PEKAN (Bernama): Sultan Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong is a quiet king and is not fussy since his youth.
Datuk Abd Rahman Endut, Sultan Abdullah's Protocol and Special officer, also said the new King did not get angry easily and did not like the apple-polishing and inciting attitudes.
''Tuanku prefers to keep quiet. If there is something which he wishes to know more about, he will summon the individual concerned to his office to safeguard the latter's image.
"Similarly, if Sultan Abdullah has a problem, Tuanku likes to stay in his room by himself and when he emerges, he will be back to normal ... he likes to keep it to himself," he said,
Revealing another side, Abd Rahman said Sultan Abdullah was also a cool person and liked to tease those close to him, including veteran palace staff, thus endearing him to them.
"He still teases an old man like me," said Abd Rahman who has served Sultan Abdullah for 45 years.
Recalling the early moments of serving Istana Pahang, Ab Rahman said that initially he only applied to serve temporarily because at that time he was waiting for a call-up from the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
However, when the call-up for military training was received in 1974 and the warrant ticket for the train was already in his hand, Sultan Abdullah's father Sultan Ahmad Shah summoned him and ordered him to accompany his sons to school in London, England.
''It was my luck too to experience stay in a white man's country for years from 1975. At that time, Sultan Abdullah and Tengku Abdul Rahman (the Tengku Muda of Pahang) were at boarding school, so my duty was to pick up and send them both on weekends.
''The duty that I often performed was to cook for Sultan Abdullah and Tengku Abdul Rahman, but my cooking skill as a bachelor was rather wanting at that time. I often cooked fried rice or fried chicken, or if we wanted to eat a notch better, I would buy tandoori or burger because they were both not fussy," he said.
Abd Rahman said to fill their free time, the three of them always had jam sessions and Sultan Abdullah would play the drums, Tengku Abdul Rahman, bass guitar, while he would play the keyboard, piano or guitar.
After he got married in 1979, he said his wife Datin Rozaidah Mokhtar, 62, took over his cooking duties and among the choice menus were nasi dagang other than original Pahang cuisines such as ikan patin masak tempoyak, opor daging and ayam golek.
"Sultan Abdullah relishes his wife (Tengku Ampuan Pahang) Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah's cooking. He will eat whatever she cooks. His downside is that he is allergic to vinegar," he said.
In addition, he said Sultan Abdullah, who was an active sportsman, also instilled the same interest in his children, especially in polo as Sultan Abdullah himself had headed the Pahang Royal Polo team to international competitions.
''Although, he is no longer active in polo, he will attend competitions involving his sons and sometimes turn up to see them training. He is a keen horseman, although he can no longer often carry out the activity currently. His three beloved horses Pintada, Cumbia and Mimosa are of Argentinian stock,'' he added.
Sultan Abdullah was chosen as the new Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a five-year period effective tomorrow. – Bernama
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