TRIBUTE ABDUL - Perdana Library

FRANK SULLIVAN
The public generally tends to simplify any important issue and
the Press is never slow in helping it to do so. In the public mind,
therefore, the question of apartheid and the endurance of the
Commonwealth became linked, inextricably. As often happens
they hoped for the best but were prepared for the worst. They waited
for an answer to a question of their own making - if the Prime
Ministers do not discuss apartheid what is the value of such meetings?
It must be remembered, too, that the Conference in London
was due to end just before the opening of the much-heralded
Summit Talks in Paris. This left another question mark hanging
in the air. If apartheid exploded at the London talks, would it
affect Commonwealth unity on major topics in Paris?
It was against the background of all these events and opinions
that the Prime Ministers converged on London. There was no
question at all either in their minds or in the minds of the public
that this Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers would be
the most momentous ever held. With the attention of the whole
world focussed on London, the statesmanship of the Commonwealth
leaders faced a stern test.
It was in this atmosphere of crisis and challenge that Tunku
Abdul Rahman set out with the full backing of the nation to attend
the Conference. Malaya was the new member. He had clearly
stated his intention to raise the question of apartheid. He was not
a figure well-known on the world scene in the sense that Mr. Nehru
is. So what he would say or do became the subject of much speculation;
the statesmanship of Tunku Abdul Rahman faced a
stern test.
I wonder how many people at that time really appreciated
how great a test it would be. Now that the Conference is over
and the Tunku's actions are known to all, it is very easy to praise
him for what he did; the whole nation is proud of him, and
rightly so. But while he was flying to London the Tunku was going
to take a task that was almost superhuman. His situation was
quite different from that of the other Prime Ministers, most of whom
were committed only by opinions they might have expressed. The
51