Tunku Abdul Rahman

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Yang Teramat Mulia
 Abdul Rahman 
AC CH

In office
31 August 1957 – 22 September 1970
Monarch Abdul Rahman
Hisamuddin
Putra
Ismail Nasiruddin
Deputy Abdul Razak
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Abdul Razak
Born 8 February 1903(1903-02-08)
Alor Star, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died 6 December 1990(1990-12-06) (aged 87)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Political party United Malays National Organisation
Spouse(s) Meriam Chong (1933–1935)
Violet Coulson (1935–1946)
Sharifah Rodziah Alwi Barakbah (1939–1990)
Alma mater St Catharine's College, Cambridge
Inner Temple
Profession Lawyer
Religion Islam

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH (February 8, 1903 – December 6, 1990) was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the federation in 1963 to form Malaysia. He is widely known simply as "Tunku" (a princely title in Malaysia) and also called Bapa Kemerdekaan (Father of Independence) or Bapa Malaysia (Father of Malaysia),

Contents

[edit] Life (1903 - 1957)

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Tunku Abdul Rahman was born on February 8, 1903, in Alor Setar, Kedah. He was born in the "Istana Tiga Tingkat" of the Three-Storey Palace which looked like a pagoda in the palace complex known as Dalam Kota. Tunku was the twentieth child of Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, the twenty-fourth ruler of Kedah. Tunku's mother was Che Manjalara, the fourth wife of Sultan Abdul Hamid. Tunku ran outside the palace enclosure to play with boys of his own age who lived in the town. His mother strongly disapproved of it but she was too preoccupied with caring for the Sultan and Tunku's nurses were unable to control him. At that time cholera and malaria were very common all over Kedah and at least two of Tunku's brother and an elder sister died from cholera while Tunku himself suffered from intermittent attacks of malaria until he left for London in 1920.

When Tunku was four years old, he was vaccinated. Although he tried to elude his mother's servants, he was finally caught and taken to his grandmother's room where the painful inoculation took place. When Tunku was nine years old, he was circumcised together with seven other boys who were his playmates from town. The event took place in a room in the palace complex. The Royal Circumciser performed the minor operations in only a few seconds but the healing was slow. All the patients, including Tunku, remained in the palace for three weeks. Malay and Javanese shadow plays were performed nightly for their entertainment.

Tunku's formal education started when he was about six years old at the Malay elementary school in Alor Setar. His mother had hoped that the school would keep him out of mischief but he often ran away from class. When a small English medium school was opened by a teacher named Mohamad Iskandar, Tunku's mother sent him there. At there, Tunku was taught to read Quran. His eldest brother, Tunku Yusuf realized that Tunku was not making any progress in his studies and decided to take Tunku to Bangkok. In Bangkok, Tunku was admitted to the Debsurin School, where lessons were taught in Siamese. Tunku was never lonely. His best friend was Tavil Guptarak. They attended the same school. Tunku Yusuf spent his time on military operations against bandits. In 1915, he contracted pneumonia in the jungle and died on his return to the Siamese capital. Tunku then returned to Kedah accompanied by his brother's widow. His mother then sent him to study in the Penang Free School. It was that Tunku began to developed a keen interest in his studies and twice obtained a double promotion to the rank of Leader of the Ballas.

