Ismail Abdul Rahman
Encyclopedia
Tun
Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman (November 4, 1915 – August 2, 1973) was a Malaysian politician from the United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO). He held several Malaysian ministerial posts and was appointed as the second Deputy Prime Minister
in 1970 by then Prime Minister
Tun Abdul Razak. Three years later, Tun Dr Ismail died in office due to a heart attack
. Ismail has been called "the man who saved Malaysia" for his actions as Home Minister after the May 13 Incident
of racial rioting in 1969.
to Dato' Abdul Rahman bin Yassin, Ismail was part of a well-connected and influential family in Johor
. His maternal grandfather was Haji Mohamed Salleh bin Abdullah, an ethnic Chinese convert to Islam
and former State Treasurer of Johor. After Zahara binte Abu Bakar, Abdul Rahman's wife and Ismail's mother, died in 1936, Abdul Rahman married Kamariah, the sister of Dato Onn Ja'afar, the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Johor. The remarriage was encouraged by Sultan Ibrahim
of Johor, who sought to unite the Johor aristocracy
by blood. Abdul Rahman himself almost became Menteri Besar according to Ismail, but failed because he "refused to indulge in intrigues". Abdul Rahman later went on to become the first President of the Dewan Negara
(Senate) of the Parliament of Malaysia
, and also the first chairman of Malayan Banking.
Ismail's father believed strongly in the benefits of education, unlike many Malays of the time, and ensured his children received the best education possible. Two of his sons became lawyer
s and another an economist
. In 1939, the British General Adviser W.E. Pepys lamented that "the only Johore Malay who has got a university
degree is Encik(Mr.) Suleiman bin Abdul Rahman, the son of Dato Abdul Rahman, State Treasurer, Johore." Ismail himself went on to obtain a degree at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore. In 1945, he became the first Malay
to obtain a MBBS
from University of Melbourne
, Australia
. Ismail's son later said that his education in Australia greatly impacted his worldview: "He was on his own and a member of a minority there. He didn’t have other Malays to prop him up and he had a sense of loneliness. He felt that he was treated as an equal and that this was the way he would want to treat other people as well."
, a polity seen as infringing on the special position of the Malays and the Malay Rulers. Ismail's family was heavily involved in the anti-Malayan Union campaign led by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). After the successful campaign led to the replacement of the Malayan Union with the Federation of Malaya
, Ismail was appointed to the Johor state legislative assembly by Dato' Onn Ja'afar, the Chief Minister of Johor. Ismail was also offered a seat on the Federal Legislative Council
by Onn, but on the condition that Ismail join UMNO. Ismail refused, insisting that he would only join UMNO if it committed itself to fighting for Malayan independence. In the Johor state legislative assembly, his very first action was to declare his opposition to the UMNO-supported federation, which he considered in contravention of the Johor state constitution.
Ismail focused on his private practice, founding the Tawakkal (Trust in God) Clinic which he ran from 1947 to 1953. During this period, Ismail co-founded the Malay Graduates' Association, a political discussion group for intellectuals. Ismail observed:
. On passing through Kuala Lumpur
on the way to their honeymoon
in Penang
, they met Tunku Abdul Rahman
, who would later succeed Dato Onn as President of UMNO. Ismail later recounted that the Tunku had invited him and his new bride to the Kuala Lumpur Flying Club to dance, but upon finding that they were newlyweds "bundled us off telling us that we had no business being on the dance floor so late when we should be in bed enjoying our honeymoon." The Tunku later cited the support of Ismail and the Malay Graduates Association as the major impetus for his decision to become President, while Ismail in turn claimed he decided to join UMNO only after the Tunku became President in 1951.
Ismail would have six children with Neno: Tawfik (born 1951), Zailah (born 1953), Badariah, Tarmizi (born 1960), Zamakhshari (born 1964) and Ariff (born 1967).
(IMP) after UMNO refused to open membership to non-Malays. Ismail was very critical of Onn, who had made "very inflammatory communal speeches attacking the Chinese". Suleiman later defeated Onn in the first Malayan general election, and was lauded as a "giant-killer" for his landslide victory against Onn, who had been the favourite.
