Tun Abdul Razak: Committed to honesty, sincerity

1 Tun Rahah and Tun Razak with their sons, Najib (second right) and Ahmad Johari. — Photo from Tun Razak: Profile Of A Patriot by Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin2 Najib sharing personal anecdotes about his father at the interview with RTM reporter Shahril Sarapudin. — Photo: Handout

Two words that cropped up often in speeches made by Malaysia’s second prime minister are apt descriptions of the man called the ‘Father of Development’.

THERE is a Malay saying, “Gajah mati meninggalkan tulang, harimau mati meninggalkan belang, manusia mati meninggalkan nama”, which illustrates how a person’s deeds live on. In English, the saying goes that while the elephant dies leaving its tusks and the tiger its stripes, men die leaving behind their name and reputation.