An Inspiration

Azmi's clear, lucid, articulation of ideas made a great impact

The gods love those who die young, according to the ancient Greeks. Azmi was only 42 when he succumbed to cancer in a Melbourne hospital in the early hours of 24 May 1992. It was a long 7-year battle against a fatal disease.

Azmi, an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Malaya, was an Executive Committee Member of Aliran for many years. He was at that time one of Aliran�s leading lights. It was his illness which was primarily responsible for his withdrawal from Aliran and public life in the last few years.

Human rights was Azmi�s first passion in both in his academic career and the social activism. As a lecturer, he was one of the pioneers in the teaching of human rights courses at the University of Malaya. Azmi, from all accounts, was a devoted and dedicated teacher. His clear, lucid articulation and presentation of ideas made a great impact upon all those who listened to him. Because he felt so much for human rights, he inspired so many students of his to commit themselves to the cause of human rights in later life. I know a number of young lawyers with genuine social concerns who were once Azmi�s students.

But Azmi�s commitment to human rights went beyond the portals of academia. He was the pro-tem Secretary of the first-ever endeavour to establish a human rights society in our country in 1975. Though the authorities refused to register the society, Azmi continued to support attempts to form a human rights organisation. This is why, in spite of his illness, he served as a pro-tem committee member of the Persatuan Hak Asasi Kebangsaan Malaysia (HAKAM) � a society which was eventually registered in August 1990. Azmi, I remember, was so happy when HAKAM received its birth certificate.

Within Aliran it was Azmi who introduced the column �Human Rights Round-up� in the Quarterly which preceded the present Monthly. For a number of years, he wrote on various human rights issue and, on occasions, participated in human rights seminars. He was actively involved, for instance, in the successful campaign against the amendments to the Societies Act in 1981, which, in a sense, was a turning-point in Aliran�s own history.

Azmi�s sincere commitment to human rights was not so much a product of his legal training as the manifestation of a deep and profound principle which he adhered to all his life. He believed totally, absolutely, in the common humanity of the human race. Azmi was, to put it simply, one of the most multi-ethnic human beings I have known. Not once did he yield to the temptation of assuming a communal position on any issue.

It was because of his attachment to multi-ethnic ideals that he joined Aliran in the first place. In many conversations with him especially in the early and middle eighties, it was this multi-ethnic dimension of Aliran�s work which he often emphasised. He wanted us to remain true to this goal of ours, whatever the costs.

So great was his faith in Aliran that he named his daughter Alina. His second child is called Rizal � again a reflection of Azmi�s deep commitment to human freedom as embodied in the life and work of one of Asia�s illustrious heroes.

His two children � and his loving, caring wife � gave Azmi a great deal of happiness. A family man in every way, Azmi was deeply devoted to Rohana and the children even when his health began to decline rapidly in the last two years or so. And Rohana was a wife extraordinary who showed so much courage and fortitude as she confronted the inevitable truth.

For the family and indeed for many of his close friends, Azmi�s death has left a void which will be difficult to fill. Of course, there will be other teachers of human rights law, other human rights activists, who will continue to write and speak on all those things that matter to human dignity. But will there be another soul with that same quiet sincerity? Will there be another person in the quest for human freedom in Malaysia who will embody that same grace, that same gentleness?

Dear Azmi, We�ll miss you � always.

Farewell, dear friend.

Chandra Muzaffar

• Azmi's Journey
• Azmi: An Inspiration
• Azmi: Full of Ideals