When Tunku was 16, he was awarded a scholarship which allowed him to further his studies at Cambridge University. He managed to get a seat on board an old cargo ship which carried 12 people. Tunku boarded the vessel in Singapore. When the ship loaded cargo in the Klang River, Tunku contracted a fresh infection of malaria. He had high fever during the voyage and barely recovered when the ship arrived at Tillbury in 1920. Here, a representative named Eccles met him to take him to his temporary new home in Little Stukeley. The Rev. Edgar Vigers, the elderly Rector of the parish, lived in a brick Recotry which was three storeys high. He supplemented his income by tutoring teenage boys who needed coaching before they sat for a variety of minor examinations. He had registered his name with his Crown Agents, and they sent him some students, including Tunku. Most of the boys were English but when Tunku arrived, there were three Siamese boys. Living in an English village was a totally new experience for Tunku. At first, he spent most of his time in the company of the Siamese. Soon, he bought a bicycle and made friends with some youths who played football in the evenings. They were more heavily built and slower, and Tunku could kick a football accurately and run faster than any of them. Soon, Tunku played regularly on the right wing for Little Stukeley football club. No one in the village had ever heard of the Malays, and they nicknamed Tunku 'Bobby'. After about a year, Tunku realised that he was making very little progress in his studies. He took a train from Huntingdon to London and went to see Mr. Ezekiel, his guardian, in the office of the Crown Agents. Ezekiel arranged for Tunku to move to Cambridge and to be taught by and live with a Mr Basil Atkinson. Atkinson was an experienced tutor and he prepared Tunku to sit for the examination known as 'Littlego' to enable him to enter the university. An Indian student taught Tunku geometry. Tunku worked hard and prepared himself for the examinations that took place late in summer the following year. When the results were published, Tunku obtained high marks for all his papers and was allowed a Pass for the whole examination. He had been accepted as undergraduate at one of the colleges that formed the University of Cambridge.

The Kedah Regent had instructed Tunku to study Law at Cambridge so that he could make use of it in the civil service when he returned. But after reading the syllabus for an Honours Degree in Law, Tunku decided to enter his name for a Pass Degree instead. There were no other Malay students at Cambridge in 1922 and Tunku's friends were English and Siamese students. He also befriended the head cook in his college kitchen and taught him how to prepare rice and curry in the Malay style. He met undergraduates from India, but they were too absorbed with politics in their home country. In football, Tunku plated right wing for his college. In the summer he played tennis. Like every other undergraduates, Tunku moved about the town on a bicycle. Later he bought the latest Riley sports car with the money his mother cabled him. Few undergraduates owned cars in 1923 and Tunku became widely known both to the University officials and the local police. In 1924, Tunku sat for his examinations at the end of his second year. He obtained a pass in all subjects and was entitled to place the letters BA after his name. He now decided to sail home. The Crown Agents secured Tunku a berth in a passenger ship which stopped in Penang. Tunku was now 24 years old. He met his eldest brother and explained why he had taken a Pass Degree in Law and History instead of an Honours Degree. Tunku Ibrahim, listened without comment after a short silence. Then the Regent ordered Tunku to return to England to be admitted to the English Bar. Although Tunku wanted to remain in Kedah, despite his mild manner, was all-powerful. Tunku had no choice but to return to London and continued his study of law at the Inner Temple as a regular student. It was now 1926 and many other Malays had been sent to England to study Law. On Sundays. On Tunku's initiative, the Malay Society of Great Britain was formed, with Tunku Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan as President and Tunku as Honorary Secretary and the driving force. It was in his second year as a law student in London that Tunku met Violet Coulson, an attractive lady. She managed a restaurant where many Malayan students had their meals. When Tunku for tired of his law studies, he and Violet sometimes went dancing together. In May 1930, Tunku sat for Part One of the Bar examination. Although he managed to pass three papers, his failure in one paper resulted in him failing the whole examinations of Part One. Tunku set sail for Penang in January 1931. Since Tunku was on a State scholarship, he was automatically a government servant when he returned. His eldest brother, Tunku Ibrahim, was still the Regent and he told Tunku that he was in disgrace for failing to pass the Bar examinations in London.

