(SEJARAH DOKTOR MELAYU): Siapakah Tun Dr Ismail? (1915-1973) Part 1

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Ismail bin Abdul Rahman , 4thNov 1915, JB, mak Zahara Ab Bakar, ayah Ab Rahman

Mak beliau meninggal umur 12 tahun, atuknya sebelah bapa yang membesarkan.

Sekolah di Sekolah Bukit Zaharah kat JB1921-1927 dan ke English College di JB 1928 – 1935

Lanjutkan pelajaran dalam perubatan di KingEdward VII Medical College, Singapore; kerana serangan Jepun, terpaksa keQueen’s College di Melbourne pada tahun 1941 untuk sambung pengajian; melayupertama. Kerana berpindah, dia graduate berumur 30 tahun pada 4thJune 1945.

Beliau mulakan GP practice dari 1947 hingga1953. Selepas itu tinggalkan dunia perubatan untuk menceburi politik

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@ipes2 per requested, please highlight

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Tahukah anda Taman Tun Dr Ismail, atau TTDI?


Siapakah Dr Ismail itu? Kenapakah beliau dikenang sedemikian rupa hingga ada suatu taman yang mewah lagi femes dinamakan dengan nama beliau? Tentulah ada sebabnya dan ianya bukanlah kerana beliau seorang doctor. Sebabnya akan kita lihat dalam Part 2.



Ismail Bin Abdul Rahman, dilahirkan pada 4th Nov 1915, di Johor Baru kepada Zahara Bte Ab Bakar dan Abdul Rahman Bin Mohd Yassin. Ibu nya mengalami pelbagai penyakit dan beliau telah dibesarkan oleh nenek sebelah emaknya.  Ketika beliau berumur 12 tahun, emak beliau telah meninggal dunia kerana pelbagai penyakit tadi lalu Ismail telah dibesarkan oleh nenek tiri sebelah bapanya pula.



Ismail telah bersekolah di Sekolah Bukit Zaharah di JB dari tahun 1921-1927 dan kemudiannya di English College di JB pada tahun 1928 – 1935. Ismail lalu telah berjaya melanjutkan pelajarannya dalam perubatan di King Edward VII Medical College, Singapore. Malangnya, kerana WW2 dan Malaya telah jatuh ke tangan Jepun, pelajaran beliau telah terbantut. Namun, ini tidak menghalang cita-cita Ismail walaupun terpaksa menyambung pula kursus perubatannya di Queen’s College di Melbourne pada tahun 1941.



Kerana peperangan dan perpindahan, beliau graduate pada umur 30 tahun pada 4th June 1945 dan merupakan orang Melayu pertama yang graduated sebagai doctor dari sana.



Beliau lalu mulakan GP practice dari 1947 hingga 1953. Selepas itu Dr Ismail meninggalkan dunia perubatan untuk menceburi bidang politics, dan dari jasa nya disinilah belaiu dikenang hingga bergelar Tun Dr Ismail.

Nora_29

Allahyarham Tun Dr. Ismail bin Dato' Abdul Rahman (4 November 1915 - 2 Ogos 1973) merupakan bekas Timbalan Perdana Menteri kepada Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang kedua iaitu Tun Abdul Razak. Beliau juga mempunyai abang yang bernama Dato' Shamsuddin Abdul Rahman.

Beliau dilahirkan pada 4 November 1915 di Johor Bahru, Johor. Beliau berasal dari keluarga yang berstatus elit. Bapanya, Dato’ Abdul Rahman Mohd Yassin pernah bekerja sebagai Kerani, Pesuruhjaya Daerah, Majistret dan Bendahari Negeri. Bapa beliau juga adalah Speaker Dewan Negara yang pertama. Bapanya juga berperanan untuk menubuhkan Persatuan Melayu Johor yang fungsinya adalah untuk menentang Malayan Union. Sebagai Ketua Orang Tujuh, mereka menuntut Sultan Ibrahim meletak jawatan sebagai Sultan Johor kerana menandatangani persetujuan penubuhan Malayan Union 1946 yang bertentangan dengan Undang-undang Tubuh Kerajaan Johor 1895.

