KUALA LUMPUR: Former deputy prime minister Tun Musa Hitam stood by his principles when he was in government and paid the price for it, said Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.

In his speech at the launch of Musa’s book yesterday, the Perak ruler said Musa was close to being the prime minister, but decided to resign from his post on account of principles.

“Tun Musa has stood by his principles and he has done so with dignity. He relinquished his position as deputy prime minister because he fundamentally disagreed with policy directions his principles would not allow him to accept,” he said.

“He was the man-in-waiting; and had he waited long enough. Standing by while the principles he cherished were cast aside, Tun Musa would have eventually occupied the top political post in the country.

“Tun Musa stood like a rock and he paid the price for it,” he added.

Sultan Nazrin also recounted that when opposition politician Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon accused Musa of pulling strings in the government in order for his brother Kadir, a carpenter, to get a RM9,000 contract to provide tables and chairs to some schools through the education department, Musa respected Tan’s comments.

Musa was not aware that his brother had won the contract.

The sultan said Musa was one of those leaders from the past who held the responsibilities of office and public trust above private gains.

“Tun Musa provides other examples, but his anecdote involving his brother and the RM9,000 contract, when juxtaposed against modern-day realities where kith and kin of those in power — and I note this as a worldwide phenomenon — seem to think public office is a path to private gain, gives us an insight into leaders of an era where there were higher standards of conduct, and public office was a position of scrutiny and public trust,” he said.

The ruler said Musa was the product of “the Malaysian dream”, who from the humble beginnings of being the son of a meter reader rose to become deputy prime minister and a Harvard fellow.

“I would perhaps view Tun Musa as a product of ‘the Malaysian dream’, where the citizens of this fledgling country harboured great expectations and aspired to great things,” he said.

“Many have achieved great things and the Malaysian storybook is replete with such tales — of sons and daughters of farmers, fishermen and labourers, becoming prime ministers and business leaders, academics and leading professionals, innovators and thinkers.

“But of the hundreds of thousands who have realised their own Malaysian dream, Musa Hitam stands out among the handful who have left an ineradicable mark on the country he loves with a passion,” he added.

Sultan Nazrin also said that throughout Musa’s tenure as deputy prime minister from 1981 to 1986, Musa showed exemplary leadership with his honest and consultative approach in handling issues faced by the rakyat, citing his approach in dealing with demonstrations by rubber smallholders in Baling and student-led demonstrations.

“His approach to problem-solving stood him in good stead when he spoke to the hostile crowds because he understood their problems. He accepted that their grouses were genuine, rather than try to blame these problems on instigations by external parties, as many did during that time; and he promised that he would try to find a solution to their problems,” he said.