TRIBUTE ABDUL - Perdana Library

FRANCIS COORAY
If the Tunku were an ambitious man, these two achievements
alone would have already earned for him praise and glory sufficient
to satisfy him. But he is made of sterner stuff and dominating all
his political thinking is the fixed idea that the path along which he
is leading Malaya shall lead nowhere but to the ultimate peace and
prosperity of the Malayan nation. Therefore T am certain he will
not want to rest from his labours until he feels sure in his own mind
that the happiness and peace of the people whom he has sought to
serve are firmly established on foundations which cannot easily be
undermined by their enemies. Who those enemies are the Tunku
has repeatedly and unequivocally announced for all the world
to hear.
This is not a biographical record but an appreciation of the
achievements which are already to the Tunku's credit and a realistic
survey of the tasks which lie ahead. For a proper appreciation of
those tasks and the Tunku's ability to overcome the many problems
connected with them it is necessary to hark back to the days when
he appeared in the unaccustomed and unfamiliar role of a British
government servant. It was also unpalatable to him because he
came from Kedah where the British Civil Service was not always
persona grata. In those days he might have, even occasionally,
puzzled over the curious spectacle of the British in the Federated
Malay States struggling to create a national movement. For at
that time it was only in the F.M.S. that one saw the extraordinary
sight of British officials more interested in the spread of the national
flag, national anthem, a national army, a national police force
and national schools than the people of the country themselves.
At a critical moment in the history of their political evolution
the Malay people needed the right leader. The Tunku stepped
into the situation when they were almost on the brink of taking the
wrong turning. If they had done so they would still be bogged
down in a morass of inter-racial conflict.
The Tunku took up the leadership at the moment when the
minds of the Malays were confused and when realities faded away
in the glittering illusions with which they were presented. Having