A few days later, Tunku was appointed a Cadet in Kedah Civil Service. Later, he was transferred to Kulim as Assistant District Officer. In Kulim Tunku devoted much of his time to touring the district and getting to know the problems of the peasants who made 90 % of the population. It was in Kulim that Tunku married Miss Chong Ah Yong a friend's daughter who converted to Islam and became Meriam. They were married by the local Kadi in Tunku's government quarters. Soon after Meriam's conversion to Islam she learnt to pray and when the fasting month began, she persuaded Tunku to do so too. A year after their marriage, Tunku's daughter was born. He named her Khadijah. A year later, a son was born and named Ahmad Nerang. Tunku also devoted some of his time to prepare for Cadet's Law exam in order to qualify for promotion. He took the exams and passed it at the first attempt. About a year later, Tunku was promoted to District Officer of Padang Terap. The post of District Officer Padang Terap was an unpopular one. Kuala Nerang was notoriously unhealthy owing to the prevalence of malaria. As soon as Tunku took over the district, he gave orders for a survey to be made of the swamps which bordered the town obtain an estimate for draining them and applied to the State Secretariat for the necessary funds. Sadly Tunku's plea for duns were rejected. A month after Meriam gave birth to Ahmad Nerang, she contracted a severe attack of malaria. Although Tunku have her the best remedies that he could obtain from Penang, she mad little progress. An English doctor from Alor Setar who visited her mistakenly gave her an injection of undiluted quinine that killed her instantly. It was a tragic misadventure but Tunku made no attempt to lodge an official report. Instead, he wrote again to the State Secretariat, asking that funds be made available to drain the swamp and to rid Kuala Nerang of the main breeding place of the carriers of malaria. This time the money was provided and the work was carried out under Tunku's. When news of Meriam's death reached Violet, she handed over the management of her restaurant and sailed for Singapore without Tunku's knowledge. Once she arrived in Singapore, she wrote to Tunku, informing him of her arrival. Tunku immediately took the train to Singapore and met Violet at her hotel. Together they talked about old times and their long friendship. Tunku and Violet were later married by the Kadi in the Malay mosque in Arab Street according to Muslim rites. Tunku then arranged for Violet to live in Penang for there was a law in Kedah which forbade members of the royal family to marry non-Malays without the prior approval of the Ruler or Regent. Tunku Ibrahim, the Regent, was known to be strongly apposed to mixed marriages, but the Regent died unexpectedly in 1934 and was succeeded as Regent by Tunku Mahmud, the Sultan's younger brother, who was more broad-minded and gave consent to the marriage. This enabled Violet to move to Kuala Nerang, But the Secretary to the Government showed his disapproval by transferring Tunku to the isolated post of District Officer Langkawi. The district consisted of a group of islands, thinly populated, sparsely cultivated and without roads. And it was the object of a legendary curse on a term of seven generations which had not yet expired. When Tunku applied for government funds to develop Langkawi, his application was rejected. But Tunku's genius is winning co-operation from members of the public of all communities led to the construction of a much-needed jetty and later to the opening several earth roads using money and material which he had collected. Tunku also gathered information on the old legends which still haunted Langkawi and pieced together the tragic story of the beautiful Mahsuri who had been unjustly sentenced to a cruel death, and who had cursed the islands as she died. Tunku caused a search to be made for her grave and when it was found, totally neglected he collected donations to meet the cost of providing a white marble covering and an inscribed headstone. New life returned to Langkawi, and Tunku declared that the period of Mahsuri's curse had expired. S.W. Jones M.C.S who was acting British Advisor , Kedah visited Langkawi and was so impressed by the initiative shown by Tunku that he persuaded the Council of State to transfer Tunku and to promote him to the post of District Officer Sungei Petani, the second most important district in Kedah. Langkawi had been a kind of Shangri-La for Violet. But Sungei Petani was a busy town and the centre of a large district , in Which Tunku's every moment was occupied. Violet was no longer happy and Tunku had little time to spare to search for remedy . Tunku soon became the most popular District Officer Sungei Patani had ever known. As District Officer ,Tunku received instruction from the State Secretariat to implement official decisions. Sometimes Tunku disagreed with the instructions and wrote to the Secretary to the Government expressing his views , although , as he anticipated , they were ignored. After some time , Tunku was summoned to an interview in Alor Setar and he was threatened with disciplinary action if he continued to oppose decisions taken by the state government. The warning only served to stiffen Tunku's resolve. Not long later , all district officers were ordered to enforce a new scheme involving taxi drivers. Tunku received complaints from taxi drivers in Sungei Patani who protested against the new scheme. Tunku then advised them to continue to operate their taxis , and to reject the new scheme. When some of the taxi drivers were brought to the Magistrates' Court, where Tunku was on the bench , he cautioned and discharge them in spite of vigorous protest from the Officer-in-Charge of the Police District. The commosioner of Police Kedah then called on the Secretary to the Government to complain about Tunku. This caused Tunku to be transferred with 24 hours' noticed to Kulim as District Officer.

