I’VE had very little association with our outgoing King, Sultan Abdullah of Pahang, during his tenure as the 16th YDPA since January 31, 2019.
I mean, I can count the number of “wefies” we took together at the Istana Negara or Hari Raya open houses with one hand – that’s how little connection we have had.
Sometimes friends wondered why – did we have a falling out? – because the King and I have known each other for much longer than that, back when he was the Tengku Mahkota.
No, I told my friends: no such thing.
I guess I can say now that it was by choice. I did not want to be seen as trying to kiss ass. I would go to the Istana only when invited, and those times we met outside the palace, were mere coincidence.
But my fondness and my regard for the King grew, as he deftly handled the political crises that came his way amid a major global health crisis at that – in a way no King has had to do so before him.
And all along, he kept the people and issues affecting the people close to his heart.
Even as his reign is ending, he said: the people come first.
This Wednesday, January 31, 2024, Sultan Ibrahim of Johor will replace Tuanku Abdullah as the 17th YDPA. I used to be quite close to Tuanku some years back but I expect to have even less direct association with him throughout his tenure compared with the current Agong.
Sultan Ibrahim’s dad, the Almarhum Sultan Iskandar, was our 8th YDPA (1984-1989) and one of the most popular with the people.
As long as the people – and only the people – come on his agenda for the next five years, the incoming King is destined to be a great King. – January 29, 2024
Datuk Ahirudin Attan, popularly known as Rocky Bru, is executive director of Big Boom Media which publishes Scoop. He is also president of the National Press Club