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TUNKU- A TRUE MALAYSIAN May what he stood for always live on * UMNO Baru * America Seeks Elections: Hegemony (with SUCCESSION Dr. M's backing!) RACE WIDE OPEN Demise of Malaysia's Most Illustrious Son... 2; Tun.ku: a nostalgic account by former LP Tun Suffian ... 6; Mother Theresa: The Gift of Love Home ... 7; An Angry Voter... 9; Opposition Has to Prove Itself First... tO; Letters... l3; Free But Not Fair: Election Watch Report Summary ... 20; Gulf Crisis: America Seeks Hegemony ...28; Full Text of Dr M's Statement on the UN Security Council Resolution... JO; Aliran's Response ... Jl; Semakin Berbohong, Semakin Menang... 33; Current Concer~ ... 35; UMNO Baru General Assembly: Palace Politics and More Communalism ... 40; UMNO Baru Elections: Succession Race Wide Open... 44 DEMISE OF MALAYSIA'S MOST ILLUSTRIOUS SON he nation has lost its most illustrious son. T History will record that the Tunku was one of the greatest Malaysians ever born. His greatness lay in his humanity. The Tun.ku was a warm, compassionate human being imbued with a deep sense of fairness. Future generations of Malaysians will long remember the Tonku's three greatest achievements. ONE, he achieved independence for Malaya, and later Malaysia, without bloodshed. TWO, he forged a work.abJe inter~tbnic relationship among diverse communities in one of the most complex mul~i~thnic societies in the world. It was tbe Tunku who helped evolve a political cuJture of tolerance. accommodation and mutual respect in multi~thnic Malaysia. THREE, he laid a finn bas~ for the practice of parliamentary democracy by nurturing the growth of vital democratic institutions in the early years of nationhood. Of course, the Tunku had many other accomplishments to his name. The Tunku played a big role in the creation of the ... the memory of Association of Southeast Asia 1ASA) and later the Association of Southeast Asian Nations the founding father (ASEAN). He was also the firSt Secretary­ of the Malay•lan General of the Organization of Islamic Countries Nation will be (OIC) and a leading statesman in the Common­ engraved not In wealth for many years. More than his achievements, the Tunku was marble bat In one of the very few statesmen in modern the heart• of political history who retained the love and men and women affection of such a large segment of society long after he had retired from public office. There was a deep and enduring bond between the Tunku and the Malaysian people. This is why the memory of the founding father of the Malaysian nation will be engraved not in marble but in the hearts of men and women 2 he Tunku is an institution why the Tunku is perceived in '' ...the Tunku has neither Rare are the mdividuals this way. Only an extraordinary public office nor formal who become institutions in leader could have brought together authority ...yet he commands T their own lifetimes. the Malays and other communities so much tove ... ff It is not d1fficult to understand in the 50s in a common quest 3 for a common goal - Merdeka. threatened tn thc1r own land. relations. pobtics and lhe rconom} To '!nderstand the magmtude of The Tunku, however. was wtse took place w1thin the F1ame~ ork this tahl<. llne has to be a\\' are ol enough to understand that 1f of a Parliamentary Dcmoclacy. the fears and apprehensions, the protectton for the mdigcnous com­ In the first 12 years oi Merdeka, doubts and suspicions that extsted muruties jeopardtsed the legitunatc there was undoubtedly a function­ between and among the various interests of the natton's new ing Parliament which played a commurutles. For the Malays c:ituens there could be a great central role in the nauon·bUJiding grantmg cttl7enshtp on such liberal deal of soctal dislocation. process. The politital Opposiuon terms to recently-donuctled Chmese Thts, 111 a way. was the essence was more effecttve than it is today, and Indians, was a traumatic or the Tunku's wiSdom manifested just as the labour movement was expenencc. It had relegated them in Ius 13-ye:ar stewardship of the more autonomous than 11 IS toda) from a nation to a community country. He had a knack for There was t:ertatnl} less execut1ve among communities. Among the accommodattng diverse. and some­ donUJlancc then compared to what pon-Malays. on the other hand, limes divergent, interests. His deep we have now. The Tunku. needless there vwas a penasrve fear that sense of tolerance was parlly to say, wa!