PERTEMUAN PERTAMA SAYA SECARA BERSEMUKA DENGAN TUN DR MAHATHIR | MY FIRST FACE-TO-FACE ENCOUNTER WITH TUN DR MAHATHIR

Oleh Sajad Hussein Kamarally

Tahun 1974 merupakan satu zaman yang penuh dengan aktivisme pelajar dan ketegangan politik di Malaysia.

Pada suatu pagi dalam bulan September tahun itu, pelajar-pelajar Kolej MARA di Jalan Othman mengadakan demonstrasi membantah Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti 1971 (UUCA). Keadaan bertukar ganas apabila para pelajar bertindak merosakkan harta benda kolej. Polis terpaksa dipanggil untuk mengawal keadaan.

Pada waktu itu saya merupakan seorang wartawan muda di Bernama. Saya diarahkan membuat susulan mengenai insiden tersebut dan mendapatkan komen daripada Mahathir Mohamad yang ketika itu menjawat jawatan Menteri Pelajaran.

Kementerian Pelajaran ketika itu terletak di Federal House berhampiran kawasan yang kini dikenali sebagai Dataran Merdeka. Apabila saya tiba, beberapa wartawan dari akhbar lain sudah pun menunggu di luar.

Kami menunggu dengan penuh debaran.

Kemudian Tun Mahathir melangkah masuk dengan penuh yakin.

Walaupun gementar, saya memberanikan diri memperkenalkan diri.

“Saya dari Bernama,” kata saya perlahan sebelum bertanya sama ada beliau ingin memberi komen mengenai keadaan di Kolej MARA.

Di luar jangkaan saya, beliau tersenyum, memandang tepat ke arah saya lalu berkata dengan tenang:

“Jadi, apa yang awak mahu saya katakan?”

Sejenak saya terdiam dan terpaku. Saya begitu kagum berhadapan dengan tokoh besar tersebut.

Mungkin menyedari kegugupan saya, beliau mula bercakap dengan tenang mengenai langkah kerajaan untuk mengawal keadaan. Beliau menjelaskan secara terperinci apa yang berlaku dan mengapa kejadian itu tercetus.

Apa yang paling saya kagumi ialah ketenangan beliau.

Beliau tidak pernah meninggikan suara. Suasana begitu sunyi ketika para wartawan sibuk mencatat setiap butir percakapannya. Sebelum masuk ke pejabatnya, beliau menasihatkan para wartawan supaya berhati-hati dalam laporan kerana, katanya, “kita tidak mahu musuh negara mengambil kesempatan terhadap keadaan ini.”

Ketika itu Malaysia juga masih berdepan ancaman komunis dan soal keselamatan negara amat sensitif.

Beliau bercakap kira-kira sepuluh minit.

Bagi saya, ia merupakan satu pengalaman yang amat mengujakan — pertemuan pertama saya secara bersemuka dengan Tun Dr Mahathir.

Saya tidak menyangka ketika itu bahawa pertemuan tersebut menjadi permulaan kepada banyak lagi pertemuan dengan beliau sepanjang kerjaya saya.

Takdir menentukan bahawa selepas itu saya sering bertemu Tun Mahathir dalam sidang media, persidangan, forum, persidangan Parlimen dan pelbagai acara rasmi.

Satu tempoh yang amat saya ingati ialah pada tahun 1976 apabila beliau mempengerusikan Jawatankuasa Kabinet mengenai reformasi gaji perkhidmatan awam. Oleh kerana saya membuat liputan bidang buruh ketika itu, saya kerap berhubung dengan pihak kerajaan dan pemimpin kesatuan sekerja.

Saya bernasib baik kerana mempunyai hubungan baik dengan kedua-dua pihak.

Melalui tugas kewartawanan, saya mengenali pemimpin Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS), termasuk T. Narendran dan A. Ragunathan. Saya juga mempunyai hubungan dengan pegawai di Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam yang sering memberikan maklumat dalaman bagi membantu saya memahami perkembangan sebenar rundingan dan dasar kerajaan.

Akhirnya, Laporan Jawatankuasa Kabinet (CCR) dilaksanakan walaupun masih terdapat beberapa kelemahan dan anomali. Untuk menyelesaikan pelbagai rungutan, Tun Mahathir kemudian menubuhkan Tribunal Perkhidmatan Awam yang diketuai oleh Abdul Hamid Omar yang ketika itu merupakan Hakim Mahkamah Tinggi.

Sepanjang bertahun-tahun membuat liputan mengenai Tun Mahathir, saya sentiasa mendapati beliau seorang yang sopan, lemah lembut dan berfikir sebelum bercakap. Beliau tidak pernah memarahi atau memperlekehkan wartawan.

Bagi saya, beliau benar-benar seorang ahli politik budiman.

Satu lagi detik bermakna berlaku pada 2 September 2014 apabila Tun Mahathir melancarkan buku yang saya tulis mengenai tokoh CUEPACS, A. Ragunathan.

Buku setebal 173 muka surat bertajuk My Way itu merakamkan perkembangan hubungan perusahaan dalam perkhidmatan awam Malaysia dari tahun 1960-an hingga 1990-an. Buku tersebut turut menggambarkan pengorbanan dan perjuangan Ragunathan dalam memperjuangkan kebajikan penjawat awam.

Ketika itu Ragunathan telah menjalinkan hubungan kerja yang rapat dengan Tun Mahathir.

Semasa Krisis Kewangan Asia 1998, Ragunathan memainkan peranan penting membantu kerajaan menggalakkan penjawat awam bekerja lebih keras, mengurangkan tuntutan dan membantu negara pulih daripada kemelut ekonomi.

