BIOGRAPHY OF TUN ABDULLAH SALLEH (1926-2006)
EARLY YEARS
Tun Abdullah Salleh was born on 24th. June 1926
at Kampung Padang Sebang, Alor Gajah in Melaka against the backdrop of a
country under colonial rule and where poverty and deprivation were the order of
the day. Abdullah survived extremely severe circumstances, seemingly against
all odds. Seven of his younger siblings had died of diphtheria, his mother died
during a typhoid epidemic when he was only in Standard 5, but nothing was to
deter him from pursuing his ambition to go for higher studies to obtain a then
rare university degree, not even a world war which came to the country’s shores
from 1941-1945.
EDUCATION
His primary school education started when he enrolled at
Bandar Hilir English School (BHES) ran by the British in Melaka Town. He was
the only Malay at the school – commuting daily by train from Gadek and then
walking part of the way. He was made to pay the school fees of $2.50 a month
when his father was earning only $ 26.00 a month. As he excelled in his studies
in the first year, he secured a free place. Ln the second year, he topped the
class and was given a scholarship of $ 9.00 a month.
During his secondary education, Abdullah continued with his
schooling at the Melaka High School, which he once described as “one of the
best schools in the country”. In Standard 7 while waiting to be promoted to
Standard 8, the Second World War broke up. He witnessed the arrival of the
Japanese army and the fall of Singapore.
In August 1945 when the war ended with the Japanese surrender, he resumed his interrupted schooling. Then over 18 years old, he by-passed Standard 8 to gain a direct entry into Standard 9. He sat for the School Certificate Examination in 1946.
But that year, disaster struck. “I found out that I had
tuberculosis,’ he once told Khidmat, the quarterly magazine of the Malaysian
Civil Service. He was hospitalised for three months and although his sputum
test proved negative, the side-effects appeared a few months later when water
began to develop in his lungs.
“I thought I would die, it was that bad. The water had to be
pumped out twice a week.” he recalled.
Abdullah was hospitalised for a massive two-and-a-half years
and after being discharged, he went back to school after missing the 1946
examination.
But he told the magazine that the headmaster refused to
admit him because he was over-aged and only relented after persuasion by a
teacher who had once taught him.
So, he joined Standard 9 at an old age of 22 in a class
among 17 and 18 year old boys. Again, he excelled by scoring six distinctions
in the School Certificate examinations.
(Tun was the classmate to Mr. Kang Weng Piew from Standard 3 at BHES,
then to MHS until 1941 interrupted by the Japanese Occupation. Mr. Kang
recollected his fond memories of Tun since their childhood days at BHES and MHS
as classmates.)
HIGHER EDUCATION
He joined the prestigious Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK)
for Form 6 and later the University of Malaya while still in poor health, and
in fact suffered a relapse while at the university. Although Abdullah was
hospitalised for a further two-and-a-half months and later was confined to the
students’ sick bay and had to miss his lectures for five months, he still
managed to graduate from the university with a BA (Hons) in Geography.
HIS CAREER
He started his career in the Johor Civil Service because he
had to serve out his Johor scholarship bond, his first job being the secretary
of the organising committee for the 50th. Anniversary of the reign of the ruler of Johor, Sultan
Ibrahim.
From 1959 to 1961, he was private secretary to the first
prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. Then came his posting to the Public Service
Commission with a directive to ensure fair apportionment of scholarships and
Division One appoints to Malay candidates. This was followed by his appointment
as Under-Secretary to the Cabinet.
Abdullah, together with Justice Hashim Sani drew up the National Language Act 1967, which provided for Bahasa Malaysia to be the main medium of instruction in schools.
HIS CONTRIBUTIONS IN
SOCIETY
First Registrar of University Kebangsaan Malaysia : Appointed
First Registrar of UKM in 1967.
After the 1974 general election, Abdullah was made
Director-General of the Public Services Department (PSD).
In May 1976 after Tun Razak died, he succeeded Tan Sri Kadir
Shamsuddin as Chief Secretary to the Government.
At the end 1978 upon retiring from the civil service, then
prime minister Tun Hussein Onn made him the 2nd. Chairman and Chief
Executive of Petronas. Much of the developments of Petronas, then with a staff
of 600-700, was still in the planning stage and Abdullah’s job
was to set up the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Bintulu and to get
Japanese power and utility companies to take up the LNG production.
Abdullah also set up the Petronas refinery in Kertih in
Trengganu followed by another refinery in Melaka.
He gave priority to the training of Malaysians who in later
years were to take over the running of the refineries from foreign
management teams.
From 1979 to 2006, Abdullah became the 2nd.
Chairman of MAHSOPA, KL/Selangor Chapter
of Malacca High School Old Pupils Association. MAHSOPA raised funds for the
construction of the Malacca HIgh School Hall which opened in 1981.
Tan Sri Abdullah Salleh Education Fund for needy pupils of
Malacca High School was also set up in his honour.
From 1989 to 2005, he was chairman of the Tun Razak
Foundation. In 2003, Abdullah was bestowed the Seri Setia Mahkota (SSM) which
carries the title “Tun”, the highest federal award, and became the first and
only former Chief Secretary to the Government to receive the title.