> instrumental m giving their economtc. polllical and responsible for thts H1s stncere Parliamentary Dcmocrac} :.ome cultural mterests and asptrallons love for peace and umty among ml!aning in the lust I 0 year:. of would be at the total mercy of a all people was yet another moll· Merdeka. For the Tunku ha:. Mal:ly pohticnl cltte. As a result vaung factor always behevcd that the democrauc of these fears and anxteties there These outstandtng human quali­ system, in spite of all lis weak­ was quite a bit of communal ties served the Tunku well as be ne:.ses, remams the one system hystcna in those days. It took approached some of the other that is most capable of protecting the warm, assuring hand of the l'ormtdable challenges confronting and enhancmg human dtgnny. Tunku to assuage the doubts and one of the most comple.ll. new states This explams why even in retire­ apprehensions on both sides. to 10 post-colon1al Asta and Afnca. ment, the Tunku has often come calm down Malays and non-Malays Withtn SIX years of Merdeka in to the defence of ctvil rights and so that the} would compromise 1Q63, the 1-ederatmn itself ex­ politkal libertieS whenever lhey and accommodate each other's panded to embrace new commu­ arc threatened by some law 01 pOStltOn nitieS and new terrllon.:::.. In spite other It is to Tunku's credit that of all the difficulties enwuntered. Advocate of democracy, ch:~m­ the tcntaltve ttes whtch he esta· the Tullku managed to stnke a p1on of Inter-ethnic harmony. bbshed among the commumtie) balance ut sorts between the devotee of moderauon and before Merdeka have developed mterests or the Centre and those accommodauon tn nat1on-buildmg. 1nto workable inter-ethlllc lmk.s of the new States in the Federation. and ot course crusader for Indepen­ tn politics. Jt was the Tunku's Ukewisc. 11 has never been art dence and founder of the Malays1an careful nurturtng and nurs1ng ol easy task creating comtitut1onal nauon. the Tunku would have ethntc relations tn the llrst decade rnonarch1es out ol feudal monar· earned his nghtful place in modern of Independence through the chies especially if the ne~ Situation As1an hiStory on the basts of these Alhance Coalttion whiLh, tn a demands the recognition of the at:comphshments alone. But the ~en~. helped to check ethnk soveretgnt}' of the people. The Tunku has done much more animos1t1es to some ex tent. As he Tunku's own poliLJcal acumen had The Tunku was one of the gave encouragement to the develop· a lot to do With the evolution ·founding fathers' of the Associa· ment or Malay liS the nlliiOnal of Con!>tituttonal Sultanates tJOn of Southeast Asian Nauons language. so he pre~rved and derivmg the1r authont} fwrn a ( ASl: A1\) wluch is one of the perpetuated the usc of other democratic citilenry, few viable reg1onal groupmg~ in languages. partiwlarly Lngli~h The Even tn his handling ol the the world today. He helped to Tunku h:td a clear ~.:omrnJLment economy in those year~ when he estabhsh. and became the llrst to the positiOn of hlam a:. the was Prime Mmistcr, the Tunku Secretary-General of the Organj. offtctal. rehg10n. At the same time attached a lot of importance to sation of lslamk Conference. And, he rcahsed the importance ol values :ouch as ·moderation·, it must not be forgotten, that demonstrating to the adherents 'balance· and 'accommodation'. the Tunku played a p1votal role of the other fanhs that the1r This is why while ensunng growth in securing Lhe expulsion of the freedom to practise thc1r religions and expansion he succeeded in apartheid state of South Africa was as:.ured. As Prime Minister, buildmg a fa1rly 1mpress1ve from the Commonwealth. Indeed, the Tunku was deternuned to mfrastru<.ture m education and 11 1:. a mark of the Tunk.u 's tnter­ protect the special po!>itton or the heallh. It was an attt:mpt lO infuse nauonal fame that even today, '1ala}) aml the other mdigcnous an element of soctal justice long after he had stepped down conm1un11lcs in Malays1a for he mto the que:.t lor econom1c as Prime Mmister, the Tunku's knN that there wuld be massive development. name evokes a response among po htJ .. al upheaval if an econo· What is remarkable is that people abroad. nucall} dept ived people felt the Tunku's management of ethnic The unparallelled achievements of this outstanding human being do not in any way mean that there were no sorrows or setbacks during his stewardship of the land. Like all human beings, the Tunku has had his share of mistakes. It is ohe of the endearing qualities of the Tun.ku that he has always admitted his own shortcomings. This is what makes him a truly great leader. He is humble enough to say he ts wrong. He has never pretended to be what he is not. There is no hypocrisy about him. This is indeed a rare attribute seen in the light of present-day politics. If his lack of hypocrisy makes him somewhat unique, so does his devotion to a humane approach to major social issues.

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