“YOU can use ‘Allah’ anytime you want. No problem. Just use it with respect. I will not tell you how to practise your religion. I am a Muslim and I try to be a good one. But I will not tell my Christian friends how to worship. It is their business,” Tan Sri Adenan Satem (Tok Nan).
The above statement is just one of many that firmly cemented Tok Nan’s place in the hearts and minds of Sarawakians and of those from outside the state.
Flashback to the simmering December of 2015 where peninsular Malaysia fractured and buckled under the pressures of intolerant religious agendas and opportunistic political leaders.
Tok Nan never had the time nor patience for people who were against Sarawakian values of peace and tolerance. He, with just a few simple words, firmly put the “Allah” word usage war-mongers in their place.
The past few years have not been kind to Malaysians. Allegations of widespread corruption continue to plague the credibility of the government.
Sadly, recent scandals like the arrest of the Rural and Regional Development Ministry secretary-general for graft didn’t provoke the outrage that was expected. Perhaps, Malaysians have already grown used to bad news. On top of these, the anemic global economy and disintegrating inter-racial relations have cast a pale light on the state of our nation.
This was why Tok Nan’s presence and leadership was profound. By being the undisputed champion of Sarawakian – and by extension, Malaysian – values, he was able to reignite hope in the hearts of his people.
It was not by mistake that Tok Nan led the state Barisan Nasional (BN) parties to a landslide victory in the 2015 Sarawak elections. Tok Nan captured the imagination of his people by his genuine concern for them and his strong resolve.
Tok Nan was a practical and logical man. He knew a strong command of English is needed for Sarawakians to forge ahead in this new challenging economic environment.
Not caring about the potential criticism and backlash, he announced that English would be an official state government language. Not just stopping there, he also threw his support behind the establishment and continued operations of English-medium schools.
Tok Nan emphasised that the Sarawak state government was prepared to throw support behind private and mission schools to pursue English-medium education and confirmed that there are already such schools which have been approved.
The late leader himself was a product of an English-medium missionary school – St Joseph’s Kuching – and it can be said Tok Nan had a special under-standing of the heritage and value of these schools.
However, it still required immense courage to defy decades of federal policy and risk diminishing his own (and party’s) political capital.
In line with his practicality and people centric leadership, he made moves to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), issued by independent Chinese schools in the state.
He was extraordinarily clear-minded and pragmatic in recognising the UEC as a move to stem braindrain rather than some ideological or political battle. He kept his politics away from matters of great pu-blic importance.
On personal politics and integrity, Tok Nan was also the first minister in Sarawak to ever sign an integrity pledge in which he committed not to award public contracts to his family members.
Building on these foundations, Tok Nan was strongly committed to eradicating corruption in his government. Under his administration, strong steps were taken to tackle illegal logging such as a directive issued by him against the renewal of the timber licenses and the opening of new logging sites in Sarawak.
Tan Sri Adenan Satem was an extraordinary leader who came to power too late and left us too early. But left us he has.
Now, it’s up to us to preserve his legacy and continue his work; it’s up to us to regain our state’s autonomy. It’s up to us to continue embodying the Sarawakian values Tok Nan was so fiercely protective of.