Mimi And Her Self-Made Man Tan Sri Dato Hanafiah Hussain

Puan Sri Mimi and her 'self made man' Tan Sri Dato Hanafiah Hussainn

A year back when I visited Puan Sri Mimi at her home she described her husband as a kampung boy who became a self-made man.

That description stuck with me for a long time. I never met a self-made man and wondered if I would ever get to meet this man.

I got the opportunity recently when Puan Sri Mimi visited Ipoh together with her very distinguished husband , Tan Sri Dato Hanafiah Hussein. Both Hanafiah and Mimi looked casual dressed in batik as we sat down for a banana leaf lunch for this interview.

Hanafiah was born in Yan, Kedah to migrant parents from Acheh,Sumatra. He attended the Sultan Abdul Hamid College, Alor Star and during his time was a top student. Coincidentally his schoolmate was Mahathir Mohammed. 

“After the war we were together. Mahathir was top in his class in May and was sent to Singapore while I obtained excellent examination results for my Senior Cambridge and was sent to England on a state scholarship in November 1947.

I stayed with an English family for eight years and passed out with honors in economics specialising in accountancy.

Hanafiah described his initial problem learning economics as a tough time plus my poor English did't help in any way.

God blessed me with a good brain.. it is a gift

“After my lectures I would head off to the library with my notes to better understand what i had been taught. It was only after my first year that I grasped the big picture of economics and business.”

Upon graduation, Hanafiah applied for accreditation with the Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) to be recognised as a chartered accountant. He graduated and again was top in his class and became the first Malay chartered accountant of Malaya which he termed as a gift from God.

His career took off upon his return from England. When he paid his respects to the  Sultan of Kedah, the then Sultan Badlishah Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, he was told that he was overqualified to be the state financial controller and told to proceed to Kuala Lumpur where the opportunities were better.

True enough he was absorbed by the British administration into the federal civil service.It was the and the start of his illustrious career.

On FAMA  Tun Razak told me to do something about it 

After Merdeka he was tasked by the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman with the setting up of  FELDA (the Federal Land Developmemt Authority) and later established Tabung Haji, the Muslim Pilgrim Savings Corporation.  

As for the setting up of FAMA Tunku’s successor Tun Razak had told him that the farmers are being exploited by the middlemen. Do something about it.

All of these agencies was established to uplift the socio-economy of the rural poor especially the Malays and was done within the span of ten years starting from 1957.

Looking back Hanafiah said it so nonchalantly “ I was there and it had to be done. That’s why I say i am a Jack of all trades master of none”.

Tan Sri Hanafiah is 93 this year and is still working as the Chairman of an offshore bank, City Credit Investment Bank Ltd. He travels to China, Hong Kong Taiwan and Shanghai every 3 months for meetings.

I was surprised and asked if he was competing with PM Mahathir who at 95 was the oldest working PM. 

Not at all. He replied that God has blessed me with a good brain and that it is a gift.

Perhaps that is an understatement for Hanafiah is an exceptional individual that excelled in everything that he did such as being top in his class and being the 1^st Malay chartered accountant.

Hanafiah receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from Malaysian Institute of Accountants in 2017

Some of his other achievements include (1964 – 1974) MP for Jerai, Kedah, (1986-1990) Malaysian envoy to Taiwan, 

In (2007) he received the Lifetime achievement award from ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and  in 2017 received the Lifetime achievement award from MIA (Malaysian Institute of Accountants ) and Awarded the prestigious Anugerah Tokoh Melayu Terbilang at Umno’s 71st anniversary.

A devout Muslim he likes to attend mosque and pray. He recalled last December when he took ill in hospital his old schoolmate and PM Mahathir Mohammed paid him a visit.

Last December PM Mahathir Mohammed visited him in hospital 

“It was before the Kuala Lumpur Summit which was attended by five Muslim countries. I advised him that when signing all the documents to remember Allah and Allah will shower you with Blessings.

It was only later that I realized I had done most of the talking and was almost like a lecture. But it was all on God and not about politics”.

Looking back Hanafiah had a point when he said that God has blessed and gifted him with a good brain. He has a sterling track record to show for it.  

JAG