'King Ghaz' still reigns in Lipis
OUR HERO: Born, raised and elected as Lipis member of parliament, the late Tun Ghazali Shafie has always been the darling of the locals, especially those in Kampung Pagar where he stayed with his grandfather in his early years and during the Japanese Occupation.
Ghazali, who was never a 'King' to the locals but a hero and friendly 'Abang Ngah', was born in Lipis on March 22, ninety years ago. Some of them share their memories on Ghazali with M. Hamzah Jamaludin
OTHERS may have known Tun Ghazali Shafie as a flamboyant, no-nonsense or even brusque leader, but the people in Kuala Lipis adored him for his down-to-earth and approachable manner.
Even though many of those who were close to him have since died, it was fascinating to learn that the younger generation in the district also knew him well.
But it is not so surprising when you find that many of them have been following the illustrious career of the town's hero -- diplomat, patriot, thinker and minister -- born at the Kuala Lipis government quarters in Batu Dua on March 22, 1922.
"The people here will always remember him. Kuala Lipis may have produced other leaders and icons, including second prime minister Tun Razak Hussein and songstress Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, but Tun Ghazali is very special to us," said Kamaluddin Imam Pien, who was the village head of Kampung Pagar between 1957 and 2004.
The 77-year-old now lives at the Kampung Pagar resettlement scheme in Kuala Lipis, the villagers of the original Kampung Pagar having been resettled there after their village was badly affected by major floods in 1971.
Kamaluddin is a second cousin to Ghazali, who was fondly known as "Abang Ngah" among his younger relatives and friends.
"Abang Ngah had already shown his leadership quality when he was young. We always followed him wherever he went," said Kamaluddin, who would be referred to as "adik" by Ghazali.
Abang Ngah was also an entertainer as he could play several musical instruments and perform some magic tricks.
"I don't know how and where he learnt magic but he was very good at it," said Kamaluddin, while mimicking the amused faces of those who watched Ghazali performing his tricks.
Kamaluddin said he believes it was Ghazali's boldness and fighting spirit that had enabled him to survive the plane crash in Janda Baik on Jan 10, 1982.
Although the other two persons died in the incident, the then foreign affairs minister emerged almost unscathed after spending about two days in the dense Pahang jungle. It was an amazing feat considering the area was still infested with communist terrorists.
Had he been captured by the communists at the time, he would surely have been killed as Ghazali was in charge of fighting against such internal threats as home minister from 1973 to 1981.
Ghazali's cousin Zaharah Zakaria, meanwhile, still remembers him as a dark-skinned band boy who liked to tease girls.
"He was an active person and it would be difficult for my father to persuade him to stay put during photography sessions with family members, including during my wedding reception in Kampung Lalang," said the 88-year-old whose father, Zakaria Mat Din, was among the few to own a camera at that time.
Holding some of the old group photos during her wedding, Zaharah said, in between laughter: "You cannot find him in the photos as he was busy climbing trees and teasing the girls."
Zolkaffli Omar, 59, said the people in Kuala Lipis would normally refer to Ghazali as "Abang Ngah", "Ayah Ngah" or, just Tan Sri.
Ghazali's close friends and reporters sometimes called him "King Ghaz", after the rugged character "King Guzzle" in the Alley Oop comic series once popular in The Straits Times.
Zolkaffli, who is married to Zaharah's daughter, Rosnaini Zakaria, said Ghazali would laugh whenever people asked whether he had a special ilmu (power) that made him invincible.
He said, after being awarded a tunship, however, the then wheelchair-bound Ghazali joked with close relatives and friends at a dinner to celebrate the occasion: "Jatuh kapal terbang tak jadi apa, jatuh bilik air langsung tak boleh bangun" (I survived a plane crash but can't stand up after falling in the bathroom).
He died at his home in Subang Jaya, Selangor, at 7.45pm on Jan 24, 2010 and was buried at the Heroes' Mausoleum, National Mosque , Kuala Lumpur. He is survived by his two sons, Bakthiar and Sheriffuddin. His wife, Toh Puan Khatijah Abdul Majid, died in April 2008.
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