GEORGE TOWN – A friend and fellow national independence activist of the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Aj-Haj said the country’s first prime minister would have been depressed to see the present state of political affairs in the country.
“It goes against every grain of his struggle for liberty and the right to self-govern, because racial harmony was the bedrock on why this country was granted independence from the colonists,” said Penang Malay Association president Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff.
Sharing old photographs of the Kedah prince with The Vibes, Yussof now heads the oldest Malay organisation in the country – and at the ripe age of 90, he recalls the wisdom in which the country’s first prime minister had imparted, but in which many of today’s leaders have forsaken in their rush to seize power.
“If Tunku was alive today at the age of 118, he would be disappointed and depressed with our country, particularly over the split in the Malay community and the racial divide we are enduring now,” he said, adding that racial harmony is the foundation of why this country could be formed.
Yussof was the former political secretary to Penang’s first chief minister, the late Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee, who is an old boy of the country’s second oldest school – SMK St Xavier's Institution – here.
“The gist of his administration was unity, moderation, tolerance, good nature, peace and justice.”
He said many Malaysians may not know that Tunku – who was also known as Bapa Malaysia – epitomised his management style in the initials under his honourable title as a Malay royal.
“Tunku stands for T (Tolerance), U (Understanding), N (Noble), K (Kindness), and U (Uniqueness),” Yussof said, adding that his hopes that the words can form the basis for the country’s future leaders to aspire for. – The Vibes, February 8, 2021.
