I came to know Sami in the last three years in course of work on policy reform and corporatisation in the power sector. Sami was then working as a Deputy Secretary in the Power Division, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources. He impressed me in the very first encounter through his intelligence, spontaneity, charisma, and a deep commitment to the country he chose to serve through the civil service. A person of courage and conviction, he never hesitated to speak out what he considered to be right and fair even if at times went against the superiors he had been working under. Whenever I felt I need someone to rely on to take a stand against all the odds, particularly when questions of principles had been involved -- I knew that Sami would always be a safe bet. It was such a refreshing change in the midst of a culture where sycophancy and political allegiance have become the overriding factor for most of the bureaucrats aspiring to move up the ladder.

In 2004, Sami was selected by the USAID for a training programme and workshop in Washington and I still recall his enthusiasm in making the most out of this opportunity. He kept on asking me for relevant papers and information so that he can effectively prepare himself for the programme. Again, it is a pleasure to come across bureaucrats who are determined to explore such opportunities to the advantage of their professional development and growth as opposed to just another foreign trip for travel, tour, and shopping. While in US, he went beyond the training programme and met different stakeholders in the power industry of US to encourage them to take a more active interest in the power sector of Bangladesh. On return home, I could see his excitement in sharing all the value added work he did for the country which was not part of the programme he went for. There is where Sami made the difference -- doing without being asked and doing without any personal motive and doing only for serving the country's interest.

We live in times, where saying one thing and meaning the opposite has become more of a norm than exception. Particularly in modern day bureaucracy, two plus two is longer four but what the boss wants to hear. We can't fully blame the bureaucrats either as the prevalent political culture discourages them to be civil to the people who they are supposed to serve and encourages them only to be unquestioned servants of their political bosses. The system adequately rewards the compliants with rapid promotions, continued extensions, and in most of the cases resulting in overachievements for the underperformers. It is indeed an exception that during these difficult times, Sami meant what he said and he said what he meant and that is what made even his adversaries (not uncommon for such a person to have in our society) respect him even though they may not have liked or agreed to what Sami had to say.

It is so disheartening to see such a promising bureaucrat fade away at a time when he had just started to ascend to the full power of bureaucracy. Those of us who know Sami, have no doubt that he would have done full justice to whatever power and authority would have been bestowed on him and he would have served the country with the same commitment and integrity as he had done always. When he was posted in ERD, many of us used to say that one day he would make a perfect ERD Secretary as he had all it takes --competency, smartness, intelligence, communication skills, and most importantly the ability and willingness to take a stand for the country, no matter how big and powerful the donor community is.

Sami shall continue to live in our memory through the positive impact he made and everlasting impression he created through his acts and deeds. Although his work remains unfinished in this world. May Almighty grant him eternal peace in the endless journey that he has embarked upon so silently and unexpectedly.

Syed Munir Khasru is a Faculty at the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka.