Tunku - sincere, honest, and not a hypocrite like 'someone'

In 1969, following an insane Australian Christian attempts to burn the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem (note: Australian Christian as the Israelis told the world), the Mufti of Jerusalem blamed the crime on the Jews and called for a worldwide Islamic conference on the issue of desecration.

Responding to that call for an Islamic summit, Saudi Arabia took the lead and after a couple of meetings with 24 other Islamic nations, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC, now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) was founded in 1972.

King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia decided that the first sectary general should be the just-out-of-job Tunku Abdul Rahman of Malaysia, then ousted as PM by Brutus and his cohorts immediately after May 13 (which we have been informed by various credible scholars, was staged by ..... seeking to remove then-PM Tunku Abdul Rahman from office). Among Brutus cohorts/advisers was a young Turk of Indian-Muslim heritage, wakakaka.

Anyway, our Tunku was initially shocked and reluctant to accept the job. In an audience with His Majesty he explained why he was unwilling to be the new Sec-General of the newly formed OIC with a membership of 57 nations and a total Muslim population of 1.8 billion people.

He told King Faisal he was not a good Muslim as he drank and gambled - Tunku admitted to His Majesty that he loved his whisky and card games as well as having an affection for horse racing.

King Faisal dismissed Tunku's humble protestations and told the wonderful old man, (words to the effect): "I want you to be the Secretary of the OIC, not to be the Mufti of Mecca".

Thus our very humbled, truthful and most beloved Tunku Abdul Rahman became the OIC's first secretary-general, despite his honest self revelations of his weaknesses, unlike 'someone' who always blames others. It has to be said of the Saudi King that His Majesty saw the sincere honest man Tunku was.

Now we move on to some extracts of a MySinChew.com article, as follows:


When Tunku met the roasted pork


Datin Amar Kathryn Wee ... related the stories between the nation's founding father Tunku Abdul Rahman and her husband Datuk Amar Wee Hood Teck. What really touched my heart was not the many previously untold stories of the upper social class back in those years, but what many never heard about Tunku himself.

One day, Tunku was having a gathering with some good friends at a non-halal restaurant in Kuching. When a waiter holding a tray of roasted pork was walking in their direction, someone on the table quickly signaled to the waiter to send the roasted pork to another table.

Seeing all this, Tunku did not feel offended but signaled the waiter to instead put the roasted pork on their table, and told the others, “You can enjoy your food, and I will have mine. What's big deal about that?”

There was a time Datin Amar Wee and her husband went to KL to see their old friend Tunku, and someone made the careless suggestion for the couple to convert to Islam, and before anyone could come up with anything to divert everyone's attention, Tunku told them there was no such need at all.

I found in Lee Kuan Yew's memoirs certain parts mentioning Tunku, including his appreciation for red wine, which I believe could have something to do with his long years living in Britain.

Tunku came to Kuching quite often. Besides official duties, one of the reasons could have been his affinity for horse-racing.

Tunku did not seem to bother much about his passion for red wine and horse-racing, and would not shy away from showing his truest self in front of his friends after becoming the country's first prime minister.

Imagine if Tunku still lives in today's Malaysia, such trivialities could have sparked a tremendous controversy in our society.

Religious taboos were not on Tunku's mind.

Many may think people in the 1960s through 70s could have been ultra conservative, but let me tell you, Tunku's open-mindedness, while not being completely extinct in the 21st century, remains an extremely precious rarity we must all cherish and appreciate.

In a multicultural society like ours, diverse views and voices should by right be allowed to exist. Unfortunately, our diversity is being eroded, and differing voices overwhelmed.


Ho Lee Peing is Sin Chew Daily Deputy Executive Editor, East Malaysia