the one who talked him into it.

“My uncle, who was a teacher to many muftis and kadis, actually passed me an Umno membership form which I duly signed,” he added.

Since then , the 55-year-old Umno supreme council member has had his fair share of political turmoil.

His star began to shine when Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak appointed him as his political secretary in 1987 while Zahid was the youth head of the Bagan Datoh Umno division.

He rose quickly to become the Umno Youth chief. His career, however, stalled when he was detained under the Internal Security Act, albeit for only 10 days, during the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led reformasi campaign in 1998.

“I don’t deny that I’m friends with Anwar but I was never influenced by him. I never served under him.

“I don’t blame Tun (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) for detaining me under the ISA. Maybe he got feedback from people who thought I was a threat at that particular time,” he added.

Zahid’s political resurrection began in the 2000 Umno elections when he received the fourth highest number of votes in the contest for a supreme council seat. In 2004, he obtained the second highest number of votes to retain his seat comfortably.

Zahid has indeed come a long way from the boy who once sold ice-cream in primary school to learn to be self-sufficient and later helped in the school canteen as a teenager to earn extra pocket money.

But his determination to be the best that he can has always stood him in good stead and it is this quality that will serve him well as a full-fledged Minister.