KUCHING: Even though a few of the founding fathers of Malaysia from Sarawak were lowly educated, Malaysians should not belittle their contributions.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told community leaders here that he still marveled at how the founding fathers had the ability to look far ahead in a state that was very backward then.

“Not going to college, maybe just a little secondary school education, these founding fathers still had the vision and foresight of what is good for the people of Sarawak in relation to the prevailing geopolitical situation in this part of Asia.

“The strength of their greatness was their determination,” he said at a dinner with the community here, held in conjunction with his working visit to Sarawak.

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Anwar said Malaysians who do not follow history might consider the formation of the federation as an “ordinary event”.

However, he said Asia in the 1960s was in a battle of ideologies between communism championed by China and the Soviet Union and democracy championed by the United States and the rest of the West.

“The time was very challenging and there were concerns about the so-called domino effect,” he added of the fears that one country after another could fall to the communists.

Referring to Tun Jugah Barieng, the Iban paramount chief and grandfather of Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, Anwar said he and the other founding fathers had the foresight to struggle for independence with all their sincerity.

“They are not people with high education. But what do they have?

“They loved the country, they loved the people and they had a sense of pride about the future of the country.

“They understood that we had to be strong in our efforts to maintain our security with the spirit of freedom from the British and cultivate an understanding and feeling of mutual trust.”

Anwar said people in Sarawak should be grateful because the leaders of the state today have “inherited the spirit of the founders of the country”.

He also said the ability of the Sarawak founding fathers, who were made up of different races, to work together should be a lesson to be learnt.

“Their friendship was extraordinary and I’m amazed.”