TRIBUTE ABDUL - Perdana Library

TRIBUTE TO TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN
tiful replica of the Freedom Bell, Herr Brandt told him this bell rang
out daily to remind Berlin and the world of the meaning of freedom,
but more important than that to remind them of their responsibility
under freedom.
Accepting the gift, the Tunku capped this occasion with a personal
touch of quick-thinking repartee. He thanked Herr Brandt
for the "Peace Bell". In a loud stage whisper Enche Ghazali said,
"It's the Freedom Bell, Sir". Like a flash the Tunku replied, "It's
the same thing. You can't have peace without freedom, and you
can't have freedom without peace 1 '. The great room filled with applause,
laughter and smiles. And if anyone can think of a briefer or
better way of expressing the whole philosophy of the free world, I
for one would be proud and glad to hear it.
The Tunku made extensive tours of both the West and East
sectors of Berlin, and the tremendous contrast between these two
areas left a profound and deep impression on his mind, as it did on all
of us.
How shall I express the experience? West Berlin is a re-born
city, expanding and bursting with energy, humming and bustling
with activity and progress, a city alive, a city built on sheer will for
future life. Even the trees in the once shell-shattered Tiergarten
seemed to be in a hurry to grow up!
As you pass through the Brandenburger Gate into East Berlin,
you are confronted with ruins and rubble and desolation. As the
Tunku remarked, "The war seems to have ended only yesterday".
There is a strange silence, only a few vehicles, no roar of traffic, not
many people about, and those you see are shabbily dressed, and the
shops look drab and forlorn. The only imposing street is the
mile-long Stalin Allee, flaunting the vulgarity of Soviet design, but
even this commercial centre was only a bright facade drawing the
eye away from the empty shells of ruins to the rear. The City's tempo
had all the listlessness of a Summer resort in Winter. The City
and its people seemed to say, "Life has no point, no purpose; why
bother when there is nothing to bother about?" They were getting
ready for the arrival any moment of Mr. Khruschev from Paris.
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