LETTER: Datuk Yusof Hashim, a retired ambassador, died in Putrajaya recently after a brief bout of illness.
Educated at Malay College Kuala Kangsar and Sydney University where he obtained a Master of Economics, he returned home to a civil service career.
Yusof, who had initially belonged to his home state's civil service, was one of the very few from Terengganu to join the Foreign Service in the 1960s.
In his case, it was after a year-long stint at the Prime Minister's Department.
He served with distinction in diplomatic and consular positions.
He was one of the country's first diplomats to serve in Wellington, New Zealand, when that mission was set up in 1969 by Tan Sri Lim Taik Choon, a pioneer of the country's foreign service.
Later, Yusof served at Wisma Putra, then located in Kuala Lumpur, and went on to serve in Bonn, Hanoi, Medan and Washington DC. He later served as ambassador to Rabat and eventually in Islamabad.
A man of intellect and ideas, he also had a teaching stint at the Malaysian Institute of Administration and Training (Intan).
He was always approachable, hospitable, tactful and willing to share his experience and expertise with his peers and subordinates.
In 2005, some years after his retirement, he wrote a well researched memoir titled "From The Pacific to the Atlantic", which was published by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Press.
The book provides an insight into his work experiences, his interaction with diplomatic colleagues on various matters, including the Cambodia issue, and his interest in understanding the culture of the countries he served in.
He also pursued other academic and editorial interests in the last years of his life.
It would be remiss of me, in remembering Yusof, to overlook the role he played, for a few years and almost single-handedly, in producing and publishing an international periodical called "The Globalist".
Launched by Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim in 2009, the publication gave attention to development challenges facing Malaysia and South-South cooperation and the ties that bind developing countries.
He was always passionate about promoting Malaysia in other countries.
Yusof's family, which maintained a classy diplomat's home, shared those interests.
He is survived by his wife and three daughters.
M. SANTHANANABAN
Retired ambassador
Kajang, Selangor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times