President ‘uncomfortable’ in Bangabhaban

Life in Bangabhaban is not always comfortable for a politician coming from the grassroots, President Md Abdul Hamid has said. “No matter what you feed a caged bird, its life will never be the same as that of the free bird.” Hamid spoke to reporters on the occasion of his completion of one year as president. When President Zillur Rahman’s health deteriorated, Speaker Hamid took charge as the acting president on Mar 11 last year. After Zillur’s death, he took oath as president on Apr 24. Hamid was elected to the Pakistan National Assembly in 1970. Since independence he has won all the elections he contested. His long and illustrious career includes two terms as the speaker of the parliament. But the first citizen still yearns for the simple life of a grassroots leader. “I can’t just do whatever I want. For someone who has been into politics for long, I mean someone who has worked his way up from the grassroots, this place is very uncomfortable.” “It’s alright for people who don’t like mingling freely with others. People who had been in this office were mostly teachers and justices. They don’t mix with people much,” he said. During his stint as the deputy speaker from 1996, Hamid conducted sessions that were enlivened by his spontaneous sense of humour. He was also the deputy leader of parliament for a term. Now the veteran politician has had to shed his ties with the party. Born in Jan 1, 1944 in Mithamoin, Kishoreganj, Hamid has been in politics since his teens. “It was when I was in class nine when we were observing February 21 in Nikli School, in 1960, I realised for the first time that our rulers were different from us. They had agreed to make Bengali a state language, but it was obvious to me that they hated it.” “We didn’t have Shaheed Minars back then. We used to stick paper onto bamboo frames and make temporary Shaheed Minars. Obviously this was not liked by the authorities,” he reminisced. At the age of 16, Hamid first went to jail for organising the February 21 events at his school. “There were four or five of us. But they didn’t put us in the lock-up. We were at the police station all day and night. Later on being informed that one army major was coming, they sent us to the lock-up.” Pakistan was then under the rule of General Ayub Khan, who had declared martial law in 1958. “However, when the major came, he let us go. These are just kids, he said,” the president recalled. “If you’re asking about my first political venture, I would say that it was when I was in college, in 1962. We had observed February 21 in a massive way by taking out a 1.5-mile-long procession. I was the joint convener of the observation committee. That was when I became known to students.” Hamid was again arrested for foiling a public meeting of the then Pakistan acting president Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, father of war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, in Kishoreganj on December 31, 1962. “The next day, I was sent to the court. Thousands of students from the college and schools of Kishoreganj town and surrounding areas took to the street.” “The SDO realised that if he did not grant me bail the students would raze the court building. Later the students lifted me up and carried me home in a procession.” Hamid reminisced about his first election. “I contested for the secretary of the student’s council at the college for the ’62-’63 session. Six people contested against me and got 10 percent of the votes. I got the rest.” Hamid has never looked back since. He joined Awami League after Chhatra League and in 1970 was elected from Mymensingh-8 as the youngest member of the Pakistan National Assembly. Q: You once compared Bangabhaban with a prison… I don’t like it here. No matter what you feed the caged bird, its life will never be the same as that of the free bird. The parliament would bring joy to my heart, something I don’t find here. Suppose I want to visit someone. My motorcade will be ready in half an hour, but the roads will be closed to the public, and my security will check every nook and cranny in that house. So I don’t go anywhere except for special needs or for state programmes. Even there, I can’t talk freely with a lot of people. Hamid said his chamber was always abuzz with people when he used to practise at court. If they didn’t, I would go to my usual hangouts. I’d also have long chats in parliament, with other MPs and journalists. Here there’s none of that. Q: How do you feel about not going to your hometown? Hamid: When I was the speaker, sometimes I would go home and spend a few days or a week. Now, if I go there, the police will call in additional forces from all over, about 5-600 people. There’s no room for so many people in Itna-Mithamoin-Ashtagram. I’ll live in comfort, maybe, but those constables will suffer. They won’t even get to eat or sleep properly. Q: How about people from your constituency? Do they still come to see you? Hamid: Yes. If I hear about it, I allow them to come in. Actually people come with requests. Before, I used to try and help. If it was within the rules I would make a call here and there. Now I can’t do that. I can’t even get rid of protocol abroad. When I went abroad the first time after becoming the president, I thought that would be a little more relaxed. But it was not so. My security was all over. I am not at all a free man. And you can’t always be going abroad. I go to Singapore every four months for treatment. Q: How do you evaluate your one year as the president? Hamid: Actually the president doesn’t have too many tasks. What I do is routine work. I did many things when I was the speaker. I curtailed many expenses at the parliament. There’s nothing to do here. I did one thing. I reduced the expenses of foreign trips. The rent of my hotel suite in Singapore was 6,000 Singaporean dollars. I switched to a room of 600 dollars. When I was speaker I used to go alone. That’s not possible now, but I cut down on the expenses of my entourage too. I don’t really have much work now. Everything is done by others. During the political crisis I gave advice as I deemed fit. Q: Which job did you like best? Hamid: Deputy speaker’s. There was not much administrative responsibility. I only conducted the house when the speaker was absent. But the speaker has to look after many things. He has to stay alert. — bdnews24.com