Ismail was also instrumental in gaining a greater amount of autonomy for the local government, when in 1954 the Alliance government (a coalition of UMNO and the Malayan Chinese Association or MCA) decided to boycott the British-backed local elections. When the British High Commissioner Donald MacGillivray
met with the Tunku, Ismail, and the MCA's representative of H. S. Lee, he accused them of playing into the hands of the Malayan Communist Party
, which was waging an armed insurgency
against the British. The source of the dispute was that the British High Commissioner had been given the discretion to nominate six seats, in addition to those contested in the elections. Ismail proposed a compromise: the Alliance would support the elections, but only if the High Commissioner would consult with the party that won the elections before making his appointments. MacGillivray initially refused, but after finding public opinion against him, backed down.
Later, Ismail was part of the Malayan government delegation sent to London
to negotiate terms for independence from the British. In the Federal Legislative Council, he was also a strong proponent of the controversial Razak Report
. Outside the Council, many Chinese were upset about the lack of provisions for vernacular education, while within the Council, Malay members from UMNO condemned the Report for not making Malay
the sole medium of instruction. Ismail accused the report's opponents in the Council of making "no considerations for the Chinese and Indians who are already in this country", and acting in an imperialistic
manner. If the non-Malays accepted Malaya's status as a Malay country and that the national language was Malay, he argued, there was no reason to further suppress them. The Razak Report eventually became law, when the Council approved it as the Education Ordinance of 1957.
Ismail analysed the Malay distrust of the Chinese as such:
In Ismail's view, it was imperative that "if the Chinese — the real political problem since the other races were not dominant — were to be persuaded into accepting Malay as the national language, they should be granted citizenship as a quid pro quo
" — an early expression of what would later be referred to as the Malaysian social contract.
in 1957, Ismail was appointed as Malaya and Malaysia's first ambassador
to the United States of America, as well as the United Nations
— two posts to be held concurrently by him from 1957 till 1959. When Ismail led the independent Malayan delegation to the General Assembly, he carried the traditional Malay dagger (kris
) — according to him, the first time a weapon of any kind had been brought into the assembly. At the UN, Ismail developed a strongly held view that Malayan foreign policy had to keep "an independent line, by which I mean that our stand on international problems should not be influenced by the policies of other countries, big or small". While serving in the United States and at the United Nations, Ismail wrote personal notes to the Prime Minister, which were recently compiled and published in a book titled "Malaya's First Year At The UN". Ismail remained involved in local politics, however, and pressed for the Alliance coalition of UMNO, the MCA and the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) to merge into one multi-racial party, instead of remaining as a coalition comprising three mono-racial parties.
Upon returning to Malaya in 1959, he was appointed as external affairs minister. The following year, a controversy arose when the Tunku stated that Malaya would eventually have to recognise the communist People's Republic of China
. This was, in the Tunku's words, "a sudden change in our policy towards Communist China" that had been influenced by private talks between the Tunku and French President Charles de Gaulle
. Ismail was outraged by this decision, which had been taken without consultation with him, and directly contradicted Ismail's stated policy of refusing to recognise the People's Republic of China as long as they backed the Malayan Communist Party
, which had waged an armed insurgency against the government. Ismail threatened to resign, and apparently attempted to do so on four separate occasions. The situation was defused by the Tunku refusing to see Ismail, who eventually calmed down and put the incident behind him, behaving "as if nothing had happened."
Ismail was later persuaded by his brothers not to quit, but to instead transfer to a different ministry. He was then made the new internal security minister, a post which had been specifically created for him. In 1962, he was appointed to the portfolio of home affairs as well. In these roles, Ismail was in charge of detaining people under the controversial Internal Security Act
(ISA), which permits detention without trial. After resigning in 1967, Ismail expressed amazement that he was not "the most hated man in Malaya" for his actions. Although many were critical of the ISA, Ismail believed it was necessary for public order, stating that "Abuse of the Act can be prevented by vigilant public opinion via elections, a free Press and above all the Parliament."
