Syed Hussein Alatas

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Yang Berbahagia Professor Dato' Dr.
Syed Hussein Alatas
DSPN
سيد حسين العطاس‎
4th Vice-Chancellor of University of Malaya
In office
May 1988 – January 1991
Preceded byUngku Abdul Aziz
Succeeded byMohd Taib Osman
1st President of the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia
In office
1968–1971
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byLim Chong Eu
Personal details
Born
Syed Hussein Alatas bin Syed Ali Alatas

(1928-09-17)17 September 1928
Berjasa (1982–1983)
Independent (1983–2007)
SpouseZaharah Abdullah
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Amsterdam

Syed Hussein Alatas bin Syed Ali Alatas (

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya in the 1980s and formed the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia
(Gerakan). Syed Hussein wrote several books on corruption, multi-racialism, imperialism, and intellectual captivity as part of the colonial, and postcolonial, project, the most famous being The Myth of the Lazy Native.

Early life

Syed was born in

Syed Farid Alatas, a professor at the National University of Singapore, Sharifah Munirah Alatas, a professor at the National University of Malaysia,[4] and Sharifah Masturah Alatas, author of his first biography [1]
.

Political career

Syed Hussein was among several intellectuals who formed Gerakan in 1968 as an offshoot of the defunct

Malays
.

Although an apology was issued the following day, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a major component of the ruling Alliance coalition government, held a retaliatory rally. This rally degenerated into a riot with at least 180 people killed (other estimates put the death toll substantially higher). As a result, a state of emergency was declared, and Parliament was suspended; it did not reconvene until 1971.[5]

Syed Hussein briefly served in the

Democratic Action Party (DAP).[8]

In 1982 he joined

Berjasa as a supreme council member, but left the party the following year.[9]

Academic and public career

Syed Hussein's academic career began at the

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1995. He later transferred to the Department of Anthropology and Sociology in 1997, before becoming a principal research fellow at the Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation of the same university in 1999.[10]

Syed Hussein authored a number of books, the most well-known being The Myth of the Lazy Native.

UMNO
that succumbed to the language of colonial capitalism.

According to Bruno Fernandes, Alatas was a "sociologist, philosopher, academic and policy analyst" who "worked out a critical and reflexive work from the point of view of the ex-colonized countries", and while Alatas was and is today well "known in the Malayan intellectual world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines) – and (by) a "broad Malayan intellectual (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines) community", he is "broadly ignored elsewhere…."

Taha Husayn and Osman Amin, both from Egypt."[13]

Citing Syed Alatas as an opponent of corruption another writer wrote, "Syed Hussein's pet domains had been Malay studies, progressive Islam and fighting corruption. Read his books if you have the time: The Democracy of Islam, Mental Revolution, Sociology of Corruption, and The Myth of the Lazy Native, among many more."; as a supporter for multiracism, "To the young, you should be reminded that Syed Hussein laid the foundation for multi-racial politics, obviously ahead of his time....."; as an academic, Syed Hussein is remembered as a man with a sense of fairness and integrity. However, Dr. Lim Teck Ghee, who was a lecturer at Universiti Malaya when the Prof was VC, said: "His insistence on the principles of excellence, justice and fair play irrespective of a race made him unpopular in some circles. For this, he paid a heavy price.”[14]

Death

Syed Hussein died from a pulmonary embolism at 9.30 p.m. of 23 January 2007.[15]

Bibliography

  • Reflections on the Theories of Religion (1963)
  • The Sociology of Corruption (1968)
  • Thomas Stamford Raffles: Schemer or Reformer? (1972)
  • Modernization and Social Change in Southeast Asia (1972)
  • Intellectuals in Developing Societies (1977)
  • The Myth of the Lazy Native (1977)[16]
  • The Problem of Corruption (1986)
  • Corruption: Its Nature, Causes and Functions (1990)
  • "Corruption" in Oxford Companion to World Politics OUP New York (1993)
  • "Social Sciences" in The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World Vol 4 OUP New York (1995)
  • Corruption and the Destiny of Asia (1999)[11]
  • Cita Sempurna Warisan Sejarah (2000)[17]

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Syed Hussein Alatas Dies". Malaysia Today. 24 January 2007. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007.
  2. ^ "Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas (Genealogical Information)". cgm.cs.mcgill.ca. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011.
  3. ^ "An Intellectual life by Asian Analysis is brought to you by Asean Focus Group in cooperation with the Faculty of Asian Studies at The Australian National University". Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Sharifah Munirah Binti Syed Hussein Alatas". UKM Centre for Policy and Global Governance. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019.
  5. ISBN 0-19-588988-6
    .
  6. ^ "Syed Husin remembers #3 – Overcoming 1974 arrests and Ops Lalang". 23 September 2021.
  7. ^ George, K. (2005). "Champion of the downtrodden", Aliran, (Go to search engine and enter "alatas" and various articles mentioning will come up) Archived 16 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 February 2006.
  8. ^ "BOOK REVIEW | Thinkers like Syed Hussein needed more than ever". 4 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Syed Husin remembers #3 – Overcoming 1974 arrests and Ops Lalang". 23 September 2021.
  10. ^ Faezah Ismail. "Intellectual Captivity of Freedom". Multi World. Archived from the original on 10 November 2005. Retrieved 20 February 2006.
  11. ^ a b c Faezah Ismail. The Myth of the Lazy Native (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2006 – via multiworldindia.org.
  12. ^ Bruno Fernandes (2005). "Compte-rendu analytique et extraits de Cita Sempurna Warisan Sejarah (L'idéalisme, héritage de l'Histoire) Ouvrage de Syed Hussein Alatas" (PDF). Anales de desclasificación. Vol. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2011.
  13. ^ "An Intellectual Life". Asian Analysis. 2007. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
  14. ^ "Fighting a losing battle against corruption and "Farewell, Prof. Syed Hussein Alatas and 'In Memoriam: Prof. Syed Hussein Alatas, Myth-breaker. Malaysia Has Lost One Of Her Greatest Intellectuals by Farish A Noor"". Screenspots. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008.
  15. ^ "Prof Syed Hussein Alatas meninggal dunia". Malaysiakini (in Malay). 24 January 2007. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  16. ISBN 978-1-136-27648-4
    .
  17. ^ Fernandes, Bruno "Compte-rendu analytique et extraits de l'ouvrage" Review in French and Malaysian in the Anales de desclasificación Archived 29 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

Political offices
Preceded by
Party newly found
 President of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan)
1968 – 1969 		Succeeded by
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