KUALA LUMPUR: Being up close with the King and Queen is a difficult thing: like you’re never allowed to turn your back on them, so you have to walk backwards out of the room.
Public appearances can only reveal so much about the royal couple we look up to, and it’s the most we expect to get.
What happened in the Ampang home of Kamala Das last week when they paid her a surprise visit on her 100th birthday was unexpected and mesmeric.
Unfussed about protocol, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, mucked in with the Das family, revealing alluring glimpses of their caring and fun side.
They were the royals as you have never seen them, transforming themselves into ordinary people while retaining dignity.
As Tunku Azizah puts it: “We crave those occasions when we can blend in and enjoy what other people might call normality.”
Speaking to FMT, Tunku Azizah said she and her husband were not much different to anybody else and that it was just a slightly different reality.
She said they had made an impromptu decision to pay a visit to Kamala after reading about her story of family bonds, about love, sacrifice, gratitude and kindness in FMT.
Kamala turned 100 on June 5, the same day as the official birthday of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Tunku Azizah said Kamala mentioned that her longevity was due to the love her 11 children, 21 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, and members of her extended family showered on her.
“We must always hold the well-being of the elders close to our hearts, and respect and appreciate them for nurturing and educating us,” she said.
She said she worries about eldercare, and suggested more day-care centres be set up for elders to ensure they are well looked after by their children in their own homes.
The royal couple has nine children and six grandchildren, who Tunku Azizah said are constantly reminded about service to social care, the health and wellbeing of all, particularly the marginalised.
An abiding memory
All protocol was left behind from the very minute the King and Queen stepped into Kamala’s house at Taman Ampang Utama.
They immediately warmed up with Kamala, and Tunku Azizah plonked herself close to the centenarian on the three-seater sofa, holding her hands, sometimes hugging her, and feeding her a slice of tart.
Seeing this and the ease in which the royals blended in, all nervousness felt by the family members disappeared, and there was the air of warmth and love, and admiration for them.
Tunku Azizah picked up Kamala’s youngest great-granddaughter, and placed her on her lap, and at another point, so did Sultan Abdullah.
“The King who formed the unity government, and installed the prime minister, transformed into an ordinary person who is a husband, father and grandfather, like any one of us,” said Lazarus Rokk, a longtime friend of the Das family.
Rokk, a former sports journalist, who had a chance to observe the royal couple on more occasions than most, said they offered funny stories about their childhood, courting, kids, and a side of royal life that no one is usually privy to.
He said Tunku Azizah was an absolute delight, and told Kamala she would love to come back for her cooking, and asked for thosai and mutton varuvel. And the King jumped in, saying he also wanted it.
Later, the family gave Tunku Azizah a jar of mango pickles made by Kamala, and the Queen said she will bring her pickles as well for the grand old lady, who received a box of gifts from the palace.
Tunku Azizah was so impressed with Kamala’s complexion, touching her face, saying she doesn’t have any wrinkles, and asked her what was her skincare products. “It is tumeric, Your Majesty,” replied Kamala.
They stayed for an hour and 20 minutes, and would have stayed longer if they didn’t have to receive Indonesian president Joko Widodo at the palace later that day.
Tunku Azizah said she will invite Kamala to the palace and present her a memento for making it to 100 years.
Kamala’s eldest son, George, later penned a poem “A Cherished Moment’ in which he related there were no serious moments, only hilarity swirling in the room as the royal couple was imbued by his mother’s charm.
“The Malaysian in us was so evident, for this was a precious moment with the King and Queen to be cherished,” wrote the former sports journalist.
FMT reporter Reshna Reem Ganesan, who was up close and personal with the royal couple for the first time, said: “Their humility and genuine nature made them incredibly approachable. There was no trace of entitlement and they treated everyone with respect.
“If one were unaware of their royal status, they would simply perceive them as ordinary individuals you’d meet up for tea at the mamak.”
Another FMT journalist, Jason Desmond, said: “I was pleasantly surprised that not only did the King watch the video of Kamala Das that we published on all our FMT soc-med platforms, but he also knew my name.”
On the same day, the nastiness of the comedienne Jocelyn Chia emerged, a certain @casting_agent, commenting on FMT’s video on TikTok wrote:
““@jocelynchiacomedy look. Our King, Our Queen. This is my Malaysia, our Malaysia. Something which one day I hope you’d feel, to heal your bitter heart.”
Weaving hope with passion
Tunku Azizah has strong social feelings, and her unwavering commitment to public service has weaved hope for many, including the marginalised.
She has been a longtime advocate of the Royal Pahang Weave (Tenun Pahang Diraja), which are created by inmates of the Penor and Bentong prisons in Pahang.
She said the inmates hone their skills at weaving and crafting the fine textile pieces, many of which have gone for exhibitions worldwide.
Last year, she took the Tenun Pahang Diraja to London for a week-long exhibition, which gathered some 250 established and emerging makers, designers, brands and galleries from around the world.
“Just as I want to tell the stories of the Malaysian people through the language of craft, I want the world to know about caring Malaysians,” said Tunku Azizah, who is the World Crafts Council’s 2019 Craft Icon of the Year.
Her efforts to weave hope has also brought about the Perkampungan Al-Sultan Abdullah, which will be built in Pekan for ex-prisoners to live there and sell their goods.
“It is our duty to guide them back to the right path, and to rebuild shattered family units,” said Tunku Azizah.
She said she valued her time with her friends in prison, “and sometimes when I tell my husband I’m going to Pahang, he would jokingly say, ‘to prison? Why don’t you spend the night there?’” - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.