Anak kelahiran Johor Bahru ini mendapat pendidikan awal di Sekolah Bukit Zaharah dan kemudian melanjutkan pelajaran di English College, kedua-duanya di Johor Bahru. Setelah lulus dengan cemerlang dalam pendidikan peringkat menengah, beliau melanjutkan pelajaran ke King Edward College of Medicine, Singapura dari tahun 1936 hingga 1939. Setelah itu, beliau telah mendapat tawaran melanjutkan pengajian di Queen's College Melbourne University, Australia sehingga memperoleh Ijazah Sarjana Muda Perubatan tahun 1945. Beliau mendapat penghargaan dan menjadi kebanggaan negara kerana menjadi anak Melayu pertama lulus Ijazah Perubatan dari Universiti tersebut. Sekembali ke tanah air, beliau menyertai Jabatan Kesihatan Johor buat seketika dan kemudian membuka klinik perubatannya sendiri yang dikenali sebagai Tawakkal di Johor Bahru.

Beliau terdorong untuk menceburi politik selepas perletakan jawatan Dato' Onn Jaafar sebagai Presiden UMNO dan digantikan oleh Tunku Abdul Rahman. Beliau menceburkan arena politik setelah dilantik sebagai Timbalan Presiden UMNO pada 1951.

Beliau merupakan Duta pertama dari Malaysia ke Amerika Syarikat pada tahun 1957. Beliau juga diberikan pentauliahan untuk menjadi Duta Negara ke Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu. Jawatan ini dipegang oleh beliau sehingga tahun 1959.

Beliau pernah menjadi Menteri Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri pada 1 September 1960 sehingga 21 Mei 1967, apabila beliau meninggalkan kabinet atas sebab-sebab kesihatan. Kekosongan jawatannya sebagai Menteri Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri telah diisi oleh Tun Abdul Razak.

Beliau sekali lagi dilantik oleh Tun Abdul Razak menjadi Menteri Hal Ehwal Luar Negeri pada 14 Mei 1969 berikutan peristiwa berdarah 13 Mei. Tun Abdul Razak mempengerusikan MAGERAN dan meminta beliau untuk menjadi Timbalan Pengarah MAGERAN (Mei 1969-Februari 1971). Beliau kembali menjawat jawatan Kabinet dan kekal sebagai Menteri Hal Ehwal Luar Negeri sehingga 1 Ogos 1973.

Semasa hayat beliau, beliau pernah menyandang jawatan sebagai Menteri Perdagangan dan Perusahaan, Menteri Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri. Jawatan terakhir yang dipegang oleh beliau adalah sebagai Timbalan Perdana Menteri. Beliau juga merupakan Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang kedua selepas Tun Abdul Razak pada 1970.

Jasa yang paling besar dilakukan oleh beliau adalah mengembalikan keyakinan rakyat Malaysia terhadap Kerajaan Malaysia. Berikut merupakan kata-kata yang dikeluarkan oleh Tun Suffian mengenai jasa beliau :

“ It was during the agonizing days that his outstanding qualities came to the fore. Perhaps it can be said that more than anybody else the Tun contributed substantially to the restoration of public confidence in the Government's determination to restore law and order after the May 13th incidents "

Ungkapan terkenal beliau " Jangan sapu ke bawah permaidani " timbul berikutan permasalahan ekonomi orang Melayu yang sangat daif tetapi cuba ditutup begitu sahaja sehingga akhirnya tercetus Peristiwa 13 Mei.

Pada 2 Ogos 1973, beliau meninggal dunia dan dimakamkan di Makam Pahlawan, Masjid Negara.

Nama beliau turut diabadikan dalm bentuk berikut :

a) Pidato Tun Dr. Ismail diadakan sekali setiap dua tahun oleh Akademi Perubatan Malaysia untuk memperingati beliau. Pidato ulung itu telah diberikan oleh Yang Amat Arif Tun Mohamed Suffian bin Mohamed Hashim, Ketua Hakim Negara pada bulan Ogos 1974.

b) Sebuah tempat di kawasan Segambut, Kuala Lumpur telah dinamakan Taman Tun Dr. Ismail sebagai memperingati jasanya.

c) Kolej Tun Dr Ismail (KTDI) di UTM Skudai sempena memperingati jasa beliau kepada negara.

d) Kolej Tun Dr. Ismail di UPM, Serdang dinamakan untuk memperingati beliau. Salah sebuah kolej yang ternama dan unggul dalam bidang sukan, kebudayaan dan akademik. Beberapa tokoh terkenal negara sempat meluangkan masa bersama warga kolej KTDI UPM.

e) Kolej Kediaman Tun Dr. Ismail di UTHM, Batu Pahat juga diberikan dengan menggunakan nama beliau

f) Kolej Kediaman Tun Dr. Ismail di UKM, Cheras (PPUKM) mengambil nama beliau sempena memperingati jasa beliau sebagai seorang doktor dan negarawan yang banyak berjasa kepada tanah air ini



Kredit info :

1) https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismail_Abdul_Rahman

2) http://www.myjurnal.my/filebank/ ... e/22942/070_087.PDF

ipes2

oh ini kah sebab Tun Dr Ismail tu di kenang orang
sgt berjasa

ipes2

Nora_29 replied at 26-2-2020 09:51 AM
Allahyarham Tun Dr. Ismail bin Dato' Abdul Rahman (4 November 1915 - 2 Ogos 1973) merupakan bekas Ti ...

good additional info nora
politician yg berjaya dia tuh

Lengkong

Sudah baca..tq tt

mamatco

Inilah hero Melayu yg patut dihormati dan dibanggakan...bukan yg sedang ada sekarang ni..

realist_13

Great article! Tq tt

Missfadh

Baru tahu. Nice info. Kalau Tun Ismail tu pula Gabenor Bank Negara kan. Confuse.

intanazlynna

Al Fatihah to Tun Dr Ismail

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ipes2 replied at 26-2-2020 02:36 PM
oh ini kah sebab Tun Dr Ismail tu di kenang orang
sgt berjasa

Tun Dr Ismail part 2 political parts

Semasa di Sekolah Bukit Zaharah, kawannyahampir semua melayu...

Semasa di English College kawannya pulahampir semua Chinese...

Semasa di WW2, beliau lalui konflikkemanusiaan...

Semasa di Melbourne, beliau memahamikehidupan minority dan faham dunia barat...

Kerana pergaulan sebegini, beliau faham isurace dsb...

Semasa di English College, beliau berkawandgn Eileen dan Joyce Chuah… mereka ini akan berkahwin nanti dgn anak2 KuokFamily yg suatu masa nanti akan menjadi influential...

Dia juga kawan dgn anak2 Joseph Chako Puthucheary,dan mereka suatu hari nanti akan menjadi politicians di Malaya dan Singapura...

Cebur diri dalam politik dan jadi excokerajaan Johor, jadi JB town council. Menubuhkan MGA (Malay Graduate Association)utk dpt strategic support utk kemerdekaan Ketua Menteri Dato Onn Jaafar nampakkepintaran Dr Ismail lalu ajak dia masuk UMNO pada tahun 1951, menjadi Vice President UMNO...

Pada tahun 1955 menjadi member of FederalLegislative Council dan di lantik oleh Tunku Ab Rahman menjadi  Menteri Perdagangan Dan Industri pada 1956-1957...

Menjadi salah seorang dari delegasi yg keLondon Bersama TAR utk nego kemerdekaan. Selepas kemerdekaan, beliau lebihterlibat dalam kenegaraan Malaysia (part 3)

None68

Tq info, byk xtau.

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None68 replied at 19-6-2021 11:04 PM
Tq info, byk xtau.

Wiki- Ismail would have six children with Neno: Tawfik (born 1951), Zailah (born 1953), Badariah, Tarmizi (born 1956), Zamakhshari (born 1958) and Ariff (born 1961).

KUALA LUMPUR: Toh Puan Norashikin Mohd Seth (pic), the widow of a former deputy prime minister, Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, passed away yesterday. She was 80.

She will be laid to rest at the Warrior’s Mausoleum, where Dr Ismail is also buried, before zohor prayers today.

The people can pay their last respects from noon until 1.30pm at the Lecture Hall, Masjid Negara, before the funeral.

Her remains were taken to the family residence at No 100, Jalan Pinggir Za’aba, Taman Tun Dr Ismail here.

All her six children – Mohd Tawfik, 59, Zailah, 57, Badariah, 53, Mohd Tarmizi, 50, Zama-khshari, 46, and Mohd Ariff, 42 – and 13 grandchildren were by her bedside when she breathed her last.

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According to Zama-khshari, Norashikin had bouts of fever and was diagnosed with Influenza A (H1N1) when she was admitted to a hospital.

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She later developed complications and septicemia.

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Zamakhshari described his late mother as a religious person and a devoted caregiver.

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“She loved cooking for us. She was just a housewife when my father became deputy prime minister from 1970 until 1973,” he said.

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Zamakhshari said he was only nine when Dr Ismail died, leaving his mother to raise the family on her own.

