Biographer depicts Abang Johari as PM material

KUCHING: In Peninsular Malaysia, Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg is seen as someone who holds potential to be the Prime Minister, says a prolific biographer Prof Dr Roosfa Hashim.

Such is the view of an academic with extensive experience in the field of publishing from the peninsula.

In fact, he has been following the development of Abang Johari for decades and observed the former’s potential.

As such, this has led to Roosfa in deciding to write a biography about Abang Johari, who is now the sixth Premier of Sarawak.

The creation of this book involved extensive research, data collection, and interviews, and finally reaching fruition after over a decade of efforts, it will be launched soon.

Roosfa said his decision to pen a biography about Abang Johari stemmed from recognising  the immense potential of the political figure.

“Abang Johari may be the child of the first Head of State Tun Datuk Abang Openg Abang Sapiee and it may seem to be an easy path for him?

“However, upon thorough research, there are interesting elements and aspects found about his life… It is seen that his political journey was not that easy,” he told New Sarawak Tribune during an interview recently.

Roosfa further explained the long duration to finalise the biography was due to not wanting it to be ‘hanging’, and also wanting to see Abang Johari reaches the highest point of success in his life.

“Abang Johari had the potential to assume the role as the chief minister (Premier), however he was not selected for the position at that time yet.

“Despite this, he chose not to engage in contention, but instead remained dedicated and sincere in serving the party, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) as well the people.

“Later in 2017, he was appointed to become the chief minister (Premier). Consequently, I hold the book to incorporate his contributions.

“Therefore, after his six-year tenure in governing the state, we have a comprehensive insight into Abang Johari’s political journey, to his mission, vision, accomplishments, and endeavours for Sarawak,” he said.

Roosfa who started writing about the biography in 2010, said he managed to fly in from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching to meet and interview Abang Johari in person in January 2011, when the former was the Minister of Housing then.

Describing Abang Johari as a friendly and open person, Roosfa said, the former was kind hearted to share collection of photos which he had managed to include some of them in the biography.

During the interview, when asked about Abang Johari’s future or the possibility of him becoming the Sarawak chief minister, Roosfa recalled that the former was very careful with words then.

“Since 2011, I have often travelled back and forth to Sarawak to gather data and information for the biography,” he said.

Besides that, Roosfa also said that he managed to interview immediate family members who are the siblings of Abang Johari such as Datuk Seri Abang Abdul Karim Tun Datuk Abang Openg and Datuk Dayang Hajah Madinah Tun Abang Openg, colleagues and close friends.

“To complete the biography, it includes reading materials from books, magazines as well newspapers,” he said.

Back to the views of Abang Johari who could lead the country, Roosfa said the former had reached a certain success at the state level.

“In Semenanjung Malaysia, he is seen as the person who should be the Prime Minister. However, he does not serve at the Parliament level. This could be a big challenge as well.

“Abang Johari can play an important role in combining the strength of Borneo when the country’s political situation is unstable.

“This is so that the voices of Borneo become more dominant in national politics. And Abang Johari has the strength and can make decisions on this,” he said.

He added that in the Malaysian political scenario, Abang Johari who is 73 years old is still considered young and has the opportunity to go further.

Roosfa is also a publisher and editor. Previously, he produced several biographies of important national figures. Among biographers are titled ‘Perjalanan Politik Khaled Nordin: Sebuah Biografi’ published in 2015; ‘ Tan Sri Dr Mohd Shukor Mahfar: meredah badai, memimpin transformasi’ (2015); and ‘Mohd Ghazali Abdul Rahman 1938-2007: Dari Mercu Ke Mercu’ (2010).

Before becoming the director of IIUM Press in 2013, Roosfa became an editor at UKM Publishers. He has also published a number of books on publishing and writing and is active as a facilitator of publishing courses and workshops.

He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the International Union of Islamic Book Publishers (IUIBP) based in Istanbul and a member of the Board of Trustees, Yayasan Karyawan. Before these roles, he was an Adjunct Professor at Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University (UNISSA) in Brunei.