The next morning, a convoy of about 40 taxis escorted Tunku to Kulim , which was about 40 miles away from Sungei Patani. In Kulim , Tunku's predecessor had already enforced the government order and there was nothing Tunku could do to help. Sensing that his prospects for advancement were quite limited. Tunku applied for long leave and left England together with Violet. In London , Tunku and Violet decided on an amicable divorce. Violet then resumed the management of her restaurant in London. She later married an American who served in the USAF as Judge Advocate in England. In London , Tunku sat once more for the Bar Examinations. He planned to leave the Civil Service and to enter private practice as soon as he had qualified as an advocated and solicitor. In his first year in London in 1939 , Tunku succeeded in passing the Part one Examination . At the same time in Europe , Hitler invaded Poland and Britain decalred war on Germany. Tunku was recalled to Malaya and ordered to resume duty as District Officer in Kulim , where he remained for the next three years. Tunku's mother renewed her appeals to him to get married and with her blessings he married Sharifah Rodziah Alwi Barakbah , the daughter of Syed Alwi Barakhbar of Alor Setar . With the war brewing in Europe , Civil Defence schemes were prepared and implemented by district officers. Tunku was appointed Deputy Director of Air Raid Precautions for South Kedah. Tunku recognised the need to prepare for the evacuation of civilians in the event of invasion and in 1941 , he gave orders for the construction of six "Long Houses" made of round timber and with attap roofs on a low hill about two miles away from the town. Funds for this work had been refused by the State Secretariat and Tunku thereforce invited donations from local town dwellers who would ebnefit if evacuation became necessary. Japanese intelligence agents , posing as photographers and hairdressers had been a feature of every sizeable town in the peninsular for the past three years . In Kedah they moved about freely on second-hand bicycles and sent their photos and sketch maps of local area to the good Japanese Consuls for onward transmission to Tokyo.

By October 1941 , British troops had prepared defensive positions in North Kedah. Air fields at Sungei Patani and Butterworth were alive with fighters and bombers. The war would be between Titans-Great Britain and Japan. On the morning of December 9 , 1941 , Tunku received a telephone call in his house in Kulim. It was from a friend in Sungei Patani. The invasion by the Japanese army had begun. The attack was quickly followed by the advance of General Yamashita's army which had landed unopposed on beaches near Songkla the previous night. A second assault force came ashore , unopposed , on the coast of Patani and advanced towards Betong and Kroh . A third but smaller force landed close to Kota Bharu in Kelantan despite vigorous opposition. Unaware of the extent of the Japanese attack , Tunku went to his office and ordered a general alert for his air wardens. Later that morning , he met the leading shopkeepers and advised them to evacuate their families to the "Long House." Apart from these precautions , life in Kulim was business as usual . But in Alor Setar , work came to a standstill . Shops and office were closed and town dwellers hurried to nearby village.

[edit] Career

Upon his return home, Abdul Rahman worked in the Kedah public service and was appointed as District Officer of Kulim and Sungai Petani. In colonial Malaya, almost all the District Officers were British. Abdul Rahman, who was the only Malay District Officer at that time, had the people's interest at heart. This made him cross swords with the British Administration many times.

However, the British Administration in Kedah could not do anything as he was a prince and the son of the Sultan. However, him angering the colonial administration cost him many chances of promotion to higher offices.

Some time later, he returned to England to complete his law studies at the Inner Temple but was forced to stop in 1938. At the outbreak of World War II, he returned to Malaya.

During the Japanese Occupation of Kedah, the Tunku was responsible for saving many lives, both Malay and Chinese. He being of royal blood was highly revered by the Japanese and could not be touched by them, and he used this to his advantage. Many people from Kulim today lay claim to owing their lives to the Tunku.

