Rabu, 2 Ogos 2017

Tun Abdul Razak - The Hidden Story


First, you tried to damage his reputation, then his wife, then his father, then his children, and when that all failed, you're targeting his father again. When you tried to damage the rest, I don't care. That's not my problem but his. But when you tried to damage his father's, I care. 

Yes, I'm talking about our PM, DS Najib Tun Razak. I don't care if you all spread lies about him or his family, because they have yet to prove themselves in my eyes. But when you try to spread half-truths about Tun Abdul Razak, that I can't accept.



What Half-truths? 
 
Look at this photo. This is a photo of young Tun Abdul Razak when he joined Malayan Civil Service, then subjugated under Japanese Imperial Army. With this photo, you are trying to imply that the young Tun Abdul Razak as ass-kissers whose scared of death and willingly accepted foreign subjugation. 

Tun Abdul Razak in Japanese Military uniform. If it was true he was a traitor, he would have ensured this part of history be hidden forever when he was the PM.
Yes, the photo is not manipulated. You can find this photo in many period books, discussing of the era. If this photo is so damaging, why did not Tun Abdul Razak have it destroyed when he was the PM? For the truth of his involvement is far more patriotic than even you or me can be.
 
Enter Young Abdul 'Cloak-and-Dagger' Razak
 
Second World War came when young Abdul Razak was studying in Singapore at Stamford Raffles College. With his study disrupted, he was called to return to Kuantan.
 
The war was not kind. He saw many atrocities made in the name of patriotism. He had probably too came across victims or next-of-kins of Sook Ching massacre.
 
By the time he reached Kuantan, news of young men being grabbed to be forced labour to Siam has probably reached Kuantan.
 
In the Malayan Civil Service, Abdul Razak met up with Yeop Mahidin Bin Mohamad Shariff. Yeop Mahidin was a civil servant, a magistrate to be exact. He had wanted to serve his country, but his headmaster denied him his dream to join Malay Regiment. 
 
When the war broke out, Yeop Mahidin was quick to form a resistance force he named as Askar Wataniah Pahang. The unit was formed with His Majesty Sultan Abu Bakar's consent. 
 
In Force 136 colours
Seeing Abdul Razak's enthusiasm to serve his country, Yeop Mahidin took him under his tutelage, and instructed him to join the Malayan Civil Service to be eyes and ears for the Wataniah. 
 
Yeop Mahidin in his later years. He is credited to be founder of Territorial Army.
In Malayan Civil Service
 
Young Abdul Razak was posted back to Pahang by the Japanese administration. His impeccable character made them looking up to him and appointed him as an assistant at the  District Officer.
 
While in the jungles of Pahang, Yeop Mahidin had secretly managed to recruit more than 200 Malay for resistance force (his identity as founder of Wataniah was not known by his men as he operated via proxy).
 
They were not able to get much help as Force 136 had initially distrusted them; the action of Ibrahim Yaacob and several members of Kesatuan Melayu Muda in helping Japanese forces in Malaya had caused the British to distrust Malays. So serious was the distrust that after Sook Ching Incident, Japanese Administration had actually leaned towards favouring Chinese. One of the first act by the Japanese was to split out Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Perlis from Malaya and transferred the ownership to Siam as a reward to Siam for allowing Japanese forces to land in Singgora.
 
As an Assistant District Officer, Abdul Razak had to coordinate a lot of activities with the Japanese Imperial forces. He made friends with several of them.
 
In the mean time, the Wataniah forces viewed Abdul Razak as a traitor as he was working with the Japanese.
 
Wataniah as Part of Force 136
 
Wataniah was finally part of the fold of Force 136 when the British began sufficiently trust Malays to fight the Japanese. This was probably due to the fact British realised that whether they like it or not, more than half of Malaya's population were Malay. 
 
Holes in the Cover
 
When Wataniah's resistance activities began to bite the Japanese Occupation force, they began to suspect the ranks of Malayan Civil Service who had handled details of Japanese Forces movement. In one of the attacks done by Wataniah, a 20-men squad was able to ambush and killed 30 Japanese soldiers.
 
One of the Japanese soldiers was a friend to Yeop Mahidin, who was then at his post as a Magistrate. Not wanting Yeop Mahidin to be arrested (he did not know that Yeop Mahidin was the head of Wataniah), he told Yeop Mahidin to be careful of Abdul Razak. 
 
Yeop Mahidin quickly set out a plan (probably via Ghazali Shafie, future Malaysian Foreign Minister) that involved having Abdul Razak to be 'kidnapped' by Wataniah, ostensibly to have him executed. 
 
The 'kidnapping' rouse was a success, as the Wataniah men did not know Abdul Razak was their agent and their mission was a rescue mission. It was only when Abdul Razak exited the Commandant's camp they realised he was one of theirs. 
 

Rescue of Sultan Abu Bakar
 
Rumours of Japanese surrender began to spread. MPAJA's activities began to be active and Wataniah had received rumours that MPAJA was planning to kidnap the Sultan. 
 
When Abdul Razak and his team arrived to collect the Sultan, his men found leaflets left by the Japanese proclaiming that Chinese murderers had killed the Sultan. Though seething with anger, he instructed his men to collect and destroy all the leaflets. His action had probably saved the Chinese of Kuantan from being summarily executed by Malays who were angered to the loss of their Sultan. 
 
The Sultan was later found to be safe and sound. Abdul Razak had not only saved the Sultan, but also stopped Malays from falling into Japanese forces' divide and conquer tricks.


Tun Razak's Exploit - Far Braver than you or me
 
Being a soldier fighting for your homeland is one thing. But being a spy in your own country that had been occupied by the enemy and working with the enemy so you can get critical information back for your people, that's bravery.


If you, the keyboard warriors who had never faced any danger other than having a paper cut on the finger, try to defame him so people will hate his son, you are one sick person.
 

PS: I've seen many people claiming the Govt hide the true history so they can portray themselves favourably. The truth is, there's too many things in history to be fit into our syllabus. This for example is one.
 


Source:
Cheah Boon Kheng, Red Star Over Malaya - Resistance and Social Conflict During and After Japanese Occupation.
Keat Gin, Ooi, Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, From Angkor Watt to East Asia.
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