The untold story of Ibrahim Ali

FOR decades, an ever-present presence on the Malaysian political landscape, the gravelly-voiced Datuk Dr Ibrahim Ali, who stands by his claim to be a “misunderstood man”, remains an outspoken and, intended or not, controversial figure. 

Preferring to be referred to in the Kelantan dialect simply as ‘Tok Him’, he still manages to divide opinion among Malaysians who either label him a “racist menace” or a ‘wira jati’ (true hero). 

Like many among his generation of formative politicians, Tok Him experienced hardship in his childhood. His late father, Ali Mohamad @ Che Leh, who had been active in politics, was taken away under a Public Order Ordinance for many years and the young Him was left to be taken care for by his uncle, Che Abdullah. 

“My family is quite big. I have 13 siblings. We were poor and this severely affected my education. We faced further hardship in the family because our father was taken away from us suddenly by the authorities,” he said.

At the tender age of seven, Tok Him, who originates from Pasir Pekan, Tumpat, Kelantan had already showed leadership traits when he was made head prefect while at the Tanah Merah English Primary School. He completed his High School Certificate (HSC) at Maktab Kadir Adabi Kota Bharu in 1971. 

Upon completing his HSC, Tok Him applied to several universities and immediately got an offer from the Science University of Malaysia (USM) in the Humanities but turned it down as he was keen to pursue Law at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), formerly known as Mara Institute of Technology (ITM). 

“My student dream was to be a lawyer or pilot – an army fighter jet pilot. After Form Five, I did apply to be an apprentice at the Malaysian Air Force, but after the interview, I was dropped because I did not fulfil the chest requirements,” the diminutive politician explained.

When he enrolled for his London University Bachelor of Law programme at UITM, Tok Him did not realise that it was an external course and would be conducted in English.

Tok Him tried his level best for a period of four months before pulling the brakes.

“I could not follow the lectures and knew I was going to be thrown out if I continued. I then consulted with a few lecturers and friends and decided to switch courses from LLB to Mass Communication in 1972. It so happened that the course had just started, and I was a pioneer,” he stated, adding that he graduated majoring in public relations and not journalism as thought by many.

Meanwhile, Tok Him was already making a name for himself as the Secretary-General of the Student Union known as ‘Kesatuan Siswa ITM’ (KSITM) at the time.

Tok Him rose to fame on April 22, 1974. 

On that night he led a group of 6,000 students, equipped with white T-shirts emblazoned with the words ‘Bumiputera Bertindak’ (Bumiputeras in action) and ‘ITM Mesti Universiti’ (ITM must be a university) and marched some 60km from the Shah Alam ITM campus to Parliament House to demand that the status of ITM be raised to that of a university so that their students could graduate with a degree instead of a diploma. Their march, however, was halted at a formidable barricade at Batu Tiga, Shah Alam. 

“We were very disciplined until teargas was fired towards us; then everything turned chaotic and the situation escalated quickly. Students clashed with the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) resulting in the arrest of more than 1,500 students. Some 300 others were treated for injuries,” he recalled. It proved a long battle for change as the students considered the matter of the status as part of the Malay Agenda in education. As a result of this protest, the institution was shut down for a whole month.

In December 1974, while in his final year, Tok Him was arrested for the first time under the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) as part of the wave of student protests that gripped the country.

Tok Him proudly stated that he managed to complete his bachelor’s degree, scoring near complete As even though he had been left to prepare for the examination without any supervision.

“I thank Tun Arshad (Dr Arshad Ayub) for allowing me to sit for the examination, as he was Director of ITM at that time. My head of school was Datin Marina Samad, and, till this day, I will never forget my Indian professor, Professor Sankaran Ramanathan, who demonstrated real care and helped me get through my studies,” he said repeatedly, and with full emotion. 

Tok Him’s mother managed to visit him only three times while he was in detention due to transport and financial constraints, while his late father never saw the camp because of a banishment order.

During the two-year detention period he was roommates with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim at Block 8 in the Kamunting Detention Camp. Anwar’s father, Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, visited him a couple of times, but Mak Yam, Anwar’s mother as she was fondly called, would visit every month.

Mak Yam would always bring food for Anwar and he, too, enjoyed eating her homecooked food. He recalls celebrating one Hari Raya Aidilfitri with Mak Yam as his own mother could not make it to the detention centre. 

Tok Him recalls that Anwar and he often played ping-pong and badminton to kill time, and each week they were permitted to watch a movie of their choice through a projector, resulting in friendly confrontation between the two. 

“I enjoy action movies but Anwar preferred Hindi movies … We managed to solve the problem when we agreed to rotate between action and Hindi movies weekly,” he giggled.

Upon release from Kamunting, Tok Him found himself on a series travels that resulted in meetings with world leaders, Islamic scholars, and great thinkers. This experience, he admits, was priceless. These figures included United States Vice-President Al Gore, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the revolutionary leader of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, President of Cuba Fidel Castro. The most significant for Tok Him, however, was that with Ayatollahi Khomeini.

On Christmas day, 1978 Tok Him and his wife Datin Rohaya Idrus, just wed, flew to the United States of America for their honeymoon. The trip was a wedding gift from Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

While there, Tok Him saw some 2,000 Iranian students assembling in front of the White House in Washington, holding banners, protesting the Shah of Iran, and showing their support for Ayatollahi Khomeini. A former student leader himself, the scene hit a nerve with him.

