MALAYSIAN UNCLE HASHIM AWARDED THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA MEDAL

27 JAN 2021

KUALA LUMPUR: Uncle Hashim's name may not ring a bell among Malaysians here. But this person is not your ordinary uncle at home. In Australia, Abdul Rahman Hashim can be considered a famous person.

His years of voluntary service to the Canberra Muslim and Malaysian community have not only earned him the heart of the community but also recognition by the Australian government, who awarded him with the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) during Australian Day yesterday. Just three years after migrating to Australia in 1969, Abdul Rahman had already initiated the Australian Malaysian Society as an effort to bring Malaysians in Canberra together. "The idea was to look after them. The major problem there was there were no halal meats, so I with a couple of friends initiated a discussion with the federal government and they made it legal for halal slaughtering.” he said in an interview with ABC radio, shared via Anil Sabah Al Ahmad Masjid Youtube channel.

Throughout his years in Canberra, Abdul Rahman had also volunteered in Canberra Hospital as pastoral carer to Muslim patients when his wife was a cancer patient at the hospital. Despite his age, the 79-year-old is still a volunteer teaching Al-Quran to the Muslim community and conducting Islamic funeral and burial services in Canberra. "We train people but people are very reluctant because you meet all sorts of bodies, normal and death caused by accident so it takes a bit to able to handle,” he said.

According to an article by Australian Muslim Times, the social activist was recognised in his career with the Australian Public Service and awarded with Rotary's best recognition, the ‘Paul Harris Fellow’ , in 1987 during his membership with the Canberra City Rotary Club. He was also involved in the establishment of various societies including the Canberra Council for Overseas Students, Malaysian Students Association, Canberra Muslim Students Association and the Australian Malaysian Society during his young days in the University of Canberra. His latest effort was the launching of Australian Muslim Aged and Respite Care, a platform to serve the Muslim community in Canberra and make use of the government-paid welfare services with the objective of providing the Muslim elderly with a comforting, homelike environment with full medical care. The community newspaper explained that the award was granted by the Governor General of Australia as a recognition of his enthusiasm and passion to provide for the Muslim community in the country. - Bernama