The Reluctant Politician

The Reluctant Politician by Ooi Kee Beng gave an interesting overview on the biography of Tun Dr Ismail and the Malaya/Malaysia's situation from 1950s to 1970s. The book also gave several exciting and surprising insights into some of Malaysia's policy. However, the most striking features of the book was Tun's opinion on the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the Special Position of Malays.

Tun Dr Ismail was one of the main character in the formation of NEP. It was correct to points out that Tun has foresee some of the problems pertaining the policy. Tun in his diary gave his perspective to the controversial policy by stating, "I said that we should aim at a target period of twenty years within which thirty percent of Malays would participate in commerce and industry and that it should be implemented in the context of a growing economy."(pg 256). From his perspective, it was clear that the participation is 30% of the Malay population as the target instead of 30% of equity as what was being implemented. Perhaps if his opinion was implemented, the outcome of NEP in 1990 could have been different.

Tun Dr Ismail also expressed his views in great details about the special position of Malays and the issue of the Bumiputera status. It was indeed surprising to understand that a Malay would view that the privileges as a handicap to the race. This reflected his foresight of problems that could surface in the future. Furthermore through his letter regarding this issue, it further reflected the true spirit of Malaysian's Malaysia in him, which he was said to be "the most non-racial, non-racist Malay" by his closed friend. However, it was surprising to observe his strong support of Malay language to be the national language despite his unconventional viewpoint about Bumiputera status.

The book also illustrated his illustrious career as politician, Minister of Home Affairs as well as the first Ambassador to the United Nations and United States. It was inspiring to understand problems and challenges that Malaya and later Malaysia encountered from the pre-independence to independence and into 1970s. It was clear, Tun was indeed a unique character who puts the country ahead of himself and his family. The book, through insights from Tun's memoirs and letters, also provided detail understanding of the country's history in addition to what was taught in secondary school history classes. It certainly has helped the reader to further understand the exact situation of the country during that period.

Indeed, the title was befitting to Tun Dr Ismail, the Reluctant Politician who was more a servant to the country than simply a politician.

P/S: This is my first book review. Appreciate comment and feedback for further improvement. Thank you.