He resumed his studies at the Inner Temple in 1947. And in 1949, he qualified for the Bar. During this period, Abdul Rahman met Abdul Razak Hussein (later known as Datuk and Tun). He was elected president of the Malay Society of Great Britain, and Abdul Razak, then twenty-six, was his secretary.

[edit] Politics

After his return to Malaya in 1949, Abdul Rahman was first posted at the Legal Officer's office in Alor Star. He later asked to be transferred to Kuala Lumpur, where he became a Deputy Public Prosecutor. He was later appointed as president of the Sessions Court.

During this period, nationalism was running high among the Malays, with Datuk Onn Jaafar leading the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in the struggle against Britain's Malayan Union (see History of Malaysia). Abdul Rahman joined UMNO and became active in Malayan nationalist politics. He was popular and later became head of the Kedah branch of UMNO.

In August 1951 an internal crisis in UMNO forced Datuk Onn Jaafar to resign as party president. Abdul Rahman was elected as the new president, eventually holding the post for 20 years.

[edit] Road to independence

In 1954, Abdul Rahman led a delegation to London to seek independence for Malaya, but the trip proved to be unfruitful. The British were reluctant to grant independence, using the excuse that there needed to be evidence that the different races in Malaya were able to work together and cooperate before independence could be obtained.

Race relations was the cause of Onn Jaafar stepping down. He wanted UMNO to be open to the Chinese and Indians but UMNO members were not ready to accept this. His successor, Abdul Rahman saw a way around this by forming a political alliance with the Malayan Chinese Association called the Alliance Party. The coalition proved to be popular among the people. The Alliance was later joined by the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) in 1955, representing the Indian community.

In the same year, the first federal general election was held, and the Alliance Party (Perikatan) won fifty-one out of the fifty-two seats contested. Abdul Rahman was selected as Malaya's first Chief Minister.

Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaiming Malayan independence.

Later in 1955 Abdul Rahman, along with Tun Sir Tan Cheng Lock and Tun V. T. Sambanthan, made a trip to London to negotiate Malayan independence, and 31 August 1957 was decided as the date for independence. When the British flag was lowered in Kuala Lumpur on independence day, Abdul Rahman led the crowd in announcing "Merdeka!" (independence). Photographs of Abdul Rahman raising his hand, and recordings of his emotional but determined voice leading the cheers, have become familiar icons of Malaysian independence.

[edit] Premiership

Abdul Rahman dominated the politics of independent Malaya (which became Malaysia in 1963), and led the Alliance to landslide wins in the 1959, and 1964 general elections.

The formation of Malaysia was one of Abdul Rahman's greatest achievements. In 1961 he made a speech at the Foreign Correspondents Association of Southeast Asia in Singapore, proposing a federation Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak, and Brunei. On 16 September 1963, with the federation of all these states except Brunei, Abdul Rahman was formally restyled Prime Minister of Malaysia.

However, the racial factor was worsened with the inclusion of Singapore, which increased the Chinese proportion to more than 40%. Both UMNO and the MCA were nervous about the possible appeal of Lee Kuan Yew's People's Action Party (PAP, then seen as a radical socialist party) to voters in Malaya, and tried to organise a party in Singapore to challenge Lee's position there. Lee in turn threatened to run PAP candidates in Malaya at the 1964 federal elections, despite an earlier agreement that he would not do so (see PAP-UMNO relations). This provoked Abdul Rahman to demand that Singapore withdraw from Malaysia.

On 7 August 1965, Abdul Rahman announced to the Parliament of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur that it should vote yes on the resolution to have Singapore leave the Federation, choosing to "sever all ties with a State Government that showed no measure of loyalty to its Central Government" as opposed to the undesirable method of repressing the PAP for its actions. Singapore's secession and independence became official on 9 August 1965.

At the 1969 general election, the Alliance's majority was greatly reduced. Demonstrations following the elections sparked the May 13 racial riots in Kuala Lumpur. Some UMNO leaders led by Tun Abdul Razak were critical of Abdul Rahman's leadership during these events, and an emergency committee MAGERAN took power and declared a state of emergency.

