KEPALA BATAS: More than 65 years ago, when Malaya was still fighting for independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj went to a little village in Permatang Buluh, seeking funds to pay for his delegation’s trip to London.
The villagers were in a frenzy, giving land and valuables to Tunku for the trip.
Tunku and his comrades, Tan Sri Mohammed Tahir Tan Tong Hye and Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, then went to London several times between 1954 and 1956.
They shared rooms in small hotels, living frugally to stretch their financial resources as far as possible, spending weeks talking with British MPs and senior government officials before that fateful day on Aug 31, 1957.
Former soldier Ku Bhadur Ku Abdullah, 72, who fought many battles during the communist insurgency, remembers that visit to the village, a little-known nugget of pre-Merdeka history. Ku Bhadur is the nephew of the Tunku.
Among the people the country’s first prime minister met in the village was Ku Bhadur’s grandfather Ku Taib Tunku Muhammad Saad.
“Tunku came to tell my grandfather of his plans to go to London and gain independence. We didn’t want to be ruled by Britain anymore. We wanted to be free to make our own decisions, choose our own leaders, and face challenges by ourselves,” said Ku Bhadur.
His grandfather, he recalled, led Tunku to seek guidance from a Muslim scholar named Abdullah Fahim, the grandfather of Malaysia’s fifth prime minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
His grandfather did one more thing: he gave Tunku jewellery and the land title, which was then sold to fund the delegation.
After years of discussions by the delegation, the moment of truth came on Jan 1, 1956.
Tunku led two large delegations, one representing the communities of Malaya and another the Rulers, who sailed on a ship named Asia to seek independence.
On Feb 8 that year, he signed the Treaty of London with the then British secretary of state for the colonies, Alan Lennox-Boyd, guaranteeing that the Federation of Malaya would become an independent nation from Aug 31, 1957.
As Ku Bhadur grew up, he said he came to realise that his homeland had been facing another threat: the Communist insurgency (1948-1990).
It led him to join the army in 1970.
“I was in the Royal Malay Regiment. I was in many risky jungle operations, especially in Ops Gubir in the 1970s,” he said.
For five years, he said he watched friends die in battle against communist guerrillas.
After a fierce battle in which he saw one of his officers lose his leg, Ku Bhadur said he was transferred to a desk assignment in Sungai Petani until he retired in 1984.
Now a grandfather of seven, he said he never fails to constantly remind them to love their country.
He said the sense of belonging to the nation must exist in every Malaysian so the sacrifices of the forefathers would not be in vain.
“What would happen if we lose this land? Where would we go? This is our homeland, so we must protect it with our heart and soul,” he added.
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