I was briefly awakened this morning at around 4.30am when I received a text message via SMS from Sdr Faisal Mustaffa, a long time comrade from Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) days and currently the Secretary for the Kelana Jaya division of Parti KeADILan Rakyat. It was unhappy news as I was informed that a good comrade, Sdr Rustam Sani, passed away suddenly at 2.30 am today in his Gombak home due to a heart attack. He was 64.
Sdr Rustam; born on August 12, 1944 in Tanjung Malim, Perak of Minangkabau heritage; was both a literary figure as well as a political analyst. He was also known as a public intellectual who commented extensively and critically on Malaysian nationalism, Malay society, Malay intellectual tradition, and the importance of cultural literacy, also undertook studies and commented on the various aspects of nationbuilding, including such areas as ethnic relations, nationalism and national ideology.
What is perhaps less known is that Sdr Rustam is also the son of the late Ahmad Boestamam, the nationalist leader and a standard bearer for the Malay left who fought for Malaya's independence from the British and paid for it dearly. Sdr Rustam himself shared a poignant piece in conjunction with Father's Day last year in a tribute to his father and how, despite being the only son, most of what he knew about his own father was what others have said about him.
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