Abdul Rahman's powers as Prime Minister were severely curtailed, and on 22 September 1970, he was forced to resign as Prime Minister in favour of Abdul Razak. He subsequently resigned as UMNO President in June 1971, in the midst of severe opposition of the 'Young Turks' comprising party rebels such as Mahathir Mohammad and Musa Hitam. The duo later became Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia respectively.

[edit] Involvements in Islam

After making Islam the official religion in 1960, Abdul Rahman established the Islamic Welfare Organisation (PERKIM), an organisation to help Muslim converts adjust to new lives as Muslims. He was President of PERKIM until a year before his death. In 1961 Malaysia hosted the first International Qur'an Recital Competition, an event that developed from Abdul Rahman's idea when he organised the first state-level competition in Kedah in 1951.

On the occasion of his 80th birthday, Abdul Rahman stated in the 9 February 1983 edition of the newspaper The Star that the "country has a multi-racial population with various beliefs. Malaysia must continue as a secular State with Islam as the official religion." In the same issue of The Star, Abdul Rahman was supported by the third Malaysian Prime Minister, Hussein Onn, who stated that the "nation can still be functional as a secular state with Islam as the official religion."[1]

[edit] Sports Involvement

Being an avid sportsman, Tunku Abdul Rahman was a firm believer that sports can be a good catalyst in bringing about greater social unity among Malaysians of various races and religions. Therefore he supported and initiated many sports events.

One of the events Tunku initiated was an international football tournament, the Pestabola Merdeka (Independence Football Festival) in 1957. The following year, he was elected as the first president of Asian Football Confederation (AFC), a post he held until 1976.

Tunku also loved horse racing and was a regular at the Selangor Turf Club. He claimed that his lucky number is 13, and that he would win horse races that were held on the 13th of the month, especially on Friday the 13th for him.

[edit] Later life

In 1977, having acquired substantial shares in The Star, a Penang-based newspaper, Abdul Rahman became the newspaper's Chairman. His columns, "Looking Back" and "As I See It", were critical of the government, and in 1987 Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad banned the newspaper. This led to a split in UMNO, with Abdul Rahman and another former Prime Minister, Tun Hussein Onn, setting up a new party called UMNO Malaysia, but its registration was quashed by Mahathir Mohamad, who set up his own UMNO Baru ("New UMNO"). Abdul Rahman later supported Semangat 46, a splinter group of UMNO led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. He campaigned actively for the latter in the General election of 1990, but was already in very poor health. The well-educated, visionary Tunku clashes with Mahathir's brand of nationalism that was meant to help the economically and socially stunted Malays of Malaysia (allegedly due to the effect of colonial British 'divide and rule' system).

[edit] Death

Tunku Abdul Rahman died on 6 December 1990 at the age of eighty-seven, and was laid to rest at the Langgar Royal Mausoleum in Alor Star.

[edit] Family

Abdul Rahman married at least four times. By his first wife, a Thai Chinese woman named Meriam Chong, he had Tunku Khadijah and Tunku Ahmad Nerang. On Meriam's death, he married his former landlady in England, Violet Coulson. He was ordered to divorce her by the Regent of Kedah.

He then married Sharifah Rodziah Syed Alwi Barakbah, with whom he adopted four children, Sulaiman, Mariam, Sharifah Hanizah (granddaughter) and Faridah.

Wanting to have more children of his own, he secretly married another Chinese lady named Bibi Chong who converted upon marriage. He had two daughters with her, Tunku Noor Hayati and Tunku Mastura.[citation needed]

[edit] Awards and recognition

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ooi, J. 2007. Merdeka... 50 years of Islamic State?. Available from: http://www.jeffooi.com/2007/07/merdeka_50_years_of_islamic_st.php. Accessed 21 July 2007.
  2. ^ It's an Honour

[edit] External links

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1957–1970		 Succeeded by
Abdul Razak
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N.C. Chan		 President of Asian Football Confederation
1958–1976		 Succeeded by
Kambiz Atabay
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