“While I was in Washington, there was a big demonstration by Iranians in front of the White House; the group was chanting ‘down with Iran, down with the Shah, the King of Kings’. In contrast, they were supporting an Islamic revolution led by Ayatollahi Khomeini. I became excited and joined the crowd as if I were an Iranian. Quite frankly, I think they thought I was one of them, too; and I loved that,” he recalled fondly.

That experience spurred Tok Him to locate the whereabouts of the Ayatollahi. Eventually the time came when he was led to Ayatollahi Khomeini. Till today he firmly believes that the meeting was the will of Allah.

“Quite by accident, my wife Rohaya bumped into an Iranian at our hotel lobby who informed us that Ayatollahi Khomeini now resides in Neauphle-Le-Chateau, about 40 miles from Paris. The Ayatollahi had been granted political asylum there by the French government. 

“We went to the area and found there were many roadblocks … not by French police or army, instead by Iranians who were like the PLO … you could only see their eyes,” he described.

He then made his way to a convenience store to buy some drinks and snacks when he ran, quite by chance, into Dr Ebrahim Yazdi, one of the principal leaders of the Iran Islamic Revolution Council. They had previously met during his university days in 1973 at an event organised by the International Federation of Muslim Student’s Organisation in Kuwait.

“We gave salam, and after exchanging a few words, we recollected how we had met once before. We embraced and he immediately took me to meet the Ayatollah,” he said.

Tok Him reiterated that it was a privilege he holds dearly as he was the only Malaysian to interview Ayatollahi Khomeini in person and managed to write a book on the encounter which sold more than 30,000 copies. 

Of the present, Tok Him expressed great disappointment as he deemed current leaders, both political and religious, as charlatans. According to Tok Him, the crux of the problem with leaders is that they only preach religion, but fail to practise its principles, riding on it, instead, as a political tool.

“Just look at Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), supposedly an Islamic party but having governed Kelantan for 30 years they are still not doing anything. They (the politicians) only bought Mercedes Benz vehicles and increased their salaries. Joblessness has forced people to leave the state even though Kelantan is rich in so many ways. Sadly, we (the Kelantanese) are going backwards,” he said in frustration.

He believes that that many Islamic leaders practice double standards.

“They say something to you but do something else. That is why their prayers are being rejected by God (Allah). In Islam, we believe that whatever God decides, it will surely happen – ‘kun fayakun’ which means ‘to be’,” adding that “it is a hard pill to swallow, but today we can clearly see non-Muslim leaders who are better leaders compared to Muslim leaders.”

Apart from that, he also noted that even as 2020 is coming to an end, Malaysia is still far from what it is destined to be. Malaysia appears to be facing political turmoil and to many, the future of our nation would be bleak if no drastic measures are taken immediately with regards to racial and religious disputes.  

“There were no serious racial issues before ... I mean, not as dreadful as now … hurting each other through racial remarks and sentiments is getting overboard.

“Malaysia can be a great nation; everyone wants to see our country becoming a great nation, but what has happened to us these past few years?” he asked.

On whether the 69-year-old opinionated politician had any regrets in life, he confessed cheekily that even as he has been labelled ‘The King of Frogs’, he regrets nothing, as all the experiences he has been through has made him the person he is today.

“I know people are still calling me ‘Ibrahim Ali Katak’ (frog) and they accuse me of being a political ‘frog’, that is not the case at all,” he said in a cynical tone. 

Tok Him further explains that when he decided to switch from one political party to another, beginning with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Front (Berjasa) to United Malays National Organisation (Umno) to Parti Melayu Semangat 46 (S46) and back to Umno – it was a result of circumstances. 

“They disregarded the fact that I made those moves because I had no choice; the name-calling became louder when I contested under the PAS ticket in the 2008 general elections,” he stressed.

Even though it has not been a walk in the park for Tok Him, that he owes a big chunk of gratitude in his political path to his dear wife who has stuck through thick and thin with him, is evident on his face.

“My wife is a very proactive and cooperative with me. She respects and supports me in politics – she is the only person who has my back. I was in trouble with the authorities; I was locked up for the second time under ISA (in 1987). Though I spent most of my earnings on politics, she could not care less. She does not nag and does not hinder me from pursuing my political ambitions to this very day,” he said, adding that Rohaya loves to live humbly, unlike wives of some politicians who choose to flash their luxurious lives. 

“I am very blessed to have Rohaya as my wife and she is truly my ‘jodoh’ (soulmate here and in the afterlife). I am a person who does not like to make people upset, especially my dear wife whom I love truly. Rohaya is not just my wife, she is also my best friend. Apart from that, in all honesty, I am quite scared of her, to a certain extent! I would not dare do that (take a second wife) … ever!” he said hilariously.

Tok Him’s only child, Nur Amalina was born on September 19, 1980. A graduate from the University of Canberra, Australia in Communications and Advertising, she currently works in the animation industry and is a writer for several international magazines.

In a nutshell, whether we like it or not, Tok Him remains relevant in the political scene today, especially in preparation of the coming general elections with his new party Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra). He makes it crystal clear that he is up to contesting and will give it another go.

As The Vibes crew left his office, he jokingly reiterated that, given the “fluid politicians” of our day, he will keep the title of ‘King of Frogs’ forever. 

If possible. – The Vibes, December 12, 2020