Zaid Ibrahim - Champion Of Unpopular Causes

Zaid Ibrahim, a Kuala Lumpur lawyer, stepped up to help the disabled. His fight for democracy is a tougher battle.

Zaid Ibrahim knows all about fighting the odds. When he was 7 and growing up in rural Malaysia, his walk each way to school took an hour. As an outspoken member of Malaysia's long-ruling, conservative United Malays National Organisation, he has run into trouble as he pushed for more human rights, judicial reform and greater democracy. So it came naturally for him to help the people facing perhaps the toughest odds in the country, the disabled.

Zaid, 57--a member of parliament and also the majority owner of Malaysia's largest law firm, the 140-lawyer Zaid Ibrahim & Co. in Kuala Lumpur--set up the Kelantan Foundation for the Disabled in 1998. Kelantan state is home to a high proportion of disabled people, he says, "9,000 officially, though I suspect it's closer to 13,000," and little was being done to help them. His law firm and political career were taking off and he was in a position to step in.

The foundation now has a full-time staff of nine and operates on $78,000 a year. It offers counseling, physiotherapy, transportation and home visits for its 2,400 clients suffering from Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, blindness and other disabilities. Family, friends and law clients supply most of the budget, and Zaid has hosted golf tournaments and film premieres to raise funds. In months when there's not enough money to meet the operating costs, Zaid covers the rest from his pocket. Now the foundation is benefiting from his political views. The proceeds from a recent book of his essays urging UMNO to become more democratic, called In Good Faith, are going to the foundation.

The much-talked-about book is also raising awareness of the foundation. The introduction boldly draws parallels between his country and the disabled. "I am frequently moved to reflect on who is really disabled in our society and how. … In what ways might our thoughts and movements be confined?"

Zaid also has been a vocal critic of Malaysia's race-based political landscape, which has enshrined the divisions between the country's three main ethnic groups: the majority Malays, the Chinese and the Indians. "We have superficial unity," he says. "It has bred enmity. I think we need to start over." Talk like that has made Zaid an inspiration for Malaysians who wish to see the country transcend its ethnic divides.

Zaid grew up taking little for granted. Raised in a farm family outside Kota Bharu in the far northeast corner of the country, Zaid started skipping school around age 11 because he couldn't afford some of the fees. Hearing of this, the schoolmaster recommended him for a scholarship that came with a 15-ringgit monthly stipend, allowing him to continue on to secondary school. He studied law as an undergraduate and then qualified as a barrister-at-law in London.

Internal critiques of UMNO such as Zaid's are not customary. Big names who have strayed from the party line have been ignominiously ousted, even jailed. The UMNO disciplinary board felt that Zaid had offended it in 2005 and handed down a punishment. Then last month UMNO dropped him from its list of candidates in the Mar. 8 elections. But this is hardly slowing him down. "At the end of the day fear will not succeed," he says. (Forbes.com)

***** "He pushed for more human rights, judicial reform and greater democracy and has been a vocal critic of Malaysia's race-based political landscape." No wonder the 'fair-minded democrats' in Umno booted him out.
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4 Malaysians In Forbes Asia Inaugural Heroes Of Philanthropy List. But Not Even One Is Chinese !

Excluded incumbent Barisan Nasional Kota Baharu Member of Parliament Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim is one of four well-known rich Malaysians picked as heroes of Forbes Asia's inaugural philanthropy list.

The other three generous Malaysians are businessman Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, 56, retired Sarawakian politician and businessman Leonard Linggi Tun Jugah, 67, and Hishamudin Ubaidulla, 52.

Forbes Asia has released its first Heroes of Philanthropy list in its March 10 issue business magazine in honour of some of Asias most generous and interesting philanthropists.

"With Asia booming, newly created wealth is increasingly being earmarked for altruistic causes", Forbes Asia says in a statement today.

It said for the first time this year Forbes Asia had put together a list of 48 philanthropists - four each from 12 countries.

It says Zaid, who owns the country's largest law firm, Zaid Ibrahim & Co, started the Kelantan Foundation for the disabled in 1998, which serves 2,400 people suffering from Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy and other disabilities.

Syed Mokhtar, who controls Malaysia Mining Corp, and holds big stakes in Johor Port and other businesses started the Albukhary Foundation, a Muslim charity that assists the needy, regardless of colour in 1996.

He is the sole funder to the foundation.

Forbes Asia says the businessman gave the foundation $30 million in 2006 and $25 million last year, which funds remedial classes in English, Science and Mathematics for 20,000 under-achieving students from poor rural families each year.

The foundation hopes the extra schoolwork "will help bridge the educational divide between the rich and poor." It also runs a college scholarship programme for 300 students from more than 40 countries. (Bernama)

***** Whatever happened to our Chinese billionaires? Much money but no heart perhaps?
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