Musa Hitam a product of the Malaysian dream – Sultan Nazrin Shah
Musa has stood by his principles and he has done so with dignity. He relinquished his position as deputy prime minister because he fundamentally disagreed with policy directions his principles would not allow him to accept,” the sultan said when launching Musa’s book titled ‘Frankly Speaking’, here, today.
Malaysia Outlook
Musa Hitam who is a product of “the Malaysian dream”, has stood like a rock, and paid the price for it when he resigned as deputy prime minister for what he believed in.
Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah said Musa, 82, who was “a hair’s breadth away from becoming the fifth prime minister of Malaysia”, had walked away from the post.
“Musa has stood by his principles and he has done so with dignity. He relinquished his position as deputy prime minister because he fundamentally disagreed with policy directions his principles would not allow him to accept,” the sultan said when launching Musa’s book titled ‘Frankly Speaking’, here, today.
Sultan Nazrin Shah said as a son of a meter reader and the only one of the 10 siblings that made it to university, Musa was the man in waiting, and had he waited long enough, standing by while the principles he cherished were cast aside, Musa would have eventually occupied the top political post in the country.
“Instead, he stood for what he believed in and resigned,” the sultan said on Musa resigning from the deputy prime minister post on March 16, 1986 after holding it since July 18, 1981. Musa was only 52 years old at that time.
Sultan Nazrin Shah said: “The true test is when one has to take a stand and speak up for one’s principles.”
He also said that Musa stood out among the handful who had left an ineradicable mark on the country he loved with a passion.
“By putting his experiences in print, Musa walks us through a history many of us have forgotten and perhaps are unaware of. He observes that despite our physical progress as a nation, the challenges – from the time of pre-independence – remain the same, if not more dire,” the sultan said.
