Ada apa dengan Razak Baginda?
Unknown to many, Abdul Razak Baginda is an avid collector of anything related to Napoleon Bonaparte. He has a certain passion for him – not so much for his personality, but for his thoughts and ideas.
Like Napolean, Abdul Razak Baginda is also known as a strategist.
He was once the head of strategic studies at Malaysia’s very own West Point – the Armed Forces Defense College in Kuala Lumpur back in the 80’s.
His quotes on strategic issues have been used countless times by the media, which includes the New York Times, the Time and Newsweek, which found his no nonsense stand a joy.
Born in 1960 to Dato’ Abdullah Malim Baginda and Datin Rohana Abdullah, Abdul Razak, the youngest in a family of three, attended the Jalan Kuantan Primary School before moving to the St John’s Institution in Kuala Lumpur for his secondary studies.
Abdul Razak recalls that he grew up in a fairly liberal environment. ‘We had some good times together,’ he said in an interview with the Malaysian Business.
His elder brother, Dr Rani Abdullah, a scientist, recalls that Abdul Razak he was and still is, a man who does unorthodox things. ‘That is why he is not in a mainstream career like my sister and I. He is not your typical 9 to 5 kind of guy. His unpopular views may not always be right, but it does make one stop and ponder,’ he says.
Perhaps the turning point in his life occurred when he was 14 years old.
He and his siblings accompanied their father who went to the United Kingdom to read for his masters in social studies at the London School of Economics.
Having had the opportunity to be exposed to the globe and its cultures at such an early age had a positive impact on him.
Here in London he first read a book called Road to Ramadhan by Mohammad Heikal, a skillful Egyptian writer and influential Arab authority on contemporary Middle East politics. Without mincing words, this book changed Abdul Razak’s entire outlook in life. After reading Heikel’s book he became a voracious reader of sorts. He devoured history, philosophy and biography.
His sojourn in England lasted only three years. He returned to St John’s Institution to sit for his Malaysian Certificate of Education exam.
This proved to be a shock to him.
Abdul Razak says, ‘I was in a complete daze. For five years I was exposed to a different system and environment, along with my new passion for English football. Now, I was at a stage where I had to sit for my Malaysian Certificate of Education exam. The results were horrible’
His results were not good enough for his to further his studies in Malaysia. Therefore, he had to go to the United Kingdom, enrolled himself in the College in Higher Education for a degree in modern European Studies. He did so well that in the second year he was able to progress to the City of London Polytechnics to enroll for a bachelor’s degree in politics and government.
His time in London was one of the toughest times in his life.
He says, ‘Life was hard but I managed. I used to work more than I studied as I needed the money to fund my studies. I used to work at McDonald’s from Monday till Friday from 5 pm till 11 pm, and on Saturday from 8 am till 8 pm. I was paid by the hour and I needed every penny,’ he explains.
McDonald’s aside, Abdul Razak also took the liberty to work as a waiter and an office cleaner.
After the hiatus in Britain, he returned to Malaysia in 1982 and became a tutor at Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM).
After a brief stint at UPM, he was sent to do a Masters in War Studies at King’s College, London before returning to UPM in 1984.
As luck would have it, in 1988, he was seconded to the Armed Forces Defense College as its head of strategic studies before establishing the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre (MSRC) in 1993.
It is widely believed that MSRC is the think tank to the Defense Minister, Dato’ Sei Najib Tun Abdul Razak. Najib is the Chairman and founder member of MSRC.
In the preface to his book, Asia Pacific Strategic Outlook: The Shifting of Paradigms, Najib wrote,’ Finally I would like to put on record my appreciation to both my colleagues, Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda and Rohana Mahmood of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre for their support and effort in assisting me.’
Like Napolean, Abdul Razak Baginda is also known as a strategist.
He was once the head of strategic studies at Malaysia’s very own West Point – the Armed Forces Defense College in Kuala Lumpur back in the 80’s.
His quotes on strategic issues have been used countless times by the media, which includes the New York Times, the Time and Newsweek, which found his no nonsense stand a joy.
Born in 1960 to Dato’ Abdullah Malim Baginda and Datin Rohana Abdullah, Abdul Razak, the youngest in a family of three, attended the Jalan Kuantan Primary School before moving to the St John’s Institution in Kuala Lumpur for his secondary studies.
Abdul Razak recalls that he grew up in a fairly liberal environment. ‘We had some good times together,’ he said in an interview with the Malaysian Business.
His elder brother, Dr Rani Abdullah, a scientist, recalls that Abdul Razak he was and still is, a man who does unorthodox things. ‘That is why he is not in a mainstream career like my sister and I. He is not your typical 9 to 5 kind of guy. His unpopular views may not always be right, but it does make one stop and ponder,’ he says.
Perhaps the turning point in his life occurred when he was 14 years old.
He and his siblings accompanied their father who went to the United Kingdom to read for his masters in social studies at the London School of Economics.
Having had the opportunity to be exposed to the globe and its cultures at such an early age had a positive impact on him.
Here in London he first read a book called Road to Ramadhan by Mohammad Heikal, a skillful Egyptian writer and influential Arab authority on contemporary Middle East politics. Without mincing words, this book changed Abdul Razak’s entire outlook in life. After reading Heikel’s book he became a voracious reader of sorts. He devoured history, philosophy and biography.
His sojourn in England lasted only three years. He returned to St John’s Institution to sit for his Malaysian Certificate of Education exam.
This proved to be a shock to him.
Abdul Razak says, ‘I was in a complete daze. For five years I was exposed to a different system and environment, along with my new passion for English football. Now, I was at a stage where I had to sit for my Malaysian Certificate of Education exam. The results were horrible’
His results were not good enough for his to further his studies in Malaysia. Therefore, he had to go to the United Kingdom, enrolled himself in the College in Higher Education for a degree in modern European Studies. He did so well that in the second year he was able to progress to the City of London Polytechnics to enroll for a bachelor’s degree in politics and government.
His time in London was one of the toughest times in his life.
He says, ‘Life was hard but I managed. I used to work more than I studied as I needed the money to fund my studies. I used to work at McDonald’s from Monday till Friday from 5 pm till 11 pm, and on Saturday from 8 am till 8 pm. I was paid by the hour and I needed every penny,’ he explains.
McDonald’s aside, Abdul Razak also took the liberty to work as a waiter and an office cleaner.
After the hiatus in Britain, he returned to Malaysia in 1982 and became a tutor at Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM).
After a brief stint at UPM, he was sent to do a Masters in War Studies at King’s College, London before returning to UPM in 1984.
As luck would have it, in 1988, he was seconded to the Armed Forces Defense College as its head of strategic studies before establishing the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre (MSRC) in 1993.
It is widely believed that MSRC is the think tank to the Defense Minister, Dato’ Sei Najib Tun Abdul Razak. Najib is the Chairman and founder member of MSRC.
In the preface to his book, Asia Pacific Strategic Outlook: The Shifting of Paradigms, Najib wrote,’ Finally I would like to put on record my appreciation to both my colleagues, Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda and Rohana Mahmood of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre for their support and effort in assisting me.’
posted by ronin at 7:28 AM
