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Obituary: Man with a Vision for Ipoh City Council

ipoh | July 16, 2010 | 0 Comments

By Jerry Francis

Ipoh’s second Mayor Dato’ Ismail Shah Bodin was a man with a vision – to see Ipoh City Council become a caring one.

During his tenure (1993-95), the city council became caring for its employees and caring for the residents, in line with the national call for a caring society.

“We want everyone to think of Ipoh’s City Council as one with a big heart”, he told me once. “We want to stress to the people, particularly the council’s employees that we do care about their welfare. In this way, we hope to instil confidence in the employees for their dedicated and efficient service to the residents.”

In return, said Ismail, the city council expected the co-operation from all residents to make the city beautiful and efficient. Thus, he launched his motto “We Care – Excellence Through Teamwork”, soon after his appointment.

His vision was not merely lip service, but also action oriented and he led by example, qualities which are quite rare these days. As a ‘no nonsense’ man, he immediately set his brand of administration to ensure his vision would become a reality. He knew where the weaknesses were as he had been the secretary of the then municipal council from 1985 to 1989.

Ismail would move about incognito in his private ‘Beetle’ (car) to make surprise inspections, including checking on rubbish collection, clogged drains and over-grown bushes.

In spite of his heavy work schedule, Ismail was also actively involved in various voluntary works. He was also the honorary commander of the Battalion 503, Territorial Army and deputy president of Perak Cultural Council.

Wherever he served, he left with distinctions. In Parit as the Perak Tengah District Officer, he was instrumental in starting a payment-by instalment scheme to recover the large amount of arrears on quit rent. In Manjung, he ensured the popular Teluk Batik beach was not being littered, and in Taiping, he cleared street stalls and petty traders by relocating them.

Ismail’s illustrious career began in 1965 as secretary of Tapah District Council and later as ADO in Kuala Kangsar, Selama and Sungai Siput before leaving for a course in Japan. On his return in 1974, he was appointed as the first general manager of the State Agriculture Development Corporation and served until 1979 before becoming District Officer of Perak Tengah and Taiping and later as State director of Land and Mines.

Ismail, 71, a member of the Dewan Negara Perak, died of blood poisoning on June 26 and was buried at the Gurap Muslim Cemetery on Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman.