Malays look back fondly at the prince who won them their independence
He was once reviled by Malays for having 'given in' to Malaysia's ethnic Chinese, but the reputation of founding prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman is enjoying a remarkable rehabilitation as the country this month celebrates the 50th anniversary of its independence.
The Tunku, or 'Prince', as he is remembered, is the centrepiece of the Merdeka or independence celebration that has gripped the country. Books, commemorative events, newspaper articles and television documentaries all extol the Tunku as a man of vision who founded a united, stable and vibrant multiracial nation. Even the Tunku's love for whisky, horses and fast cars are being fondly recalled. An avid sportsman, the Tunku initiated the Pestabola Merdeka (Independence Football Festival) in 1957, and in 1958 was elected president of the Asian Football Confederation, a post he held until 1976.
Ironically, as the Tunku enjoys a renaissance, Mahathir Mohamad - the man largely responsible for putting the Tunku in the shadows - is slipping into anonymity. 'It is poetic justice ... the nation had forgotten the Tunku in its march for material wealth,' said Ramon Navaratnam, a retired top civil servant who started his career under the Tunku.
'We are at a crossroads and rediscovering the values that the Tunku exemplified - like good governance, racial and religious tolerance and political morality,' said Mr Ramon. 'That's why the Tunku is enjoying a massive revival.'
A prince who lived life in the fast lane - mostly in London - the Tunku was married four times. After he divorced his second wife, an Englishwoman whom he had married against the wishes of his sultan, the Tunku returned from England in 1946 to head a Malay nationalist movement demanding independence from Britain.