Truly a man for all seasons

Coming from an agricultural background, he was fully committed to making the agricultural sector excel be it as a student, educator and practitioner in the discipline. He was the first Malay to graduate with a PhD in agronomy and contributed much to develop the field of agriculture, at a time when Malaya was very much dependent on agricultural commodities for prosperity.

He resourcefully looked for scholarships opportunities, for example from Ford Foundation, Australian Development Agency, Public Service Department and grants from Canada and elsewhere in order to allow Malaysian candidates to obtain their postgraduate training and doctorates. This in turn enabled UPM to churn out graduates who went on to serve the various agriculture development sectors such as Felda, Felcra, Kada, Kesedar, Mada; and research organisations such as Mardi, Porim and RRI.

The position was initially earmarked for the then director of Institute of Medical Research, Datuk Ungku Omar Ungku Ahmad. As fate would have it, he died, leaving Rashdan to be the next person in line to assume the responsibility. No doubt, this was another unprecedented challenge that Rashdan had to shoulder. He took it head on by recruiting academics from a number of reputable Indonesian universities, at the same time providing schemes for locals to pursue their education.

Significantly, he contributed greatly to the growth of telecommunications industry in particular, and to the economy in general. As the chairman of Telekom Malaysia Bhd for 12 years from 1985, three years after retiring from UPM, until 1997, Rashdan showed what other talents he had to share.

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