, Sabah
and Sarawak
to form Malaysia. Ismail retained his cabinet positions in the new polity. During this period, despite no longer being in charge of external affairs, Ismail expressed strong support for an "Association of Southeast Asia", telling the media that "We look forward to a regional association embracing Thailand
, Burma, Indonesia
, Singapore
, Malaysia, Philippines
, Cambodia
, Laos
and Vietnam
." This proposal eventually became the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN).
Ismail also presented Malaysia's case to the United Nations when Indonesia
launched its armed "Confrontation
" against the new polity, charging it with being the tool of neo-colonialists. Ismail managed to sneak a number of weapons captured from Indonesian military personnel into a meeting of the UN Security Council, greatly upsetting the Council's President, who asked him to remove them. Later, Ismail was a critic of Lee Kuan Yew
, the Singaporean Prime Minister, for his attempt to de-emphasise race in Malaysian politics through the establishment of a non-racial political coalition, the Malaysian Solidarity Council
(MSC). The resulting political controversy led to Singapore's separation from Malaysia; however, Ismail, like Toh Chin Chye
, expressed his belief that Singapore and Malaysia would eventually merge once more, stating: "It is better to wait for this to come because if they do not do so they will sink together instead of coming together."
In 1966, Ismail became the first recipient of the First Class of the Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia (The Most Esteemed Order of the Crown of Malaysia), entitling him to the title of Tun
and the post-nominal SSM. Ismail resigned from his government posts in 1967, citing his poor health. A heart specialist had previously told him to retire from politics due to Ismail being "more sensitive to personality stresses than most people" — advice Ismail said he would have ignored, had it not been for his five young children. The Tunku accepted Ismail's resignation, noting that he had previously forced Ismail's brother, Suleiman, to continue working in public service, with fatal results when Suleiman suddenly died. After retiring from politics, Ismail went on to head the Guthrie Group of Companies, where he was paid three times the amount earned by a cabinet minister.
, the Alliance suffered substantial losses. The MCA, which was hardest hit, decided to withdraw from the government as they felt they were no longer representative of the Chinese community. Ismail was very critical of this decision, and attempted to persuade the MCA President, Tan Siew Sin
, to change his mind. Ismail warned that "this decision if not revoked would contribute to rioting and chaos in the country". On May 13, after several controversial victory rallies were held by the victorious opposition, racial riots
broke out in the federal capital, Kuala Lumpur
. Ismail's daughter later said that her father "remained calm, but took out his pistol
, put it into his pocket, and went out with my mother to dinner". On the morning of May 14, a police escort was dispatched by Tun Abdul Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister, to escort Ismail from his home. Ismail was persuaded to rejoin the government as home affairs minister.
The Tunku arranged a meeting of several of his top aides, including Ismail. At the meeting, Tun Abdul Razak expressed support for declaring martial law
, but was dissuaded by General Ibrahim Ismail, who told him that "I cannot provide any guarantee (that I will) be able to hold back the members of the armed forces who might take over control of the government." On May 15, a state of emergency
was declared and Parliament was suspended in favour of the National Operations Council
(NOC), a body of top government officials. That day, Ismail announced to the media that "Democracy is dead in this country. It died at the hands of the opposition parties who triggered off the event leading to this violence." Privately, Ismail accused the opposition parties of playing "communal politics", by using the Islamic party, PAS, to appeal to the extremist Malays, and using the ostensibly multiracial parties such as the Democratic Action Party
and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia
to appeal to the extremist Chinese. "Since the Alliance's policy is based on compromise," he said, "it could not therefore please all the Malays or all the Chinese but could only please the moderate Malays and the understanding Chinese." Ismail blamed the MCA as well, telling a friend that "it was with this tension, with this irresponsible decision by the MCA that the riot started".
