Draft:Syed Hussein Alatas

Syed Hussein Alatas
File:Hussein Al-Attas.png
Name	Syed Hussein Alatas
Personal Details
Birth Place	Bogor, Indonesia
Death Place	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Religion	Islam
Works	The Myth of the Lazy Native

Syed Hussein Alatas (1928 – 2007) was a Malaysian politician, sociologist, and academic. He served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya in the 1980s and founded the Malaysian People's Movement Party (Gerakan). He wrote several books on corruption, multi-ethnicity, imperialism, and intellectual captivity as part of the colonial and post-colonial project, the most famous of which is The Myth of the Lazy Native or Asatirat al-Sukkan al-Asliyyin.

Lineage

Hussein bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Muhsin bin Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Muhsin bin Hussein bin Umar bin Abdulrahman Al-Attas bin Aqil bin Salim bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al-Saqqaf bin Muhammad Mula al-Dawilah bin Ali bin Alawi al-Ghayyur bin al-Faqih al-Muqaddam Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad Sahib Mirbat bin Ali Khali' Qasam bin Alawi bin Muhammad bin Alawi bin Ubaydullah bin Ahmad al-Muhajir bin Isa bin Muhammad al-Naqib bin Ali al-Uraydi bin Ja'far al-Sadiq bin Muhammad al-Baqir bin Ali Zayn al-Abidin bin Hussein bin Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Imam Ali was the husband of Fatimah daughter of Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny.

He is the 36th descendant of the Messenger of God, Muhammad, peace be upon him and his progeny.

Birth and Upbringing

He was born in Bogor in the Dutch East Indies (currently Indonesia). His grandfather was Habib Abdullah bin Muhsin Al-Attas, who migrated from Hadhramaut and settled in Bogor. He was the older brother of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas.

Political Career

Syed Hussein was among many intellectuals who formed the Malaysian People's Movement Party (Gerakan) in 1968 as a branch of the defunct Labour Party. This party won in the 1969 general election. Party members campaigned based on social justice and leaned towards their party's privileges of the disparate Malay parties (Bumiputera) which were defined in Article 153 of the Constitution. The Gerakan Party held a post-general election victory rally in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. However, the rally deviated from its planned route to reach the Malay areas of the city, as they mocked other Malay parties while Malayness was one of the main pillars of the coalition government. Although an apology was made to the Malays the next day; a retaliatory rally was held. This rally turned into a riot in which at least 180 people were killed (other estimates show the number of casualties to be much higher). As a result, a state of emergency was declared and Parliament was suspended. It was not convened until 1971.

When the Gerakan Party joined the coalition government in 1972, Syed Hussein Alatas left the party to help form the Malaysian Social Justice Party (PEKEMAS), which was based on similar principles to the Gerakan Party. However, this party collapsed in 1978 due to widespread separation from the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

Academic Life

Syed Hussein's academic career began at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka publications, where he served as Head of Research from 1958. He began part-time teaching of philosophy at the University of Malaya in 1960. From 1963 to 1967, he served as Head of the Cultural Group at the Ministry of University of Malay Studies. From 1967 to 1988, he served as Head of the Malay Studies Group at the National University of Singapore. In 1988, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya, before becoming a Professor at the Center for General Studies at the National University of Malaysia in 1995. Then in 1997, he transferred to the Department of Anthropology and Sociology. In 1999, he became a member of the core research of the Institute of the Malay World and Civilization at the same university.

Works

Syed Hussein authored numerous books, the most famous of which is The Myth of the Lazy Native. In 1966, he began addressing the question of why Western colonizers considered the people of maritime Southeast Asia generally lazy for four centuries, and explained the reason for Europeans not reaching these regions until the 17th century. He eventually completed his research and titled it The Myth of the Lazy Native, and this book was published in 1977. In this book, he cited an example of a "derogatory" viewpoint towards the indigenous population, when a German scholar suggested that Filipinos should make boat paddles from bamboo so they could rest frequently during work. He had said: "Make paddles from bamboo reeds so they break regularly; this way, until the paddles are repaired, they can rest comfortably"! Hussein criticized such beliefs in this book; this thinking stems from vulgar and deceitful notions, not scholarly and pure thought. This thought and expression serves only to justify colonial dominance, especially in publications that render people victims of surrendering to the discourse of colonial capitalism. He also stated that "the image of the native as slow and backward has been transformed into an image of a high-minded people who rely on mutual cooperation to climb the ladder of progress".

According to Bruno Fernandes, sociologist, philosopher, academic, and political analyst, Syed Hussein Alatas "constructed a critical and reflective work from the perspective of former colonial countries", while Alatas is known today in the Malay intellectual world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines), which encompasses a broad cultural community; but elsewhere he is largely unknown..."

Syed Hussein Alatas was honored by the Asian Focus Group and the School of Asian Studies at the Australian National University for his influence on intellectual life and the analysis of the Asian situation. For example, the late Edward Wadie Said, translator of the book Orientalism, acknowledged his debt to Syed Hussein Alatas, as he criticized imperialism in his books named The Myth of the Lazy Native (1977), and recounted the history of colonialism in the book Thomas Stamford Raffles: Planner or Reformer (1971). He made pioneering efforts in post-colonial responses to the Third World in Western social sciences. He is considered one of the founders of social research in Southeast Asia and a professor of many social sciences and academics at the University of Malaya. In the 1950s, he contemplated the importance of Ibn Khaldun's contribution to philosophy, history, and sociology. Syed Hussein, during his graduate studies at the University of Amsterdam, founded the magazine Progressive Islam (1954-1955) and expanded his relationships with intellectuals of the Islamic world, including Mohammad Nasir from Indonesia and Taha Hussein and Osman Amin from Egypt.

Another author, referring to Mr. Alatas as an opponent of corruption, wrote: "Syed Hussein Alatas was a pioneer in Malay studies, Progressive Islam, and the fight against corruption. If you have time, read his books: The Democracy of Islam, The Intellectual Revolution, The Sociology of Corruption, and The Myth of the Lazy Native, among many other things".

As one of the supporters of multicultural thought, "I remind you that Syed Hussein laid the foundation of multi-ethnic politics...". Syed Hussein, as an academic, was a fair and upright man. However, Dr. Lim Teck Ghee, who was a lecturer during his professorship at the University of Malaya, said: "His insistence on the principles of character superiority, justice, and fair play regardless of race made him odious in some circles, and he paid a heavy price."

Death

Mr. Hussein passed away at 9:30 PM on 23 January 2007 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, due to a pulmonary embolism.

Sources

• The Sociology of Corruption (1968)
• Thomas Stamford Raffles: Planner or Reformer? (1972)
• Modernization and Social Change in Southeast Asia (1972)
• Intellectuals in Developing Societies (1977)
• The Myth of the Lazy Native (1977)
• The Problem of Corruption (1986)