Determined newsman who loved people
By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, The Straits Times, 23 Aug 2014
By Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh, The Straits Times, 23 Aug 2014
Families huddled in bomb shelters. Offices emptied. But in a dingy three-storey building in Queen Street, 31-year-old Yusof Ishak, managing director of Utusan Melayu, ignored the air raid sirens, kept his reporters at their desks and posted a lookout on the roof.
Only when the lookout saw planes approaching, would the newspaper's staff be allowed to dash for the nearby bomb shelters. This continued as air-raids battered Singapore for the next two months, killing almost 9,000 civilians.
Even in war, Mr Yusof was determined that the newspaper he had co-founded - his platform to nurture an educated and progressive Malay community - would be printed on schedule.
So, as the bombs fell around him, the man who would become Singapore's first President stood his ground. Later, as he helped steer Singapore through the tumultuous years that spanned self-government, merger, separation and, eventually, independence, he displayed that same focus, this time to help citizens build a common national identity.
Former minister Othman Wok, once a Utusan Melayu reporter, said: "He was always focused in everything he did. He'd do things quietly, diligently. That was the man he was. And that was the man Singapore needed then."
His years as head of state, from 1959 to 1970, roiled with racial tension. There were times when the Malay community eyed the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) with suspicion.
The PAP had in 1959 put itself forward as a party that believed in merger with Malaysia - which Malays, by extension, saw as a sign of support for the community. After separation in 1965, some felt betrayed.
But Mr Yusof walked for hours in the sun, visiting constituents and soothing their fears. He worked with the Government to ensure that Malays had the education and health care they needed, to prove they were not discriminated against.
"It was people like Yusof Ishak who gave people the comfort that the Government had not forgotten about the Malays," said Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, a former senior minister of state who was classmates with Mr Yusof's son, Imran.
"He was one of those who made the decision to stay with Singapore, to work and make a success of the country and values he believed in. Of course, it took longer than his lifetime, but those early years were important," Mr Zainul added.
Among the values Mr Yusof espoused were meritocracy and multiracialism, topics he had written on as a young journalist.
The eldest of nine children, he was born in Perak in 1910. His father, Mr Ishak Ahmad, was a civil servant whose family moved here with him when he was transferred to Singapore to be Inspector of Fisheries.
The eldest of nine children, he was born in Perak in 1910. His father, Mr Ishak Ahmad, was a civil servant whose family moved here with him when he was transferred to Singapore to be Inspector of Fisheries.
Mr Yusof studied at Raffles Institution, where he was co-editor of the Rafflesian - the start of a lifelong love affair with newspapers.
At age 29, he co-founded the Utusan Melayu newspaper. He went from kampung to kampung, hawking shares to raise money to set it up. His mother and sisters pawned their jewellery in support.
In Utusan's early days, he slept in the printing room, guarding the printing presses which he feared would be stolen.
The first issue went to print on May 29, 1939, and sold a few hundred copies. By 1957, the paper had a circulation of 40,000.
Mr Yusof ruled the newsroom with an iron fist.
"He knew what he wanted and he'd work towards it. He didn't want things done by halves. So when he gave you an assignment, you had to carry it out, by hook or by crook," Mr Othman recalled.
Once, thinking that Mr Othman had failed to do his job, Mr Yusof fired him. "He told me, 'Get out, I don't want to see your face anymore!' " But when the misunderstanding was cleared up 20 minutes later, the young reporter was rehired.
But in 1959, Mr Yusof left the paper and moved back to Perak.
Utusan Melayu had been critical of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) - which believed in special privileges for the Malays, a concept Mr Yusof had railed against - but from 1955, Umno members began buying up a bulk of the paper's shares.
"Mr Yusof couldn't see eye to eye with the new board of directors. One day, he had enough," said Mr Othman.
That was when Mr Lee Kuan Yew, then Singapore's Prime Minister, came calling.
"He asked me, 'Where is Cik Yusof?' I told him, 'He lives in Malaysia now and grows and sells orchids.' Mr Lee asked me, 'That's what he does?' " Mr Othman said.
A month after that, Mr Yusof was back in Singapore and became chairman of the Public Service Commission in July 1959.
Later that year, Mr Lee would again seek Mr Othman's opinion.
"He told me: 'We need a head of state. Do you think Cik Yusof fits the bill?' " said Mr Othman.
"He told me: 'We need a head of state. Do you think Cik Yusof fits the bill?' " said Mr Othman.
"I said, 'Of course! He has very close relations with the people, Malays and non-Malays. He mixes very well with them. He's been walking the ground as a journalist, so he knows what the situation is. He's the right person for the job!' "
For a man who would become the face of the Singapore dollar, Mr Yusof was exceedingly thrifty. In his years at Utusan Melayu, he drove an old car that had to be pushed to start.
One of his few indulgences was orchids. It was a costly hobby, so his wife, Madam Noor Aishah, took it upon herself to sew his clothes instead of buying them.
The pair wed in 1948, in an arranged marriage. She was 16 and from Penang. They would have three children - one a daughter named Orkid.
Her husband, said Madam Noor Aishah, had a fondness for loud Hawaiian shirts, a contrast to his severe demeanour.
