ENTERPRISE DESK
Kamaluddin Mohammed was born on April 19, 1927 at El Socorro, not far away from where he lived until he passed away on Tuesday at 10.30 pm at the age of 88. He was the fifth of 13 children. He came from humble beginnings but never let that deter him.
He often boasted that his childhood was surrounded by religion and culture, which he credited for the sound family values, discipline and respect for authority that he had passed on to his six children and extended family.
His formal education ended only at the secondary level but he was fluent in Arabic, Hindi, Farsi and Urdu. He was first thrown into the spotlight when he hosted a radio show called Indian Talent on Parade. But soon he was to turn his attention to a much larger and challenging stage, the national political platform.
Mohammed entered politics at the age of 26, when he won a seat in the Community Council elections of February 1953. It was the start of a career that would catapult him to not just the national but the world stage.
In 1954, he met Dr Eric Williams and by 1956 he and Williams had founded the People’s National Movement (PNM). It would be in that same year that Mohammed would contest the St Joseph seat on a PNM ticket. He won the seat and entered Parliament.
He became the youngest government minister in the British Commonwealth when he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries.
In his 30-year span in politics he would serve in varying portfolios, among them acting prime minister, Minister of West Indian Affairs, Minister of External Affairs, Minister of Health, Minister of Local Government and Minister of Public Utilities.
He assisted in pioneering the movement from the Caribbean Free Trade Area Agreement (Carifta) to Caribbean Community (Caricom) and later was the pioneer of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
In fact, he was nicknamed “Mr Carifta” for his passion and drive in pursuing the Carifta ideal. It took some doing as he hit many stumbling blocks but his persistence to the cause paid off and the agreement was signed in 1968. It was a personal triumph for Mohammed.
Williams acknowledged his efforts and wrote to him on April 25, 1968, telling him: “I wish to congratulate you for the loyal, effective and energetic manner in which you have discharged your duties as Minister of West Indian Affairs, with the successful completion of the negotiations for the establishment of Carifta, a task which you have initiated but is by no means complete.”
It was under Mohammed’s stewardship as health minister that the Mt Hope Medical School was conceptualised and became a reality. He once said that of all the work that he did his crowning achievement was his nomination to the chair of the United Nations World Health Assembly for two terms.
It was during his tenure in 1978 that the World Health Organisation (WHO) adopted the mantra of “Health for All” at the Alma Ata Conference, a slogan that emphasised health as a universal and fundamental human right.
His former colleague, the now deceased Errol Mahabir, said of him: “Kamaluddin Mohammed has always led a simple life and humility has been one of his attributes. He has served his country faithfully and with a great sense of dedication.”
When the country’s first prime minister died in 1981 there was a school of thought that he should have become Prime Minister but it never mattered to Mohammed who said he always put country first. According to him “building a nation was paramount.”
It was the same attitude he adopted in 2009 when there was a lobby for him to get the country’s highest national award the Trinity Cross. The Patrick Manning government failed to respond to the lobby.
Mohammed said then: “The award was in the hands of the committee and the Prime Minister and if they didn’t want to give it, I can do nothing about it,” adding: “I am a humble man who does not want anything once the people recognise me.”
A year later in 2010 then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar awarded Mohammed with the country’s highest award, the name had by this time been changed to the Order of the Republic of T&T. He would receive other accolades. In 2011 he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of the West Indies and in 2012 he received The Order of the Caribbean Community.
By this time he was ill and unable to receive the citation. It would be his son, Alimuddin, who would receive it on his behalf. Speaking after his father’s death Alimuddin told the T&T Guardian: “He was the last of the Mohicans in the Caribbean. He had a rich history from the Federation. An era has ended.”
General Secretary of the PNM Ashton Ford, who worked closely with Mohammed when he was Minister of Local Government, described him as a mentor to many in the PNM. “His long and hard work will be etched in the PNM and the country. He never lost touch with the people,” he added.
Ford said the country had lost a great soldier, one who served for 30 long years from 1956 to 1986.”
One of the PNM’s oldest serving members, Ferdie Fereira, describes Mohammed as “an icon.”
Fereira told the T&T Guardian although Mr Mohammed did not have a formal education “he applied himself, he was an excellent politician, an honourable man, who was widely respected across the Caribbean.” He said Mohammed always put people and country first. He recalls when Dr Williams died the party was facing a general election and it had to make a choice.
At that time, he said, the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) had launched a vicious campaign against Mohammed and Errol Mahabir calling them the twins of corruption.
With an election in the air and the allegations flying, he said the party chose George Chambers to become leader. It was a decision, he said, they did not regret as Chambers went on to become prime minister after the PNM won 26 of the 36 seats up for grabs.
Fereira said both Kamaluddin and Mahabir served Chambers faithfully and there was never any rancour or bitterness. He also credits Mohammed for being responsible for the industrial growth of San Juan/Barataria.
Mohammed served as MP in the constituency for 30 years from 1956 to 1986 and it was under his watch, he said, that business activity blossomed.
“He opened up Aranguez and El Socorro. He put down the infrastructure that made the area a commercial hub,” Fereira added.
He is of the view that Mohammed could be considered “the father of San Juan/Barataria.