Ishak Haji Muhammad, better known as Pak Sako, was a Malaysian writer, active in the 1930s until the 1950s. He was a nationalist and his involvement began before independence and continued thereafter. He fought for the idea of the unification of Melayu Raya where Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei are united in one collective. The moniker Pak Sako was from the title 'Isako-san' given to him by the Japanese, which was the phonetic pronunciation of his name in the Japanese tongue. Ishak's other pseudonyms include Anwar, Hantu Raya, Isako San and Pandir Moden
Ishak grew bored with his job as a British administrator and found the life of a British civil servant full of deception, favouritism and no interest in preserving the interests of the Malays who were said to have been given protection by the British. In 1934, he resigned from the Malayan Civil Service and travelled the peninsula Malaya. He later concentrated on nationalist literature and politics. He was imprisoned twice.
Malay envoy
Ishak was the first with the idea to publish the Utusan Melayu newspaper and subsequently became the founder of the publication. He left Warta Malaya and travelled to Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu to campaign for the establishment of the Utusan Melayu Press. He worked at the paper under Abdul Rahim Kajai as editor. During the Japanese occupation of Malaya, he became the editor of Berita Malai. He continued to live in Hulu Langat even though he worked in Kuala Lumpur. He would take the public transport to office. For a while, he did have a Fiat when he was working in Rembau, but he did not drive and had to hire a driver.
Literature
Ishak produced many novels, short stories, essays and memoirs as well as writing articles for the Utusan Melayu Group's newspapers. The National Library of Malaysia has, in their collection, more than 1,000 copies of his literary work. His two most well-known works are Putera Gunung Tahan and Anak Mat Lela Gila, which reflected his views and aspirations as a patriot and writer. They were satire novels aimed at the British and also were a critique of the British. Ishak placed importance on Malay culture in his writings and glorified Malay culture by comparing it to English culture which is said to lack quality and is too aggressive. He was also active in short story-writing. Below is a sample of his other works:
Budak beca. Marang: Mohamad bin A. Rahman, 1957
Judi karan. Singapore: Geliga, 1958
Pengantin baru. Singapore: Geliga
In his later years, he was more known as a columnist in Utusan Malaysia and Gila-Gila.
He died on 7 November 1991 at 5.40 am at his home in Kampung Bukit Raya, in Hulu Langat, Selangor. He was buried in his childhood village in Temerloh, after the Friday prayers, next to the graves of his parents, in accordance with his wishes. He had been admitted to the Tawakal Hospital on 18 October after suffering from a stroke, and had just left the hospital for two weeks before he died. Earlier in the year, he had suffered another stroke and was admitted to the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital on 22 July. That attack left his right side paralysed. As tribute, UMNO donated RM16,874.15 to his family at the close of its General Assembly that year. RM10,000 came from the UMNO headquarters while the remainder was contributed by its delegates during the assembly. It was presented by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to the Chief Minister of Pahang, Tan Sri Khalil Yaacob to be given to his family.
Legacy
Several places and honours were named after him, including:
