I was 18 when Tun Dr. Ismail Rahman passed on.

Days of a carefree teenager whose interests were rock music, hippies, girls and parties. Not necessarily in that order. But despite that, I knew who Tun Ismail was, apart from the deputy prime minister position he was holding then.

I grew up knowing or rather being told by the elders that the Malays could always depend on Tun Ismail to take care of them.

He was a Malay hero even bigger than Tun Razak Hussein himself I was told, although Tun Razak was also looked upon as a Malay icon.

Both were respected and much loved by the community for their “Malayness.”

Having resigned from the government in 1967 because of ill health, Tun Dr. Ismail was recalled because of the May 13, 1969 race riots and the consequent suspension of parliament.

Born and bred in the Malay enclave of Kampong Baru in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, the May 13 tragedy is entrenched deep inside me.

My kampong was where it all started. This is still disputed as some say it started in Gombak or Setapak not too far from Kampong Baru. 

No matter where it started, the fact is it happened. And it was a sad part of our history.

Sad is a tame word to use actually. But I am not about to say what I saw or heard back then. That I’ve written many times in the past, including for this newspaper. Hence for this article I just need to say this.

I was only 13 years old when the May 13 bloodbath broke out, too young to know but not too young not to know, either.

Again I was told by the elders that Tun Dr. Ismail “came into his own” in 1969. He did much to defuse racial tensions and lead the country back to normalcy.

From being a hero only for the Malays (as perceived by the community), Tun Dr. Ismail became a national hero for all Malaysians regardless of race and religion.

Academic Johan Saravanamuttu, in reviewing a book by Ooi Kee Beng on the political life and time of Tun Dr. Ismail, said the man was a democrat at heart but “it is clear that Tun Ismail was a pragmatist while being staunchly democratic in his approach to politics.”

Tun Dr. Ismail contributed substantially to the restoration of public confidence in the government’s determination to restore law and order after the May 13 incident.”

In spite of his gloomy May 13 statement that “democracy is dead in Malaysia,” Saravanamuttu said it was evident that after the May 13 incident, Tun Dr. Ismail was working hard to resurrect democracy and played a crucial role under Tun Razak Hussein in the six-member National Operations Council or MAGERAN, and “for all intents and purposes Razak depended heavily on Ismail for final decisions.”

Most importantly, Tun Ismail cogently argued against any military takeover or martial law, and was conscientious about the eventual return of democratic politics as much as he was uncompromising about stemming political instability.

Indeed he had a reputation for fairness and uncomprising toughness at the same time.

The late Justice Tun Suffian Hashim had this to say: “It was during the agonizing days that his outstanding qualities came to the fore. Perhaps it can be said that more than anybody else, Tun Dr. Ismail contributed substantially to the restoration of public confidence in the government’s determination to restore law and order after the May 13 incident.”

That was a time when there was great concern among non-Malays as to how the policies of the NOC would affect them.

Needless to say, they were not convinced that the country would return to parliamentary democracy.

Veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah cited Tun Dr. Ismail as a major factor in increasing public confidence in the government, going on to say: “Tun Dr. Ismail was a principled man and was seen that way by the different races.”

Yes, to me “the different races” are the three key words!

Tun Dr. Ismail was concerned about polarization which had taken place in the country, saying on record, “Why did we fight for Merdeka? So that the different races can be divided? That can’t be the way, right? Why are we building Malaysia? What Malaysia are we building? What kind of symbol is Malaysia supposed to be?”

Now 50 years after his death, I feel that the questions posed by Tun Dr. Ismail are very much in need for answers.

May Allah bless his soul. Al Fatehah.

In memory of Tun Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman:

1. Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi: In the shadow of a true Malaysian… Tun Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman in memoriam
2. Mohsin Abdullah: The man who saved Malaysia
3. Ooi Kee Beng: Tun Dr. Ismail — respected and feared for the right reasons
4. Malaysia needs more ‘color blind’ leaders: Tawfik
5. Not just Tanah Melayu

(Mohsin Abdullah is a veteran journalist and now a freelancer who writes about this, that and everything else.)