The long and illustrious road of a no-nonsense minister

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TUN Ghazali Shafie (pic) was often said to be a man who could surmount any challenge, and defy all odds.

Even when the media predicted his death when the light aircraft he was flying in with two others crashed at Kampung Janda Baik, near Genting Highlands, Ghazali emerged almost unscathed after spending 28 hours in the dense Pahang forest.

That was way back in 1982, when Ghazali was Foreign Minister. The other two were killed in the crash.

The Star’s headline on January 11 read “Ghaz in plane crash, minister feared dead”. Inside, two pages were dedicated to Ghazali, with pictures of him at the peak of his career.

A full-scale search operation was launched, joined by the then Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Datuk (now Tun) Musa Hitam.

It was feared that if Ghazali, who had “battled” the communist terrorists as Home Minister from 1973 to 1981, was alive, he could be captured by them.

He calmly said after being found: “I’m alive and walking... God is great.” It was reported that Ghazali, a qualified private pilot, had tumbled out of the aircraft “when I saw treetops of the jungle rushing at me.”

“King Ghaz” (a nickname he got from a character of the Alley Oop comics strip), certainly had an illustrious career in public service.

He was an expert in international affairs, known for his flamboyance and dashing style. “Ghazali had style, verve, intellect and confidence verging on arrogance,” wrote one observer way back when Ghazali was at the peak of his life.

He rose to the pinnacle of the ministry after having served as Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, leading in the efforts to keep Malaysia’s foreign policy on a neutral course of non-alignment.

Ghazali, who also served as Special Functions Minister and Information Minister, was probably best known for his “no nonsense” approach as Home Minister.

An avowed anti-communist, he kept alive in the public mind the eternal need for vigilance against the Red peril.

He was so thorough in his work that he expected journalists covering his assignments to come fully prepared.

Senior journalist Johan Fernandez remembers attending the minister’s briefing on a White Paper on the communist threat, back in the 70s, which had been distributed a week earlier to the media.

“When one of the reporters posed a question, a disgusted-looking Ghazali gave him a stare and snapped: “The White Paper was given to you people earlier to read and understand and ask intelligent questions. Whatever you ask is all written in the paper. Don’t waste my time!”

Ghazali’s tough mantle also came to the forefront when he spearheaded negotiations to seek the release of Malaysian, American and Swedish hostages caught in the Japanese Red Army siege at the AIA Building in Kuala Lumpur, where the US Embassy was located, in 1975.

As Home Minister during the crucial period, Ghazali excelled in his role as the “man in the middle”, drawing praise from the then Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri (now Tun) Haniff Omar.

“He blew his top at a Japanese official who seemed to be inept in moving to secure the release of the hostages. That was how Ghazali worked,” recalled another senior journalist.

Still, King Ghaz was not without his detractors. Some claimed that he was involved in certain conspiracies, and that he was too fond of making detentions under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Renowned journalist Datuk Seri Azman Ujang recalls visiting Ghazali at his Ampang Hilir residence several years ago, asking if he felt any guilt at all for all those arrests.

Known also for keeping his cool during sticky situations, the reply came: “I was just doing my job.”

It has certainly been a long and illustrious road for King Ghaz. He handled his duties the best way he knew and was not easily swayed by public opinion.

Related Story: King Ghaz, 88, dies in his sleep