Tun Abdul Razak was initially interested in the possibility of a benevolent dictatorship
, but was reportedly dissuaded by Ismail, who wanted to restore power to Parliament as soon as possible. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
, future Prime Minister and then an aide to the NOC, later recalled that Tun Abdul Razak often took pains to accommodate Ismail's views, extending meetings whenever there was a clash of opinions so as to satisfy Ismail.
Ismail's reputation for fairness but uncompromising toughness — at one point, he declared he would arrest his own mother if she had broken the law — has been cited by a number of top officials as greatly contributing to stability in the wake of the riots. During this period, several Malay "ultras
" such as Mahathir bin Mohamad
and Musa Hitam
called for the resignation of the Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman
. Mahathir penned an open letter to the Tunku, accusing him of "giving the Chinese what they demand ... you have given them too much face." Soon, students at higher educational institutions across the country began to hold mass demonstrations, calling for the Tunku to step down in favour of a leader who would restore "Malay sovereignty". Sporadic rioting, believed to have been instigated by the Tunku's opponents, broke out. The Tunku responded by forcing Mahathir and Musa out of UMNO, while Ismail as Home Affairs Minister issued a statement: "These ultras believe in the wild and fantastic theory of absolute dominion by one race over the other communities, regardless of the Constitution. ... Polarisation has taken place in Malaysian politics and the extreme racialists among the ruling party are making a desperate bid to topple the present leadership."
At the time, some suggested that Tun Abdul Razak was a power-hungry ultra, seeking to displace the Tunku as Prime Minister. Although this was denied by both the Tunku and Abdul Razak, there was great concern among non-Malays as to how the NOC's policy would affect them, as the NOC was chaired by Abdul Razak and not the Tunku. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
, later finance minister, cited Ismail as a major factor in increasing public confidence in the government, stating: "The Chinese did not have much confidence in Razak, but they did in Ismail. Razak was always associated with Malay and rural affairs, et cetera. Ismail was a principled man — and was seen that way by the different races. He was the Rock of Gibraltar. Once he decided on something you could be sure that he had gone through the relevant details and studied them. What is confidence unless it is based on the people’s belief in the leader?"
. Shortly before, Ismail had become privy to the secret that Abdul Razak was suffering from leukaemia. Only Razak's doctors, Razak and Ismail knew of Razak's health problems, with Razak often using the pretext of paying Ismail a visit at his home in order to be examined by doctors at a hidden building near Ismail's house. Not long after, Ismail himself discovered a lump in his neck while shaving — the lump was later confirmed to be cancerous. As a result, many within Ismail's family urged him to retire again. However, Ismail considered it his duty to assist Abdul Razak as Deputy Prime Minister, and thus refused to resign, delaying the treatment for his neck cancer and refusing an operation on his heart valves in order to continue working.
Around July 1973, Ismail suffered three heart attack
s over the course of two weeks — a secret he kept from his wife, who was expecting. Ismail told a friend that he planned to resign after Tun Abdul Razak returned from Ottawa
in Canada
, where he was attending the Commonwealth
summit — Ismail had promised to serve as acting Prime Minister while Razak was away. Ismail was also reportedly worried about Razak's political plans, as he intended to rehabilitate Mahathir — a move opposed by Ismail, who preferred Musa Hitam to Mahathir.
. On August 2, Ismail attended the silver jubilee celebrations of the Peninsular Malaysia Malay Students Foundation (Gabungan Pelajar-pelaiar Melayu Semenanjung or GPMS). After a sudden explosion sound effect
, Ismail's daughter (who was watching the event live on television
) noticed he began to sweat profusely. Nevertheless, after he visited his wife, who was recovering from the ligation, at the hospital as had been planned. After having his dinner, Ismail retired to his study. Later, he rang the bell for his maid, asking for his daughter and telling her that "I am going to die, please call my doctor and inform Gopal" (his private secretary). Ismail had suffered a massive heart attack
.