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“Both my parents believed that education is the greatest gift to their children.

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“Although she was not highly educated, she persisted in puttting us through university,” he said, adding that five of the siblings were educated abroad while one studied locally.

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Among those who paid their last respects were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his wife Tun Jeanne Abdullah, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein’s wife Tun Rahah Noah, her sister and widow of the late Tun Hussein Onn Tun Suhaila.

[size=1em]

Najib described Norashikin as a respected role model who contributed a lot to society especially in charity.

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“She was a dutiful wife,” he said, adding that her character was exemplary.

None68

Cantik orangnya..Al-Fatihah.

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None68 replied at 21-6-2021 06:01 PM
Cantik orangnya..Al-Fatihah.

Will add more info

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None68 replied at 19-6-2021 11:04 PM
Tq info, byk xtau.

The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr Ismail and His Time

Sharon Siddique

11 Apr 2007, 7:32 pm

Updated 13 years ago






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This is a book review on The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr Ismail and His Time authored by Ooi Kee Beng. Published by ISEAS, Singapore.

ON all counts, Dr Ooi Kee Beng has produced a superb biography. The Reluctant Politician is well researched, well organised, and well written. Dr Ooi had access to Tun Dr Ismail's private papers, the support of his family and friends, and interviews with key contemporaries. Dr Ooi skillfully weaves this primary source material into the fabric of several decades of Malaysia's political history, reminding us how the biographical perspective enriches the tapestry. Men do make history.
The first chapter, "The Acting Prime Minister Dies", is inspired. The reader is introduced to the important elements of Tun Dr Ismail's life - his loving family, the ill-health which shadowed him, and his incredible sense of duty to his country. Married in 1950, he and his wife had six children, born between 1951 and 1967. These intense family years coincided with his ascendant political career, and his deteriorating health. He suffered from cancer of the naso-pharynx, and the deteriorating heart condition that finally killed him at the age of 57.



One is humbled by Tun Dr Ismail's courage and his accomplishments. The pathos of his short and intense life is presented with great sensitivity by the author when he writes; "...Dragged away from his family back into politics by his sense of duty, his intolerance of incompetence and irrelevance appeared to grow to such an extent that most of his subordinates and colleagues came to fear him".

Backed the Tunku

The book is divided into two parts. Part One - Merdeka or Medicine - details Tun Dr Ismail's political career in the 1950s, until his retirement for health reasons, in 1967. Part Two - Remaking Malaysia - deals with Tun Dr Ismail's re-entry into politics after the May 13, 1969 riots, and the pivotal role he played in rebuilding the nation until his untimely death in 1973.
There is an interesting sub-text that runs through the book. Johor must have been a very special place to grow up in the 1920s and 1930s. There, multi-racial friendships were cemented, which lasted a lifetime. Tun Dr Ismail hailed from a prominent Johor Malay family. The two daughters of Johor doctor Dr Cheah Tiang Eam married two sons of Johor businessman Kuok Keng Kang. Philip and Eileen Kuok, and Robert and Joyce Kuok, figured as trusted friends throughout Tun Dr Ismail's life.

Tun Dr Ismail was a supporter of Tunku Abdul Rahman's vision of a coalition of parties, each representing the interests of one race of the multi-racial coalition that was Malaysian society. And one can surmise that this conviction, in part, derived from his own Johor upbringing. Tun Dr Ismail thus played a pivotal role in the formation of the Alliance. He served as the legislative representative for the Johor Timor constituency from the pre-independence period in 1953, through to his death 20 years later.
Died as Acting Premier
In the 1950s, Tun Dr Ismail is remembered as the force behind Felda, the agricultural scheme that redrew the map of rural Malaysia, and as the serving Minister of Commerce and Industry from 1956, and from 1961, as Minister of Home Affairs. During his stint as Malaysian Ambassador to Washington DC, and concurrently to the United Nations (1957-1959), he was instrumental in gaining international respect and recognition for the fledgling nation.
But perhaps Tun Dr Ismail's finest hour was his decision to return to the service of his country in the aftermath of the 1969 riots, despite his own grave health condition.
Musa Hitam who witnessed Ismail on television, recalls how "a sense of relief came over us; the sheer force of the man's reputation for fairness was magic". He took up the onerous post of Minister of Home Affairs, and in 1973 of Minister of Trade and Industry. When he died in Kuala Lumpur in August 1973, he was Acting Prime Minister.
In his foreword to the book, Mr K Kesavapany, Director of ISEAS, notes that this biography of Tun Dr Ismail is the first in a series of books that the Institute plans to publish on First Generation Southeast Asian Leaders. This volume sets a high standard, and thus future volumes will certainly be eagerly awaited.

