ABDUL RAZAK AHMAD (1939-2007): A Determined Socialist Fighter

Hassan Karim*

Abdul Razak Ahmad was born in Johor Bahru on 6 June 1939. He passed away at the age of 68 on 12 August 2007. He attended primary school at Sekolah Ayer Molek, Johor Bahru before continuing to secondary school at English College, Johor Bahru (now known as Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar), and furthered his studies in law at the University of Singapore.

As president of the University Socialist Club in the 1966-1967 academic year, Abdul Razak was accused of inciting the students of the University of Singapore against the government in 1966. He was then sitting for the Bachelor of Law examinations, which he was allowed to finish. He was deported, and banned from entering Singapore. 

Abdul Razak Ahmad was born to an influential and well-known family. His grandfather, Tuan Haji Ariffin who was close to Razak, was an engineer involved in the construction of a road from Johor Bahru to Mersing. Tuan Haji Ariffin was an early leader of Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) in Johor. Abdul Razak’s paternal uncle, Taib Andak was an early FELDA chairman who was close to Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak. 

Razak returned to Johor and served as Assistant Director of the Land and Mines Office (PTG) during which time he came to understand the land issues in Johor and became well-versed in land law.

As Assistant Director of the Land and Mines Office in Johor, Razak was appointed the Legal Counsel to FELDA which at the time was led by Musa Hitam.

When Musa Hitam entered politics, UMNO and government, he approached Razak Ahmad to be his political secretary. Razak declined the offer. He was drawn more towards the plight of the poor who had been neglected and marginalised. He became an important opposition figure under three consecutive Chief Ministers of Johor: Othman Saat, Ajib Ahmad and Muhyiddin Yassin. Razak was active in the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) in Johor and also at the national level.

After leaving FELDA, Razak Ahmad entered legal practice with Gurdial Singh Nijar and Ong Ban Chai. A people’s lawyer and PRM leader, Razak Ahmad fought land cases involving ordinary, impoverished people. Among these was a case involving land worked on by poor fishermen in Sekakap, Mersing which was however awarded by the Government of Johor under Mentri Besar Othman Saat to political leaders from UMNO.

Following the September 1974 General Election which the Johor government won with a landslide, Abdul Razak Ahmad struggled on behalf of urban squatters in Tasek Utara, Johor Bahru who had been evicted from their homes. As many as 200 squatters whose homes were demolished, camped out in tents in front of the Mentri Besar’s office in Bukit Timbalan, Johor Bahru for several days.

As many as 83 of these urban squatters of Tasek Utara were detained by the police and charged at the Johor Bahru Magistrate Court. Abdul Razak Ahmad acted as their defence lawyer. 

As a result of his involvement in the Tasek Utara affair, Abdul Razak was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for two months in 1975. On his release, he was issued with a Home Restriction Order which prohibited him from leaving Johor Bahru. 

Abdul Razak Ahmad was a key PRM leader. He was the Deputy President when PRM was led by Dr. Syed Husin Ali as President. Before that, he held the post of Assistant Chairman of PRM following the death of Datuk Kampo Radjo.

When PRM merged with the Parti Keadilan Nasional (PKN) to form the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Abdul Razak Ahmad was a critical force on the PRM side together with Dr Syed Husin Ali, Dr Sanusi Osman and Rustam A. Sani. He was then appointed the inaugural Chairman for the state of Johor until his death.

Abdul Razak Ahmad cared greatly about the environment. He headed a Save the Tebrau Straits campaign. Towards the end of the 1980s, Johor Chief Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was obsessed with developing a Floating City on the Tebrau Straits. Abdul Razak and the PRM together with several NGOs opposed the project that would pollute the narrow straits and further separate Johor from Singapore.

Razak launched a campaign and agitations. In 1995 he filed a suit against the Johor Bahru City Council (MBJB) at the High Court of Johor Bahru. Razak acted as Plaintiff based on his being a Johor Bahru resident and a taxpayer. The Abdul Razak Ahmad v. Majlis Bandaraya Johor Bahru case received widespread coverage. Razak lost the case, however, and was forced to pay damages to MBJB. The Chief Justice of Johor Bahru, Abdul Malik Ishak called him “a trouble maker, a maverick, of a sort to stir trouble.”