Normally, Dr Stewart C. Macpherson, a neighbour of Ismail's and personal doctor to him and Tun Razak, would have immediately attended to Ismail. However, Macpherson had accompanied Razak to the summit, forcing Ismail to phone his other doctor, Dr Catterall, who lived in the satellite town
of Petaling Jaya
. Upon arrival, Catterall immediately began efforts to resuscitate Ismail, soon being joined by the royal physician, Dr Pillai. Panicked Cabinet members soon arrived, and began discussing the future of politics without Ismail — an incident Ismail's young son found disturbing as Ismail had yet to be declared dead. Catterall laboured for five hours to save Ismail, but to no avail. Ismail's official time of death was later pronounced as 10PM.
Without Ismail, the country was momentarily leaderless, without an acting Prime Minister. Tun Razak ordered that he be laid in state at the Malaysian Houses of Parliament
, and be buried at the Makam Pahlawan
(Heroes' Mausoleum) near Masjid Negara
(National Mosque), Kuala Lumpur
. Ismail would be the first to be laid to rest there, and also the first recipient of a Malaysian state funeral. However, Works & Communications Minister Tun Sardon Jubir, the next-most senior Cabinet minister, ordered that Ismail lie in state at the Masjid Negara, and that he be buried just outside the Makam Pahlawan instead. As Ismail's body was transported from his home to the National Mosque, crowds thronged the streets.
Razak was provided with a plane by the Canadian government that took him to Copenhagen
, from where he took a commercial flight to Kuala Lumpur. Ismail's burial was postponed until his arrival. Upon arrival, finding that his instructions for Ismail's funeral had not been followed, Razak reportedly exclaimed to Ismail's widow, "Who am I to trust now?" Razak was particularly upset that the lying in state had been held in the National Mosque instead of the Houses of Parliament, as he had intended that non-Muslim Malaysians be able to view the lying in state without discomfort.
Tun Sardon Jubir attempted to justify his instructions by citing a mufti
who had informed him that Muslims could not be buried under a roof. The Tunku was exasperated by this explanation, remarking: "My forefathers are all buried in a mausoleum under a roof!" Razak, who would normally have overlooked such incidents, delayed the burial and brought in a detachment of soldiers to tear up the floor of the mausoleum, where Ismail was indeed laid to rest.
Although, according to his biographers, Ismail was "usually considered as a very good Malay leader...Ismail knew that Malaysia is full of non-Malays." Unlike other UMNO politicians, Ismail avoided cultivating a political following: "He was there to build the country. That's it. He was actually a reluctant politician. So he wasn't a politician in the sense that he didn't cultivate 'my people'. He didn't care whether he made friends or not. That kind of person wasn't very popular".
As Foreign Minister, Ismail pushed for non-alignment
and non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN countries. He also supported the establishment of a central bank
to quell foreign investment worries about a lack of independence in Malaysian monetary policy
.
Ismail's eldest son has suggested that Ismail was largely ignored because "Razak didn’t want people to know about his illness and he didn’t need a prop like Dr Ismail. He had to move out of Dr Ismail's shadow. My father didn't say he was controlling Razak, but people perceived he was doing so, including those who advised Razak." Generally, Ismail has been regarded as reliable and incorruptible, "remembered for his deep dislike of incompetence and bigotry, his strict adherence to the virtues of hard work and honesty, and his belief in the principles of national independence and multi-racialism".
Tycoon Robert Kuok
, a friend of Ismail's, would later remark that:
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman (November 4, 1915 – August 2, 1973) was a Malaysian politician from the United Malays National Organisation
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation, is Malaysia's largest political party; a founding member of the National Front coalition, which has played a dominant role in Malaysian politics since independence....
(UMNO). He held several Malaysian ministerial posts and was appointed as the second Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia is the second highest political office in Malaysia. There has been ten deputy prime ministers since the office was created in 1957. Although there has always been a Deputy Prime Minister since independence, there is nothing preventing a Prime Minister from not...
in 1970 by then Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
Tun Abdul Razak. Three years later, Tun Dr Ismail died in office due to a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. Ismail has been called "the man who saved Malaysia" for his actions as Home Minister after the May 13 Incident
May 13 Incident
The 13 May Incident is a term for the Sino-Malay sectarian violences in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia, which began on 13 May 1969...
of racial rioting in 1969.