---

SHARON SIDDIQUE is a partner in a regional research consulting firm based in
Singapore.

compaqpresario

Nice info.. thank you for sharing!

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compaqpresario replied at 27-7-2021 11:16 AM
Nice info.. thank you for sharing!

Tq


Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman: “The Third Man” of Malaysian historyBy
Johan Saravanamuttu-

7 Aug 2007Johan Saravanamuttu reviews a book by Ooi Kee Beng on the political life and times of former deputy premier Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman and provides his own insights.

It does not have as complex a plot nor is it as noir as the 1949 movie classic The Third Man. Ooi Kee Beng’s The Reluctant Politician, however, certainly connotes a tale of the critical role played by ‘the third man’ in Malaysia’s early independence history.

Let me hasten to add that I’m not one to deny the plural character of our politics and the multiple struggles of Malayan society for independence from the British. Surely more than a few men were responsible for the shape of our history.

But when independence did arrive, admittedly there were only a small number of persons, indeed usually ‘men’, and perhaps just three, who were in the driver’s seat from 1957 to 1976. They were the Tunku, Tun Razak and Tun Ismail.

There are certainly elements of plot and noir in Ooi’s book. As perhaps revealed publicly for the first time, Ismail was the only one (besides their mutual doctor, Stewart MacPherson) who had intimate knowledge of Razak’s terminal leukemia while Razak was himself acutely aware of Ismail’s congenital heart problem. Both men, however,  believed that Ismail would outlive Razak. In the event, Ismail’s heart failed him on 2 August1973 while Razak went on to helm Malaysia until 14 January 1976. Ooi captures these remarkable facts succinctly and dramatically in the opening chapter of the book.

How different would Malaysian history have been or could it be had Ismail outlived Razak? Any reading of The Reluctant Politician would impel one to try to imagine this, however wistfully. What would have happened had Tun Ismail been at the helm after Tun Razak? For starters, certainly individuals whom Ismail disliked may never have gained political ascendancy. Contrariwise, those he truly respected would probably still be in the thick of politics or at least be in political contention.

For example, what would have been the fate of Mahathir Mohamad?  All indications from a reading of the book would be that Mahathir would probably have stayed in the political doldrums since Ismail had objected to his reinstatement to UMNO. Thanks to Razak, who evidently succumbed to party politics and pressure, Malaysia’s longest serving premier of 22 years was resurrected, in spite of Ismail’s objections. In the event, Musa Hitam, Ismail’s preferred candidate for political ascendancy, probably lost out. But we are already ahead of our story and it is not really my intention here to delve into counter-factual ‘what- might-have-beens’.

Although Ooi Keng Beng’s book does not problematise history in the manner that I for one would like, his meticulous rendering of Tun Ismail’s life and time provides us with rare and profound insights and fascinating details about the Third Man of Malaysian History. It reminds us pointedly of Tun Ismail’s egregious contribution and impact on our political life in the post-Merdeka years, up until the May 13 riots and the momentous changes after May 13.

Thanks to the letters and papers (including a short memoir) left behind by Tun Dr Ismail and thanks to the liberal-mindedness of his son Tawfik to deposit them with the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Ooi has been able to produce this highly readable book, after also drawing on sources in the British archives at Kew and conducting numerous interviews with Tun Ismail’s friends and previous associates in Malaysia and Singapore.

In this review, I wish to touch on the following aspects of the biography; Tun Ismail’s personality and character; his politics and foreign policy; and his political and social relationships. Perhaps from such a reading we could surmise what sort of government and overall temper of politics could have prevailed in Malaysia had more honourable men such as Ismail taken the helm.

Certainly, Ismail was not without faults and one can easily glean this from this rich biography. There was also a very human and sociable person tucked within the outer exterior of a somewhat severe and no-nonsense persona. So let me begin with his personality and character.

