Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

and a very good morning to all members of

the floor. My name is Andy Harith bin Ishak, aged 10. I will take you all to a
walk down memory lane and remembering one of our great leaders. I am
positive that his name alone will spark the spirit of nationalism within our
hearts. He is none other than Dato’ Onn bin Jaafar. Born in the year of
1895 in our very own pride and beloved land, Johore, he is truly a hero
worth engraved in every national history of Malaysia, back then known as
Malaya. He died in January 19, 1962 in Johor Bahru.
Ladies and gentlemen. Why is Dato’ Onn so special and significant to
our event today? I believe that everybody knew that he is the Malayan
political figure who played a leading role in the independence movement
and the establishment of the Federation of Malaya, forerunner of the
present country of Malaysia. He was educated in England and served for a
time as a government officer in Johore.
People remember him as the person who brought down Malayan
Union. By 1946 the British had secured signatures from all the peninsular
Malay sultans agreeing to a Malayan Union—one that would transfer
political power from the sultans to a central government in Kuala Lumpur
and that would grant all people in Malaya, regardless of race or religion,
equal rights as citizens. He went against the idea and saved the Malays
from being left behind in economy.
Ladies and gentlemen. Dato’ Onn was a man with a heart of gold. He
has always fought for the public interest. His mission was to change the
public services by empowering the people instead of giving the authority to
the British. He purposed the idea of giving free education to children aged 6
to 12 years old which continued forward until this moment. He foreseen the
importance of education more than everyone during his time. He believed
that people who lived in the countryside has equal rights to those who lived
in the city. That’s why he fought for the welfare of the people in the
countryside.
Dato’ Onn was a fighter. He managed to unite the three main race in
the Federation of Malaya despite all the challenges along the way. It wasn’t
easy to convince everyone to fight along for the nation but he did it. It was
because of him; Malay and English were accepted as official language of
the federation. The language brought everyone closer and break the barrier
between the three races.
Ladies and gentlemen. Dato’ Onn bin Jaafar left ended his journey at
the age of 67. He died in 1962 and was buried in Makam Mahmoodiah in
Johor Bahru. I hope we never forget what a great man he was. He was a
leader whose vision was greater than others during his time. He may not be
the person to bring the independence to the country but none can deny that
he was the very reason for the movement to happened. The idea sparked
from his. So, I myself was very proud to have a leader like him and will
always have a special place for him in my heart.
With that, I end my session.