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MALAYSIA
FOCUS
| December 2014
11
TUNKU’S LEGACY OF HUMOUR FOR OUR NATION
Indian and his name is Das. What will happen? Can
you imagine? Tan Das
similar in pronunciation to
“tandas” which in Malay means toilet] would become
a laughing stock wherever he goes.” Hence it was
Tunku who proposed that the title “Tan” which I had
suggested be changed to “Tan Sri” instead.”
Tan Sri Khir had another interesting anecdote. Not
long after independence, Timemagazine sent a lady
photographer to take Tunku’s picture. During one
sitting she took about 50 photographs. At first it was
easy for Tunku to smile, but after a while he simply
could not. The photographer tried saying
“cheese”
and that worked for a few shots. Finally, Tunku had
an idea. He “taught” the photographer a four-letter
word which he told her was the Malay equivalent of
“cheese”. Each time she mentioned this word, Tunku
would smile broadly. The photographer was pleased
with her success. After she had taken enough shots
she left for her next assignment – at the Yang Di-
Pertuan Agong’s Istana. It was only after she left that
Tunku imagined what would happen if she tried to
use that word at the Istana. After a hurried pursuit,
the photographer was stopped at the door of the
Istana, and warned in time.
Tun Razak was one of the more serious Ministers
in the Tunku’s cabinet. But he was not to be spared
either. Tunku used to tell this story. One day Tunku
hosted a dinner at the Residency for Mr. Serrano,
the Philippines Foreign Minister and his wife. Tun
Razak and the other guests were also present at
the dinner. The Tunku asked Mrs Serrano to guess
Tun Razak’s age. Immediately Mrs Serrano replied
that he was probably 60 years old.
“Oh! Tunku said.
“You are paying hima great compliment.” Mrs Serrano
answered, “I was only being polite. As Tunku explained,
“At that time Tun Razak was only 35 years old, but his
scowling, serious countenance and receding hair
belied his age. The other guests burst out laughing
to the great embarrassment of Mrs Serrano when she
understood what my joke was all about.”
One day Tun Tan Siew Sin, the Finance Minister told
Tunku that he intended to take a long vacation to
go abroad, and asked who would be replacing him
in his absence. Tunku was reluctant to approve the
leave, but did not want to appear inconsiderate
either. So he replied, “I will take your place as
Finance Minister.”Knowing Tunku’s lack of prudence
in financial affairs Tun Tan Siew Sin said resolutely,
“In that case, I am not going.”
To Tunku, the sporting spirit and ability to laugh are
important elements that contribute to the success
of a multi-racial and multi-religious society such
as ours. Touching on the question of sensitivities
brings to mind an incident that was narrated
by Tan Sri Lim Swee Aun, the former Minister of
Health in Tunku’s cabinet. There was an unwritten
law that during the fasting month nobody should
smoke during Cabinet meetings. Tan Sri Lim was
an incurable pipe smoker, a habit of 30 years, so
he used to absent-mindedly take out and smoke
his pipe during the fasting month. As a result the
other cabinet ministers would give him a hard stare,
but Tunku would simply smile and say,
“Don’t worry,
doctor, keep on smoking. At least I can smell the sweet
aroma of tobacco.”
On racial sensitivities, there is one joke that Tunku
used to share with Tun Sambanthan, and it relates
to the pre- Merdeka discussions on what should
go into the Malayan Constitution. Some of the
MIC members were against the proposed clause in
the Constitution granting special privileges to the
Malays. The MIC had a heated debate on this issue
just before Tunku and his delegation left for London
to attend the Merdeka Talks. Tunku recollected,
“One delegate lost complete control of himself, pulled
out a knife to kill himself. Luckily, however, he kept the
knife long enough until someone finally grabbed it
away from him.”
Besides such jokes that they shared in common,
they also reinforced each other’s belief in the
supernatural, and enjoyed eating Indian food on
banana leaf. Speaking about banana leaf, there is an
anecdote that Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Jalal, the late
Tunku enjoys a joke with Lee Kuan Yew. This picture was taken at
Tunku’s Residency not long after Singapore’s separation from
Malaysia.