Early life
Born in Johor BahruJohor Bahru
Johor Bahru is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland...
to Dato' Abdul Rahman bin Yassin, Ismail was part of a well-connected and influential family in Johor
Johor
Johor is a Malaysian state, located in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia. It is one of the most developed states in Malaysia. The state capital city and royal city of Johor is Johor Bahru, formerly known as Tanjung Puteri...
. His maternal grandfather was Haji Mohamed Salleh bin Abdullah, an ethnic Chinese convert to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and former State Treasurer of Johor. After Zahara binte Abu Bakar, Abdul Rahman's wife and Ismail's mother, died in 1936, Abdul Rahman married Kamariah, the sister of Dato Onn Ja'afar, the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Johor. The remarriage was encouraged by Sultan Ibrahim
Sultan Ibrahim
Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar Al-Masyhur ibni Abu Bakar or Sultan Ibrahim II, GCMG, GBE, was the 22nd Sultan of Johor, in Malaysia...
of Johor, who sought to unite the Johor aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
by blood. Abdul Rahman himself almost became Menteri Besar according to Ismail, but failed because he "refused to indulge in intrigues". Abdul Rahman later went on to become the first President of the Dewan Negara
Dewan Negara
The Dewan Negara is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia. The Dewan Negara consists of 70 members, of which 26 are indirectly elected by the states, with two senators for every state in the Federation, and the other 44 being appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong .The Dewan Negara...
(Senate) of the Parliament of Malaysia
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....
, and also the first chairman of Malayan Banking.
Education
Ismail was raised by his maternal grandmother due to his mother's various illnesses, and received his primary education at Sekolah Bukit Zaharah, although his education was interrupted by frequent trips to see distant relatives. Ismail's initial friends were predominantly Malay, but when he continued his education at the English College of Johor Bahru, Ismail gravitated to non-Malays due to his interest in the opposite sex — Chinese girls often being given more freedom to mingle than their Malay counterparts in those days. Ismail later said: "I am convinced that this early mingling with the other races during the most impressionable stage of my life had a lot to do with my non-racial outlook." Ismail forged close friendships with the daughters of Cheah Tiang Earn, a friend of his father's. Eileen and Joyce Chuah would later both marry into the influential Kuok family, which Ismail got to know through them. Ismail also befriended the children of Joseph Chako Puthucheary, who would later become important players in Malaysian and Singaporean politics.Ismail's father believed strongly in the benefits of education, unlike many Malays of the time, and ensured his children received the best education possible. Two of his sons became lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
s and another an economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
. In 1939, the British General Adviser W.E. Pepys lamented that "the only Johore Malay who has got a university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
degree is Encik(Mr.) Suleiman bin Abdul Rahman, the son of Dato Abdul Rahman, State Treasurer, Johore." Ismail himself went on to obtain a degree at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore. In 1945, he became the first Malay
Malay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
to obtain a MBBS
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Ismail's son later said that his education in Australia greatly impacted his worldview: "He was on his own and a member of a minority there. He didn’t have other Malays to prop him up and he had a sense of loneliness. He felt that he was treated as an equal and that this was the way he would want to treat other people as well."
Early career
In 1946, the British formed the Malayan UnionMalayan Union
The Malayan Union was a federation of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government so as to simplify administration. The Malayan Union later became the independent...
, a polity seen as infringing on the special position of the Malays and the Malay Rulers. Ismail's family was heavily involved in the anti-Malayan Union campaign led by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). After the successful campaign led to the replacement of the Malayan Union with the Federation of Malaya
Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...
