KUALA LUMPUR – An outstanding economist; a great scholar; a truly selfless public intellectual – these were the words Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin used as he paid homage to the late Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz Ungku Abdul Hamid.
Speaking via a pre-recorded video for Universiti Malaya’s (UM) tribute ceremony today to honour the education and economics icon, he noted how Ungku Abdul Aziz – who was fondly known as Pak Ungku – had both conducted pioneering studies as well as contributed important ideas to the development of the country.
Among others, Muhyiddin pointed out that Ungku Abdul Aziz had a deep understanding of rural poverty and came up with solutions based on field research where he immersed himself in the day-to-day lives of the rural folk.
“He ingeniously developed the sarong index to measure rural poverty then, which was one of his most important contributions,” he said.
“The index helped us to focus our attention on the need to eradicate poverty – and indeed, Malaysia has since managed to reduce poverty tremendously.”
The sarong index is a measurement of rural Malay poverty introduced by Ungku Abdul Aziz, where the number of sarongs in a household is divided with the number of dwellers. The smaller the number, the greater the poverty, with an index of less than one indicating extreme poverty.
Ungku Abdul Aziz – who held the distinction of being the first Malaysian and longest-serving vice-chancellor of UM, as well as the first Malay economist – died on December 15 last year at the age of 98. He was also the only person to be accorded the status of royal professor in the country.
Muhyiddin said the numerous awards Ungku Abdul Aziz received throughout his career, both locally and abroad, testify his contributions to the country and the economy.
Other than the sarong index, Muhyiddin said among his other prominent contributions were the establishment of Lembaga Tabung Haji and the National Cooperatives Movement.
“Pak Ungku stamped his mark as a truly public intellectual, whose intelligence brought about real socioeconomic improvements to this country,” he said.
Muhyiddin, who was himself a student of Ungku Abdul Aziz in the 1960s, said it was an honour to have been educated by such a great man, who oriented UM’s focus from one that was inherited from the colonial era to one that is for the nations, covering all major issues.
“He paved the way for graduates to be citizens who would propel the country to greater heights, while at the same time conscious of their history, culture and identity,” he said.
“On behalf of the government, I would like to express my highest gratitude to Ungku Abdul Aziz for the development of our nation.
“His lived achievement should encourage us to undertake more serious studies on poverty eradication and device workable strategies to overcome problems of poverty, especially as we endeavour to recover from the impact of Covid-19.” – The Vibes, March 8, 2021
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