Dalam sektor swasta pula, kerajaan mendapatkan kerjasama Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), badan induk kesatuan sekerja sektor swasta. Pada ketika itu MTUC dipimpin oleh veteran kesatuan sekerja Zainal Rampak.

Beliau juga merupakan sahabat dan sumber penting saya.

Malah, disertasi Sarjana saya adalah mengenai sejarah hidup dan pencapaian beliau sebagai pemimpin kesatuan sekerja. Tan Sri Zainal Rampak mencipta sejarah sebagai pemimpin kesatuan sekerja pertama menerima gelaran Tan Sri daripada Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Beliau juga pernah menjadi Senator mewakili golongan pekerja.

Sepanjang kerjaya saya, saya berpeluang bekerja rapat dengan ramai pemimpin kesatuan sekerja sambil terus membuat liputan mengenai Tun Mahathir dalam pelbagai kesempatan.

Kini apabila dikenang kembali, saya menyedari bahawa pertemuan pertama pada tahun 1974 itu bukan sekadar tugasan wartawan biasa.

Ia sebenarnya merupakan permulaan kepada satu perjalanan profesional yang panjang yang memberi saya peluang menyaksikan sendiri pelbagai perkembangan penting politik, buruh dan pembangunan negara Malaysia moden.

MY FIRST FACE-TO-FACE ENCOUNTER WITH TUN DR MAHATHIR

By Sajad Hussein Kamarally

The year was 1974 — a period marked by strong student activism and political tension in Malaysia.

One morning in September that year, students at the MARA College in Jalan Othman staged a protest rally against the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA). The situation soon turned violent, with students going on a rampage and vandalising university property. Police were called in to calm the situation.

At that time, I was a young reporter with Bernama. I was instructed to follow up on the incident and obtain comments from Mahathir Mohamad, who was then serving as Education Minister.

The Ministry of Education was then housed at Federal House near what is today Dataran Merdeka. When I arrived, several reporters from other newspapers were already waiting outside.

We waited anxiously.

Then Tun Mahathir walked in confidently.

Although nervous, I gathered enough courage to introduce myself.

“I am from Bernama,” I said softly, before asking whether he could comment on the situation at the MARA College.

To my surprise, he smiled warmly, looked directly into my eyes and replied calmly:

“So, what do you want me to say?”

For a moment, I was speechless. I was in awe of such a towering personality.

Sensing my nervousness, he immediately put me at ease and began speaking calmly about the government’s plans to bring the situation under control. He explained in detail what had happened and why the unrest had occurred.

What struck me most was his composure.

He never raised his voice. There was pin-drop silence as reporters hurriedly took down notes while he spoke. Before entering his office, he advised journalists to report cautiously because, as he said, “we do not want to give the enemies of the nation any opportunity to exploit the situation.”

At that time, Malaysia was still facing threats from communist insurgents, and national stability was a sensitive matter.

He spoke for about ten minutes.

For me, it was an exhilarating experience — my very first face-to-face encounter with Tun Dr Mahathir.

Little did I know then that this would become a prelude to many future encounters with him over the decades.

As fate would have it, I later met Tun Mahathir on countless occasions during press conferences, parliamentary sittings, forums, conferences and official events.

One particularly memorable period was in 1976 when he chaired the Cabinet Committee on Salaries Reform for the civil service. Since I was covering the labour front at the time, I frequently interacted with both government officials and trade union leaders.

I was fortunate to have good contacts on both sides.

Through my reporting work, I came to know leaders of Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS), including prominent figures such as T. Narendran and A. Ragunathan. I also developed contacts within the Public Services Department, whose insights often gave me a clearer understanding of ongoing negotiations and policy developments.

Eventually, the Cabinet Committee Report (CCR) was implemented, although many anomalies still remained. To address grievances, Tun Mahathir later established a Public Services Tribunal headed by Abdul Hamid Omar, who was then a High Court judge.

Over the years, I continued covering Tun Mahathir in various capacities. In all my encounters with him, I consistently found him polite, soft-spoken and thoughtful. He always paused before answering questions. He never ridiculed or scolded reporters.

To me, he was very much a gentleman politician.

A particularly meaningful moment came on September 2, 2014, when Tun Mahathir launched a book I had authored on prominent CUEPACS leader A. Ragunathan.

The 173-page book, titled My Way, chronicled three decades of industrial relations development within Malaysia’s civil service from the 1960s through the 1990s. It documented the sacrifices and dedication of Ragunathan in fighting for the welfare and rights of civil servants.

By then, Ragunathan had forged a close working relationship with Tun Mahathir.

During the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis, Ragunathan played an important role in helping the government encourage civil servants to work harder, moderate demands and assist national recovery efforts during the economic turmoil.

Similarly, in the private sector, the government sought assistance from Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), the umbrella body representing private sector workers. At that time, MTUC was led by veteran trade unionist Zainal Rampak.

He too was one of my close contacts and friends.

In fact, my Master’s dissertation focused on his life history and achievements as a trade union leader. Tan Sri Zainal Rampak made history as the first trade unionist to receive the Tan Sri title from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He also served as a Senator representing workers’ interests.

Over the years, I had the privilege of working closely with many trade union leaders while also covering Tun Mahathir on numerous occasions.

Looking back today, I realise that my first encounter with him in 1974 was not merely a brief interview assignment. It was the beginning of a long professional journey that gave me a front-row seat to some of the most important political, labour and national developments in modern Malaysian history.