The man

What I found most engaging in the biography were the insights into Ismail the man, warts and all. The story of his failing health due to a faulty heart-valve which led to his death at 58 years is already well-known. In spite of this, Ismail was an active athlete who was into hiking and swimming in his Melbourne University days and, in later years, an ardent golfer. From golf, comes his famous analogy on the temporality of the special position of the Malays:

THE SPECIAL PRIVILEGE OR POSITION ACCORDED TO THE MALAYS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION IS MAINLY INTENDED TO ENABLE THEM – TO BORROW AN EXPRESSION FROM THE GAME OF GOLF – ‘TO HAVE A HANDICAP’, WHICH WOULD PLACE THEM IN A POSITION FOR FAIR COMPETITION WITH BETTER PLAYERS. THEREFORE, LIKE A GOLFER, IT SHOULD NOT BE THE AIM OF THE MALAYS TO PERPETUATE THIS HANDICAP BUT TO STRIVE TO IMPROVE THEIR GAME, AND THEREBY REDUCING, AND FINALLY REMOVING, THEIR HANDICAP COMPLETELY (P 217).  

The young Ismail was an avid dancer as well and, from that, one could well adduce his open-mindedness and his sociability. A vignette from his days as a medical student in Singapore serves to illustrate this. Ismail used to frequent a local buy-a-coupon–per-dance cabaret with his friends. The practice was to rush to the most popular hostesses and get one on a first-come-first-serve basis. Writes Ismail:

AS I WAS DANCING AWAY, I HAPPENED TO LOOK BEHIND AND SAW A FACE RED WITH ANGER. IT WAS THE FACE OF ONE OF MY PROFESSORS, WHO HAD EXPECTED ME TO STEP ASIDE AND GIVE WAY TO HIM TO DANCE WITH THE HOSTESS. THE NEXT DAY HAPPENED TO BE THE DAY ON WHICH I HAD TO PRESENT MYSELF TO THE PROFESSOR FOR AN ORAL EXAMINATION OF THE ANATOMY OF BONES. HE NATURALLY GAVE ME A DIFFICULT BONE TO IDENTIFY AND DESCRIBE AND WHEN I COULD NOT, HE MADE THE SARCASTIC REMARK THAT IF I WERE TO CONCENTRATE MORE ON BONE ANATOMY RATHER THAN SURFACE ANATOMY, I WOULD MAKE A SUCCESS OF MYSELF AS A MEDICAL STUDENT (P 20).

In the event Ismail had to complete his medical studies in Melbourne and returned home only after the Second World War.

Reluctant politician

Ooi gives an interesting account of how Ismail was persuaded to enter politics, essentially by the Tunku, and to become the Alliance member of the executive council of the Federal Legislative Council in 1953. Tunku himself had demurred taking up the position as he wanted to focus on the independence process. After independence, it was again the Tunku who prevailed on Ismail to lead Malaysia’s mission at the United States and the United Nations.

In his various dealings with superiors and subordinates, Ismail cut a character who was principled, if feisty. He detested incompetence and was not one to suffer fools.  As minister plenipotentiary at New York, he worked hard to maintain Malaysia’s anti-communist stance and non-recognition of the People’s Republic of China in the face of the continuing communist insurgency in Malaysia.  He was therefore incensed and immediately threatened to resign when the Tunku blurted out in Netherlands that it was not a bad idea to consider recognising China. The Tunku, who belatedly realised his mistake, intimates that Ismail tried to submit his resignation a few times, but after the Tunku deliberately avoided him, the resignation never came.

It is interesting to note that, while at New York, Ismail was also irritated by the manner some of his subordinates under-performed while he praised and thought well of persons who were responsible and conducted their work intelligently. Among the individuals who won Ismail’s respect were Musa Hitam, (who went on to become deputy premier; Mohamed Sopiee, a former Labour Party leader, who became first secretary to Ismail in New York; Ismail Ali, later to be Bank Negara Governor; Albert Talalla, a diplomat; Suffian Hashim, chief justice; and Lim Chong Eu, the MCA leader who later became Gerakan leader.

The Kuoks, Philip and Robert, were close friends, and in the book, copious reference is made to Ismail’s conversations and intimations to both brothers. William, the third brother, who died as a guerrilla at the hands of the British, is also mentioned in Ooi’s book. Other family friends and associates included the Cheahs and the Puthuchearys.

The picture one gets of Ismail the man is clearly that of a person who was liberal-minded and had close associates from all the communities of Malaysia. Indeed, some of his closest friends were non-Malays, some of them left-leaning. In fact, Ismail had few hang-ups when it came to relating with “others”; while studying in Melbourne, he had three relationships, including one with an Australian girl and one with a German girl.

- To be continued...

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The day he died...2 August... Al Fatihah...