Latifur Rahman was a rare human being. He had extraordinary qualities of integrity, ethics, farsightedness, family values, friendship and firm mental strength. Bangladesh needs more people like him to take the nation forward.
These comments were made by eminent business personalities, friends, acquaintances and well-wishers at discussion held in remembrance of the chairman of Transcom Group, Latifur Rahman. His family expressed their commitment to carry ahead his principles and uphold the values he had instilled in them.
Latifur Rahman passed away at his village home in Cumilla on Wednesday. His family organised an online virtual discussion and prayer meeting in his remembrance on Sunday.
Latifur Rahman’s eldest daughter Simeen Hossain spoke about the various qualities of her father and the events in his life. She said he has lost everything in 1971, but built up the Transcom Group from scratch, taking it to the pinnacle of success. She highlighted his mental strength, of how he managed to remain strong through the harrowing experience of losing his youngest daughter Shazneen and grandson Faraaz.
She said her mother had been a source of strength to her father and they were truly life partners. Simeen committed to carry on the integrity and principles which Latifur Rahman had instilled in his family.
Speaking next at the virtual discussion, International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICCB) president, Mahbubur Rahman, said, “Compromise was not a word in Latifur Rahman’s dictionary. He had faced many problems, but never compromised his principles.”
Former regional CEO of PepsiCo, Sanjeev Chadha highlighted the leadership qualities and integrity of Latifur Rahman and also the care he had for his family.
Former advisor to the caretaker government and chairman of Apex Group, Syed Manzur Elahi, recalled an incident in Hong Kong. Manzur Elahi and his wife Nilufar Manzur were there along with Latifur Rahman and wife Shahnaz Rahman. It had been Nilufar Manzur’s birthday and Manzur Elahi had taken Latifur Rahman along to a shopping centre to buy his wife a watch. Latifur Rahman picked up the receipt, but Elahi said as he felt he should buy his wife a gift on her birthday. “Shameem (Latifur Rahman) said, Nilufar is like a sister to me, I am giving her this. You buy her something else.”
Manzur Elahi said, “You get to know someone when you travel with them. Ever since the independence of the country, my closeness with Latifur Rahman steadily grew.” He also praised Latifur Rahman’s exceptional role as seven-time president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).
The present president of MCCI, Nihad Kabir, said, “We say there will be no one like him again, but we should build up the youth of our country so that thousands more Latifur Rahmans come forward.”
Editor of the Daily Star, Mahfuz Anam, said that Latifur Rahman had a deep love for democracy. He believed democracy could take Bangladesh ahead despite all odds. Running two national dailies, he often had to face the displeasure of those in power, but he would say that these two newspapers were more important to him than business.
He recalled how former finance minister Saifur Rahman did not allow Latifur Rahman to remain on the board of Bangladesh Bank due to his (Mahfuz Anam’s) writings, but Latifur Rahman never brought the matter up, not even as a joke.
Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman said, “Latifur Rahman was always the first to greet anyone with a salaam. One day he suddenly turned up at office and greeted one of the employees with a salaam. The employee was so upset that he failed to greet Latifur Rahman first, he began to cry!”
Matiur Rahman said that Latifur Rahman was a non-communal person. Over a span of 50 years, he did not go to Pakistan even once. He contributed Tk 10.1 million to the Muktijoddha Museum.
On behalf of Prothom Alo, Matiur Rahman expressed his gratitude and commitment to remain by the side of Latifur Rahman’s family and the Transcom Group.
Former adviser to the caretaker government, Rokia Afzal Rahman said, “I would always tell my family, if there was any problem in my absence, they should go to Latifur Rahman. He was more than a brother to me.”
Latifur Rahman’s friend Hasan Askari lauded Latifur Rahman’s elevated ethics.
Moderating the remembrance programme, Latifur Rahman’s grandson Zaraif Ayaat Hossain concluded by saying, “My younger brother Faraaz (who was killed in the brutal militant attack on Holey Artisan Bakery), would always say as a kid, I will be Nanabhai (grandfather) when I grow up. Nanabhai was an extremely caring man.”
Zaraif said that it was integrity, ethics, values and a firm mindset and caring nature that made Latifur Rahman into an icon in the business world and an exceptional Nanabhai. “We, Nanabhai’s family, will never stop carrying on his legacy,” he committed in his concluding remarks.