, Ismail was appointed to the Johor state legislative assembly by Dato' Onn Ja'afar, the Chief Minister of Johor. Ismail was also offered a seat on the Federal Legislative Council
Federal Legislative Council
The Federal Legislative Council was the legislative body of the Federation of Malaya and the predecessor of the Malaysian Parliament. It was formed in 1948 after the abolition of the Malayan Union and the formation of the Federation, as part of the United Kingdom's promise to grant self-rule to...
by Onn, but on the condition that Ismail join UMNO. Ismail refused, insisting that he would only join UMNO if it committed itself to fighting for Malayan independence. In the Johor state legislative assembly, his very first action was to declare his opposition to the UMNO-supported federation, which he considered in contravention of the Johor state constitution.
Ismail focused on his private practice, founding the Tawakkal (Trust in God) Clinic which he ran from 1947 to 1953. During this period, Ismail co-founded the Malay Graduates' Association, a political discussion group for intellectuals. Ismail observed:
Marriage and personal life
In 1950, Ismail married Norashikin Mohd Seth (nicknamed Neno) in an arranged marriageArranged marriage
An arranged marriage is a practice in which someone other than the couple getting married makes the selection of the persons to be wed, meanwhile curtailing or avoiding the process of courtship. Such marriages had deep roots in royal and aristocratic families around the world...
. On passing through Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
on the way to their honeymoon
Honeymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
in Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, they met Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
, who would later succeed Dato Onn as President of UMNO. Ismail later recounted that the Tunku had invited him and his new bride to the Kuala Lumpur Flying Club to dance, but upon finding that they were newlyweds "bundled us off telling us that we had no business being on the dance floor so late when we should be in bed enjoying our honeymoon." The Tunku later cited the support of Ismail and the Malay Graduates Association as the major impetus for his decision to become President, while Ismail in turn claimed he decided to join UMNO only after the Tunku became President in 1951.
Ismail would have six children with Neno: Tawfik (born 1951), Zailah (born 1953), Badariah, Tarmizi (born 1960), Zamakhshari (born 1964) and Ariff (born 1967).
Pre-independence
Ismail entered Malaysian politics in 1951 when he was elected as vice president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). He had earlier been the nominee of the Malay Graduates Association to the UMNO Central Executive Committee. Initially, Ismail and his brother Suleiman, also an UMNO member, mainly clashed with Dato Onn, who had left UMNO to form the Independence of Malaya PartyIndependence of Malaya Party
The Independence of Malaya Party was a political party in British-ruled Malaya that stood for political independence. Founded by Onn Ja'afar after he left UMNO in 1951, it opposed the UMNO policy of Malay supremacy....
(IMP) after UMNO refused to open membership to non-Malays. Ismail was very critical of Onn, who had made "very inflammatory communal speeches attacking the Chinese". Suleiman later defeated Onn in the first Malayan general election, and was lauded as a "giant-killer" for his landslide victory against Onn, who had been the favourite.
Ismail was also instrumental in gaining a greater amount of autonomy for the local government, when in 1954 the Alliance government (a coalition of UMNO and the Malayan Chinese Association or MCA) decided to boycott the British-backed local elections. When the British High Commissioner Donald MacGillivray
Donald MacGillivray
Sir Donald Charles MacGillivray, KCMG, MBE was the last Colonial Administrator to serve in Malaya. He was the British High Commissioner in Malaya and also the Governor of Straits Settlements.-Life:...
met with the Tunku, Ismail, and the MCA's representative of H. S. Lee, he accused them of playing into the hands of the Malayan Communist Party
Malayan Communist Party
The Malayan Communist Party , officially known as the Communist Party of Malaya , was founded in 1930 and laid down its arms in 1989. It is most famous for its role in the Malayan Emergency.-Formation:...
, which was waging an armed insurgency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
against the British. The source of the dispute was that the British High Commissioner had been given the discretion to nominate six seats, in addition to those contested in the elections. Ismail proposed a compromise: the Alliance would support the elections, but only if the High Commissioner would consult with the party that won the elections before making his appointments. MacGillivray initially refused, but after finding public opinion against him, backed down.
Later, Ismail was part of the Malayan government delegation sent to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to negotiate terms for independence from the British. In the Federal Legislative Council, he was also a strong proponent of the controversial Razak Report
Razak Report
The Razak Report is a Malayan educational proposal written in the 1956. Named after the then Education Minister, Tun Abdul Razak, its goal was to reform the education system in Malaya...