As it turned out, Muhyiddin Yassin’s Floating City project was a total failure. The steel reinforcements in concrete, remnants of an unfinished project that could have polluted the sea, and an empty, uninhabited white elephant facing the Grand Palace remains. 

Abdul Razak Ahmad was also a strong advocate of the Palestinian people’s struggle. The older generation may remember that in 1987 he performed a spectacular political stunt by lying flat over the railway tracks at the Johor Bahru Railway Station to obstruct the passage of trains heading to Singapore. His act was a protest against the visit of the Israeli president, Chaim Herzog to Singapore.

Usman Awang, the National Laureate who was also President of the Malaysia-Palestine Solidarity Association wrote about Razak Ahmad’s protest against the Israeli president’s visit in the Dewan Masyarakat magazine in appreciation for Abdul Razak Ahmad’s contribution to the Palestinian cause, Usman Awang appeared at the PRM National Congress Inauguration Night in Skudai Kiri, Johor Bahru as a guest-of-honour.

When Usman Awang was chosen to be the National Laureate, Abdul Razak Ahmad together with PRM youth members staged a play entitled, “Death of a Warrior (Jebat)”, one of Usman Awang’s works, at the Johor Bahru Diamond Jubilee Hall. Usman Awang attended as a special guest that evening and the venue was packed.

Abdul Razak Ahmad was tireless and unwavering in championing the people’s interests in elections. He contested in his first election in 1974, and was a PRM candidate in every subsequent general election. He contested in the federal constituencies of Johor Bahru, Pulai, Gelang Patah and Pasir Gudang.

In 1986 Razak contested in the Tanjung Puteri state constituency, challenging the UMNO/Barisan Nasional candidate Yunos Sulaiman. Razak lost to a majority of about 500 votes. However, there was a breach of the regulations and election laws by an official of the Election Commission (SPR) who brought the polling box from the polling station to his home before proceeding to the counting centre. Abdul Razak submitted an election petition to the SPR. The Johor Bahru High Court ruled that the Tanjung Puteri election results were compromised and a by-election would be held. Razak contested as the PRM candidate. He lost by 31 votes. 

As a consequence of the Tanjung Puteri by-election, the SPR amended the vote counting system. Vote-counting was no longer to be held in one place, but carried out at the individual polling stations. 

Abdul Razak Ahmad was the most suitable political leader for a multi-racial political party such as the PRM. His loyal supporters were of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. He also offered shelter to J. B Jeyaratnam and Tan Liang Hong of Singapore’s opposition Workers’ Party when they sought refuge in Johor. 

Abdul Razak Ahmad was respected by friends and foes. While they might have disagreed with his left-leaning political principles, it was hard for them not to admire his character and personality. A large portrait in a gold-coloured frame of Abdul Razak and Sultan Iskandar of Johor had hung in the Abd Razak Ahmad & Associates office at the Malayan Banking Building on Jalan Ibrahim, Johor Bahru. The two had a close relationship. 

The life history of Abdul Razak Ahmad is indeed colourful. He drew spiritual strength from the support of his wife, Hajah Kintan Binti Haji Mohd Amin. Razak had four children, two sons and two daughters: Dzulkarnain-Iriawan, Juliana, Azalina and Tik (a pet-name). Azalina, the third child, followed her father’s footsteps and became a lawyer. She received her Bachelor of Laws in the United Kingdom. Abdul Razak Ahmad also had several grandchildren before he passed away.

He led a life of merit. 

*Hassan Karim (born 1951) from the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) and subsequently the People’s Justice Party (PKR) has served as a Member of Parliament for Pasir Gudang, Johor since 2018. He was a student activist in the University of Malaya in the mid-1970s, and obtained his law degree from the University of London.