REHMAN RASHID 1955-2017
Best-selling author known as focused man, a perfectionist in all he did
THE air at the Kuala Kubu Baru Road Muslim cemetery was sombre yesterday as the late veteran journalist and writer Rehman Rashid was laid to rest.
As the scorching sun beat down on the 100-odd relatives, friends and former colleagues, who gathered to bid goodbye to the best-selling author, emotions ran high as they tried to come to terms with the death of a friend, mentor and family member.
None cut a sadder figure than his mother, Rosna Rashid. Too distraught to speak, the 81-yearold kept mostly to herself as she silently sobbed for her eldest son.
Rehman, the celebrated author of works such as A Malaysian Journey and recently, Peninsula: A Story of Malaysia and Small Town: A Personal Tribute to Kuala Kubu Baru, Hulu Selangor, Malaysia, was buried at 2.30pm in the town he loved, having lived there for five years.
The 62-year-old had been warded at Selayang Hospital since January following a heart attack. He died at 6.30am yesterday from heart complications due to pneumonia.
His brother, Rafique, who had frequently been at his side for the past few months, said Rehman had been ill before the heart attack.
“He didn’t see a doctor as he thought he could exercise it away by going for a bicycle ride,” said the 59-year-old.
It was on Jan 25 that Rehman had the heart attack while cycling from here to Rawang.
“I hope the public remembers my brother as one of a kind. He had such high standards for everything and expected others to be like him as well.
“His wish was that the nation would write its own stories. This is the last thing he told me. Everybody in Malaysia must write his own story.
“This is the fabric of our country. The thread that forms our tapestry. That is what he said, and that’s what he wanted,” said Rafique.
Selangor Palace Protocol and Ceremonial chief Datuk A.S. Khamis Abu Samah, a schoolmate at Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK), said Rehman was “a star” even in his school days.
“He was so famous for being really passionate in whatever he did, and back in our school days, he held the record for crosscountry running.
“After he left MCKK, he became a well-known reporter... and I’ve always loved reading his books,” he said.
Another MCKK schoolmate, Datuk Dr Abdul Ghaffar Ramli, said he would always remember Rehman as a jovial person.
“Back in his college days, he had always been someone with principles. He was a perfectionist and loved to emphasise details of whatever he was writing,” he said, adding that every year, he would cycle with Rehman in Kuala Kangsar when they met up at MCKK reunions.
Born in Taiping, Perak, in 1955, Rehman graduated with a degree in marine biology from University College Swansea, Wales.
He joined the New Straits Times as a journalist in 1981 and served as an associate editor and columnist over the decades. He was also a senior writer with Asiaweek in Hong Kong and the Bermuda Business magazine. He published A Malaysian Journey in 1993 and last year, launched Peninsula and Small Town, both of which became bestsellers.
He was also the Malaysian Press Institute’s Journalist of the Year in 1985, and Bermuda’s Print Journalist of the Year for 1991.