Man of mercy: When Anwar launched the Malaysia Madani ideological framework to accelerate the country’s development, one of the Cabinet members who put the concept into practice most prominently was the late Salahuddin (centre), seen here at the launch of one of the Rahmah initiatives. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
THIS brief article is a representation of my thoughts and feelings about the late Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, who passed away on July 23.
His passing is something that will remain in my mind – and I believe in the majority of Malaysians’ minds – because of his contributions to the nation.
When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim launched the Malaysia Madani ideological framework to accelerate the country’s development, one of the most prominent members of his Cabinet who put the concept into practice was Salahuddin.
As we all know, Malaysia Madani is aimed at making Malaysia a great nation based on high civilisational values. It is a values-based paradigm. And to make it a success not only do the people need to be involved, but we must also have a visionary, committed and dedicated leadership that can concretise policies, programmes and initiatives to achieve the paradigm’s objectives.
Explaining further on the Madani concept at a recent gathering in Kuantan of Mara-sponsored students, Anwar stressed how it would be totally out of place to have tall buildings and all sorts of physical developments when at the same time a section of the people live in extreme poverty. He emphasised that eradicating hardcore poverty is his utmost priority and that it had to be done as soon as possible.
Hence one of the thrusts of the Malaysia Madani framework would be to address the issue of poverty affecting those in the B40 lower income group. The inadequacies that they face must be addressed by the government. The importance of the values of mercy, compassion and benevolence in the fight against poverty should be given priority as the country progresses and prospers.
While not sidelining the other ministries in this effort to realise the goals of a Madani society, to me the initiatives undertaken by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry under Salahuddin’s leadership stands out.
Take for instance the broad-based “Payung Rahmah” (umbrella of mercy) programme he initiated. By the way, the concept “rahmah” can be seen as the embodiment of mercy, compassion and benevolence depending on the context. The Quranic meaning is, of course, closer to mercy, where rahmah represents the all-encompassing divine concern for humanity; also, kindness that ought to characterise human conduct, as explained by the Oxford Reference.
Kindness, mercy and compassion are the values that drive Salahuddin’s Rahmah programme. Such values need to be cultivated in the minds of those who have resources, like the business people who sell their goods and services – especially necessary food items and services – to the rakyat.
Under this programme, there are a multitude of projects and initiatives undertaken to assist the low-income group. The first one launched on Jan 31 this year was Menu Rahmah, followed by the other initiatives like Rahmah Kasih Sayang Cheap Sale, Café Rahmah (for students in institutions of higher learning), the Jualan Rahmah (Rahmah Sale), Bakul Rahmah (Rahmah Basket) and Pakej Rahmah (Rahmah Package).
Salahuddin was not just a minister in the Cabinet, he was a fighter – a fighter for the downtrodden.
In 2019, at a function involving farmers – he was the Agro-Based Industries minister then – Salahuddin couldn’t hold back his tears after reading a letter penned by a farmer lamenting the government’s move to remove a subsidy for the community that would jeopardise their already meagre income. The subsidy was then restored. Salahuddin invited the farmer to have coffee with him and had a heart-to-heart private session with him.
During his youth he was very committed to the cause of “fighting for the oppressed” which he did through politics. But he started his earlier days as a youth activist with the Johor branch of Abim (Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia) and only later joined PAS. He was active in politics from then on at the branch level in his hometown of Pontian, Johor, and eventually reached the leadership level in PAS.
We were close then, committed to the same cause and to ensuring that the party took a moderate path as espoused by Islam. PAS then stayed on that moderate path despite constantly being under pressure from radical conservatives, from which, of course, spawned the infamous “kafir-mengkafir” (calling other Muslims infidels) era, because two of the party’s leading figures – Ustaz Fadzil Noor and Tok Guru Nik Abdul Aziz – would not allow it to slide into a exclusivist, hardline party.
However, the passing of these two leading figures changed the whole equation and the party turned into an exclusivist, conservative vehicle aiming to establish the so-called “Islamic State”.
That was also the turning point for all of us, including Salahuddin, and that was when Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) was established in 2016 following the bitter crisis that engulfed PAS in 2014-2015. Salahuddin became Amanah’s first deputy president, a post he held until his untimely demise.
The last time we met was in his office in Putrajaya in January this year. Anytime he needed advice and guidance on issues and matters pertaining to his job, the party, or political developments, he would engage with a wide range of his closest friends who included people in the business community. This was especially true of the period in which he came up with the “Payung Rahmah” idea, including its flagship project, Menu Rahmah.
During my short one-to-one meeting with him that January, he told me that he was “tired”.
But he never lessened his workload. In fact, he was more enthusiastic than ever when the Rahmah initiatives became more diverse and widespread. He had quickly also announced more initiatives to address the cost of living issues.
Despite overwhelming support from the people for the Rahmah initiatives – especially Menu Rahmah – Opposition politicians continued to run down the initiative. One Opposition parliamentarian claimed that the nutritional value of the food was deficient, while another was seen pouring some orange juice on the food bought under the Menu Rahmah scheme claiming that that would make it tastier.
Responding to such immature behaviour, Salahuddin had only this to say: “Will this sustain? I cannot give an answer. But as long as there is rahmah (mercy) in the hearts of the people, it will sustain. My aspiration is to see that, if possible, this ‘Rahmah’ becomes a value, maybe forever, when a businessperson opens up a business, he or she manages to make a profit, or otherwise, yet there is a portion from this business, which we have an intention to [keep aside to] help those in need, and if this were to occur, then Malaysia would become a nation full of love.”
Such magnanimity, mercy, compassion for his fellow humans. Every time we see the video of him speaking these words, it makes us realise how important mercy is in our dealings with our fellow human beings, our fellow Malaysians.
And that is the slogan that drives Amanah as well “rahmatan lil alamin” (mercy for all in this universe). May Allah bless the late Salahuddin Ayub for his services to the people and nation.
It is good that the PM has pledged to not only continue but also expand the Rahmah initiative further nationwide. Ultimately, Rahmah must be sustained for the benevolent society that we must strive to achieve, in line with the Madani Malaysia paradigm.
Dr Abdul Latiff Mohd Ibrahim is Senior Fellow at the Nusantara Academy for Social Research Malaysia. The views expressed here are solely the writer’s own.
