Syed Hussein Alatas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Syed Hussein Alatas
DSPN
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| سيد حسين العطاس | |
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| 4th Vice-Chancellor of University of Malaya | |
| In office May 1988 – January 1991 |
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| Preceded by | Ungku Abdul Aziz |
| Succeeded by | Mohd Taib Osman |
| 1st President of the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia | |
| In office 1968–1971 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Lim Chong Eu |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Syed Hussein Alatas bin Syed Ali Alatas
17 September 1928 Buitenzorg, West Java, Dutch East Indies (now Bogor, Indonesia) |
| Died | 23 January 2007 (aged 78) Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Resting place | Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Political party | Gerakan (1968–1973) PEKEMAS (1973–1978) Berjasa (1982–1983) Independent (1983–2007) |
| Spouse | Zaharah Abdullah |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Amsterdam |
Syed Hussein Alatas (born September 17, 1928 – died January 23, 2007) was an important Malaysian thinker. He was a professor, a sociologist who studied society, and a politician. He also started groups that focused on social sciences.
Syed Hussein was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya in the late 1980s. He also helped create a political party called the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan). He wrote many books about important topics like corruption, how different races live together, and the effects of colonialism. His most famous book is The Myth of the Lazy Native.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Syed Hussein Alatas was born in a place called Buitenzorg in the Dutch East Indies. This place is now known as Bogor, Indonesia. His family came from Hadhramaut, a region in Yemen.
He had a younger brother named Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas. Syed Hussein also had three children who became successful academics:
- Syed Farid Alatas, a professor at the National University of Singapore.
- Sharifah Munirah Alatas, a professor at the National University of Malaysia.
- Sharifah Masturah Alatas, who wrote the first book about her father's life.
Political Journey
Syed Hussein Alatas was one of the smart people who started the Gerakan political party in 1968. This party grew out of an older party called the Labour Party.
Gerakan and the 1969 Election
Gerakan did well in the 1969 general election. They promised to work for social justice. They also wanted to reduce or remove special privileges for certain groups, which were mentioned in the Malaysian Constitution.
After their election success, Gerakan held a celebration rally in Kuala Lumpur. However, the rally route changed and went into areas where many Malay people lived. Some party members made fun of the Malays.
The next day, Gerakan apologized. But another political party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), held their own rally. This rally turned into a big fight, and many people were hurt or killed. Because of this, the government declared a state of emergency. The Malaysian Parliament was closed and did not meet again until 1971.
Leaving Gerakan
Syed Hussein was a member of the Dewan Negara (a part of Parliament) for a short time. In 1972, Gerakan decided to join the ruling government group. Syed Hussein did not agree with this.
So, he left Gerakan. He then helped start a new party called PEKEMAS in 1973. This new party had similar goals to what Gerakan had originally stood for. However, PEKEMAS did not do well in the 1974 elections. Many of its members left, and the party eventually closed down in 1978.
In 1982, Syed Hussein joined another party called Berjasa. But he left them the next year. After that, he remained an independent thinker and writer.
Academic and Public Work
Syed Hussein Alatas had a long and important career in education and public service.
Early Academic Roles
He started working at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka publishing house in 1958. There, he was in charge of the research department. In 1960, he began teaching philosophy part-time at the University of Malaya.
From 1963 to 1967, he led the Cultural Division at the University of Malaya's Department of Malay Studies. Then, from 1967 to 1988, he was the head of the Department of Malay Studies at the National University of Singapore.
Leadership and Later Career
In 1988, Syed Hussein was chosen to be the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya. This is a very important leadership role in a university.
After that, he became a professor at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1995. He continued his research and teaching there until 1999, when he became a main research fellow at the Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation at the same university.
His Famous Book: The Myth of the Lazy Native
Syed Hussein wrote many books. His most famous one is The Myth of the Lazy Native, published in 1977.
He started thinking about this topic in 1966. He wondered why European colonizers had called the native people of Maritime Southeast Asia "lazy" for hundreds of years. He found that these ideas were often used to justify colonial rule.
In his book, he gave an example of this thinking. A German scientist once said that Filipinos made their boat oars from bamboo so they would break easily. This way, they could rest more often while rowing. Syed Hussein criticized such ideas, calling them "untruth" and "ideological justification of colonial domination." He showed how these ideas made it seem like native people needed help from colonizers to progress.
Influence and Legacy
Syed Hussein Alatas is seen as a very important sociologist and philosopher. He created new ways of thinking from the perspective of countries that were once colonized. He is well-known in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Many scholars, including the famous Edward Wadie Said, have said that Syed Hussein's work was very important. His ideas about criticizing imperialism and colonial history were pioneering. He is considered one of the founders of sociology in Southeast Asia. He also helped many people in the Malaysian social science community.
Syed Hussein was also known for fighting against corruption. He wrote books like Sociology of Corruption. He also supported the idea of different races living together peacefully.
Dr. Lim Teck Ghee, who worked with Syed Hussein, said that he always believed in fairness and excellence, no matter a person's race. This made him unpopular with some people, but he stuck to his principles.
Death
Syed Hussein Alatas passed away from a heart attack on January 23, 2007, at the age of 78.