"If you looked at him, he seemed serious and intimidating, but behind it all, he was very friendly. He really loved people," said the 81-year-old. "When he was with friends and family, there was always laughter."
Mr Yusof disliked protocol, said Mr Othman, now 90.
"One day, he told me, 'Othman, why don't you move into the grounds? So I stayed in a small house there for some years. When he got lonely, he'd just come walking over. We'd sit down, talk, drink some tea. That's all he ever wanted. He liked to be around people. He liked being an ordinary person."
Above all, Mr Yusof wanted to see the success of the Malay community - and of the new nation. Madam Noor Aishah said her late husband was concerned about the country after separation.
He wanted to see the citizens work harder, and educate themselves, she said.
During his Utusan Melayu years, he had urged Malays to improve themselves, and not claim lack of opportunities as an excuse for not doing better.
"Blaming the other races does not help in any way to uplift the status of the Malays within the country," Mr Yusof wrote in an editorial.
Last Sunday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that to mark Singapore's 50th year of independence, the nation would honour Mr Yusof by naming a mosque, a think-tank and a professorship after him.
Mr Lee also spoke about the Malay community's progress, something Mr Othman is sure his old friend would be proud of. "He wanted us to survive, and he wanted us to do it by ourselves, with no special rights or privileges. If he were alive, he'd be very happy to see the Malay community standing on its feet, and to see how Singapore is now."
SERIOUS BUT FRIENDLY
If you looked at him, he seemed serious and intimidating, but behind it all he was very friendly. He really loved people. When he was with friends and family, there was always laughter.
- Madam Noor Aishah, on her late husband, Mr Yusof Ishak
If you looked at him, he seemed serious and intimidating, but behind it all he was very friendly. He really loved people. When he was with friends and family, there was always laughter.
- Madam Noor Aishah, on her late husband, Mr Yusof Ishak
CHATS AND TEA
When he got lonely, he'd just come walking over, calling for me. We'd sit down, talk, drink some tea. That's all he ever wanted. He liked to be around people. He liked being an ordinary person.
- Mr Othman Wok, on living near Mr Yusof on the Istana grounds when the latter was head of state
- Mr Othman Wok, on living near Mr Yusof on the Istana grounds when the latter was head of state
LIFTING MALAYS' LOT
He wanted us to survive, and he wanted us to do it by ourselves, with no special rights or privileges. If he were alive, he'd be very happy to see the Malay community standing on its feet, and to see how Singapore is now.
- Mr Othman Wok, on Mr Yusof's hopes for the Malay community
- Mr Othman Wok, on Mr Yusof's hopes for the Malay community
Yusof Ishak Mosque to reach out to non-Muslims
It will embody values like racial harmony stressed by first president
By Lim Yan Liang, The Straits Times, 23 Aug 2014
It will embody values like racial harmony stressed by first president
By Lim Yan Liang, The Straits Times, 23 Aug 2014
Besides serving as a place of worship for the Muslim community, it will also hold programmes that reach out to other communities and enhance understanding and social cohesion.
The proposed design of the mosque in Woodlands Drive 17 was unveiled at a roadshow yesterday at the An-Nur Mosque in Admiralty Road, after its name was first revealed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally on Sunday.
Describing Singapore's first head of state as an outstanding member of the pioneer generation, PM Lee said Mr Yusof had been a president for all Singaporeans and stood for enduring values that underpinned Singapore's success: meritocracy, multiracialism and modernisation.
At yesterday's event, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said the mosque will work to carry on this legacy.
"The primary function of a mosque is obviously to serve the needs of a religious community, in this case the Malay-Muslim community. But having named the mosque after him, it's also important that we try and encourage as many programmes as possible to bring non-Muslims closer to the mosque. I'm sure he will want that to happen, because having his name there, it's almost a national institution," he added.
The design of the $15 million mosque, which sits on a 2,500 sq m site and has capacity for 4,200 worshippers, draws inspiration from Mr Yusof's official and private residences and will feature eaves, a verandah and balustrades that are distinctive of a tropical Malay house. It will also have a pitch roof instead of grand domes, an auditorium, a cafe and an IT corner.
Mufti Mohamed Fatris Bakaram, Singapore's highest Islamic authority, added that he hopes the mosque will instil the values that the former president held dear: piousness, community spirit, and the motivation to do better.
"(These are) values significant in the life of Yusof Ishak that need to be developed further and instilled in the hearts and minds of the next generation," he said.
Together with the 4,500-capacity Maarof Mosque in Jurong West that was announced in June, the Yusof Ishak Mosque will ease overcrowding at the An-Nur Mosque, which is currently the only mosque serving Woodlands and Marsiling. Both new mosques are expected be ready in 2016.
Woodlands resident Mohammad Hisham Hairi, 46, said the Yusof Ishak Mosque will be more convenient for him to worship at because it will be closer to home.
The taxi driver, who has lived for 14 years in the area, now alternates between An-Nur and mosques in Sembawang, which he said are packed at peak timings.
"I'm sure more Woodlands residents will go (to the Yusof Ishak Mosque) instead of Sembawang or Marsiling, so there will be less spillover," he said. "It's nice that we've got another place for us to pray and get near to Allah."
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