Former government advisor, Brigadier General M. A. Malek (Rtd.) shares the journey of his versatile successful career.
Q: Where were you born and brought up?
M. A. Malek: My hometown is in Barisal. I was born in the village named “SujonKathi” under the “GouroNodi” thana (currently Agorjhoili thana). I was the youngest member of the family. As usual, I grew up amidst ev- erybody’s love and adornment. There was a “pathshala” near our home. I did my primary schooling over there. We used to get up real early and went there together to study Arabic. At around 10 AM, we went there again for our general studies. We also used to play with friends over there. There was a mosque with a big pond where we used to take baths and we prayed in that mosque. Actually, all of our activities were centered around our school. Whenever someone finished learning the Arabic alphabet and was about to start learning Suras, we had a big occasion. On that occasion, we had “Payesh” on banana leaves. In a nutshell, my childhood was pretty fun. But life was pretty hard back then – in our school we used processed coconut leaves for writing. Our teacher, who walked 4 miles to get to school, had a monthly salary of only 17 takas. Anyways, I studied in that school till class five.
When I was 7, my life hit a major setback. I lost my mother to TB and our family got weak financially for bearing the costs of her treatment. My education hit a full stop for 3 or 4 years and I had to leave school.
Q: Could you tell us about your journey of academic life? From where did you start and where did you end up? You were an engineer but joined the army. How?
M.A.M.: Afterwards, my elder brother passed SSC and got a job. He immediately got me admitted into high school. I enrolled in class 5 again. The school was very old and reputed and I started doing very well. In every exam, I stood either first or second. I continued my studies in that school till class 7. Meanwhile, my elder got married and rented a house in Barisal city. My brother wanted me to study at “Barisal Zilla School”. So I went to the city with him. Now, it wasn’t very easy getting admitted over there – often they had no seats for new students. There were only 3 seats left in class 8. Against those 3 seats, the number of applicants was 91. So we had to sit for an admission test. In that test, I stood second. I completed my SSC with 3 letters. After that, I got into BM College and passed my HSC from there in 1965.
I always wished to be an engineer. So I wanted to get myself admitted into BUET (then East Pakistan University of Engineering & Technology). During that time, to get into BUET, students had to sit for a drawing test. I gave the test and got selected.
I passed the 4 years of my university life without any hassle. When I was a student of 4th year, a circular in the paper got my eyes. It was regarding the new recruitment of officers in the Pakistan army. It was for the Electrical & Mechanical core. That meant, the applicant had to be either from electrical or mechanical engineering. And students could also apply. Out of interest, I, along with 20 of my classmates applied for the post. Among us, half of the students got disqualified in medical test. The rest of us were informed that we would get the appointment letter after we finish our degree and submit our certificates. Meanwhile, I also got selected at DIT and EPWAPDA (East Pakistan Water and Power Development).
After I got my certificate, I decided to join the army. After receiving my military training for 3 months, I got appointed at a warship in Rawalpindi. Two of my classmates were also appointed there. We used to always hang out together. The three of us were very adventurous and used to visit many places together.
Q: Could you share any remarkable incident or experience of your student life that you still remember?
M.A.M: When I was a kid of 7, my mother got Tuberculosis. Nowadays, the treatment of TB is very easy. But back then, it was a life-threatening disease. It was also very costly. I remember, there were only three doctors in our area back then. As the condition of my mother got worse, the doctor advised us to go to Barisal Sadar Hospital for X-ray.
At that time, the condition of the transportation system was very poor. During the rainy season, all the roads got submerged underwater. So we hired a big boat to take mother to the hospital. It would take two days to reach Barisal city from our locality. I still remember that journey. We had to sail through a number of rivers. All of them were full to the brim. We had arrangements for cooking in the boat. But when preparing the meal, we found out that we forgot to bring salt with us. Then the fisherman from a nearby boat gave us a lot of salt. The reason I’m sharing this incident is to point out the difference between the mentality of the people of that time and the present. People were really helpful back then.
Anyway, we reached Barisal and took mother to the hospital. There we found out that they ran out of X-ray films. They couldn’t tell when the new films would arrive. Eventually, my mother died. It was a huge shock for me.
Q: You got the rare scope to be the chairman in two of the topmost government organizations in the country. How was your experience?
M.A.M: In 1997, when I was a brigadier I was appointed as the chairman of REB (Rural Electrification Board). I was in that position for about two and a half years. I felt very comfortable over there. And I just loved to do this sort of work. You see, the work over there was to give electricity connection to the house of people. Truly, it was a matter of great pleasure. The village homes had dim lights of hurricanes or lamps that merely lighted. But when we gave them electric connections, their houses flooded with light. You could see the joy in the people’s faces. I used to feel that joy greatly. That’s why I tried my best to give connection to the homes as soon as they got the approval.
Some of the people in my department wanted to take bribes for the connection. I stopped this malpractice with a firm hand. Eligible people would get the connection without making any effort. The people would also pay us back by paying their dues regularly. From there, I was transferred to PDB (Power Development Board) in 2000. I also had a very good experience working over there. People over there love and respect me to this date.
Q: So far we know, you have worked on many rural projects. Could you give us a brief idea about some of those social activities?
M.A.M: I have always found peace in helping others. From 2002 to 2007, I have been a consultant at NRECA (National Rural Electric Co-operative Association, USA). It works for the advancement of electricity in rural areas. As a chairman of REB, I also used to help the people to the best of my ability.
Q: You were an advisor during the last caretaker government period in telecommunication and social ministry. How was the experience?
M.A.M: W One day in 2008, I got a call from the chief advisor Mr. Fakhruddin Ahmed. He invited me to work with the advising committee. I asked for a day to give the decision. I was actually referred to by General Moin Uddin Ahmed. We had worked together before and he used to like me.
Anyway, I got a call from him also and I said yes. I was made the in-charge of telecommunication & social ministry. I had a very good experience in working in both the departments. Especially, I loved working at the social welfare ministry. As I told you before, I always loved helping others. It gave me a lot of opportunities to do so.
Q: Alhamdulillah, you are a very successful person now. Who do you think had the highest contribution in your life to help you reach the pinnacle of your life?
M.A.M: My life was filled with dramatic twists and turns. I faced the bitter reality of life when I lost my mother at the age of 7. Life was very hard back then. But I was lucky that the people around me were very amicable and they helped me get through every step of my life. After the death of my mother, my father had his second marriage so that there was someone to look after us. My stepmother was such a great person! She didn’t let us feel the absence of our mother for a moment.
But I won’t be able to forgive myself if I don’t name my elder brother, Rahman, as the person behind the success of my life. To him, I owe the most. He did so much for me! After passing SSC, when he got his first job, his top concern was my education. He helped me get through my whole academic life. After getting married, my brother moved to Barisal city. He took me there with me so that I could get a better education at better institu- tions. He also bore all the expenses of my university life. Mere words are not enough to describe what he did for me. He was just like a father to me.
Q: What will be your advice to others to become successful in life?
M.A.M: Experience and reality taught me so many things! When I look back, I see that the biggest lesson I got from my life is that sincerity always pays off. Everything I did – I did it with sincerity and seriousness. To be successful, you also need to be confident. Remember, if you can’t put trust in yourself, then people will not trust you either.
The other attribute that helped me a lot is my good manners. I have been very careful not to hurt anyone with my behavior. I also tried my best to help people from my position. Helping others will always earn you their respect. If you help others, you surely will get help from them too.
