TRIBUTE ABDUL - Perdana Library

TRIBUTE TO TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN
For example, What does he do hour by hour? Does he
have time to read the newspapers? What is his hobby? And
probably most important of all, Does he enjoy being a Prime
Minister?
To be precise, I have found out that it is not as simple as
it appears to be. The Prime Minister cannot just ignore his
duties or shut the door of his room and relax. Neither can he
ask someone else to do his work for him. The country wants
his attention and though we ordinary citizens can put off something
until tomorrow, this would not be possible with the Prime
Minister. He has to attend to matters of state no matter whether
he has the mood for doing it or not. In short, it means the
world around him never stops.
Thus the Tunku is not enjoying life, as some people think,
in the exquisitively designed and furnished suite of rooms in the
Residency. He is struggling hard to keep himself on his feet in
order to give the people the happiness he has promised them.
We all know that it is very easy to make promises, but implementing
them is not so simple.
1 have narrated what appears on the surface but not mentioned
other personal problems which he has to attend to. I
dare say that many of you are not prepared to accept my
statement that the Prime Minister prepares his own coffee or
tea in the early hours when he gets up from bed. This is no
exaggeration. It is true and confirmed by many of his household
employees. According to them, the Tunku does not like
to trouble either his wife or servants, since they too have to
work round the clock all day.
I have still another surprise. Many of you will not believe
that he gets up as early as 4.45 every morning. And this is
again true. At times, he would rise even much earlier, at about
2.00 or 2.30 a.m. depending on the amount of work involved.
He would cast aside his work temporarily in order to have his
morning prayers at 5 a.m. Having fulfilled his duty towards
the Almighty, the Tunku now turns to the files. There are too
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