. Outside the Council, many Chinese were upset about the lack of provisions for vernacular education, while within the Council, Malay members from UMNO condemned the Report for not making Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
the sole medium of instruction. Ismail accused the report's opponents in the Council of making "no considerations for the Chinese and Indians who are already in this country", and acting in an imperialistic
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
manner. If the non-Malays accepted Malaya's status as a Malay country and that the national language was Malay, he argued, there was no reason to further suppress them. The Razak Report eventually became law, when the Council approved it as the Education Ordinance of 1957.
Ismail analysed the Malay distrust of the Chinese as such:
In Ismail's view, it was imperative that "if the Chinese — the real political problem since the other races were not dominant — were to be persuaded into accepting Malay as the national language, they should be granted citizenship as a quid pro quo
Quid pro quo
Quid pro quo most often means a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services. English speakers often use the term to mean "a favour for a favour" and the phrases with almost identical meaning include: "give and take", "tit for tat", "this for that", and "you scratch my back,...
" — an early expression of what would later be referred to as the Malaysian social contract.
Independent Malaya
After independenceHari Merdeka
Hari Merdeka is a national day of Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule in 1957, celebrated on August 31 each year. It is not to be confused with the formation of Malaysia...
in 1957, Ismail was appointed as Malaya and Malaysia's first ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United States of America, as well as the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
— two posts to be held concurrently by him from 1957 till 1959. When Ismail led the independent Malayan delegation to the General Assembly, he carried the traditional Malay dagger (kris
Kris
The kris or keris is an asymmetrical dagger or sword nowadays most strongly associated with the culture of Indonesia, but also indigenous to Malaysia, Southern Thailand and Brunei. It is known as kalis in the southern Philippines. The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade , but many have...
) — according to him, the first time a weapon of any kind had been brought into the assembly. At the UN, Ismail developed a strongly held view that Malayan foreign policy had to keep "an independent line, by which I mean that our stand on international problems should not be influenced by the policies of other countries, big or small". While serving in the United States and at the United Nations, Ismail wrote personal notes to the Prime Minister, which were recently compiled and published in a book titled "Malaya's First Year At The UN". Ismail remained involved in local politics, however, and pressed for the Alliance coalition of UMNO, the MCA and the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) to merge into one multi-racial party, instead of remaining as a coalition comprising three mono-racial parties.
Upon returning to Malaya in 1959, he was appointed as external affairs minister. The following year, a controversy arose when the Tunku stated that Malaya would eventually have to recognise the communist People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. This was, in the Tunku's words, "a sudden change in our policy towards Communist China" that had been influenced by private talks between the Tunku and French President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
. Ismail was outraged by this decision, which had been taken without consultation with him, and directly contradicted Ismail's stated policy of refusing to recognise the People's Republic of China as long as they backed the Malayan Communist Party
Malayan Communist Party
The Malayan Communist Party , officially known as the Communist Party of Malaya , was founded in 1930 and laid down its arms in 1989. It is most famous for its role in the Malayan Emergency.-Formation:...
, which had waged an armed insurgency against the government. Ismail threatened to resign, and apparently attempted to do so on four separate occasions. The situation was defused by the Tunku refusing to see Ismail, who eventually calmed down and put the incident behind him, behaving "as if nothing had happened."
Ismail was later persuaded by his brothers not to quit, but to instead transfer to a different ministry. He was then made the new internal security minister, a post which had been specifically created for him. In 1962, he was appointed to the portfolio of home affairs as well. In these roles, Ismail was in charge of detaining people under the controversial Internal Security Act
Internal Security Act (Malaysia)
The Internal Security Act 1960 is a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances...
(ISA), which permits detention without trial. After resigning in 1967, Ismail expressed amazement that he was not "the most hated man in Malaya" for his actions. Although many were critical of the ISA, Ismail believed it was necessary for public order, stating that "Abuse of the Act can be prevented by vigilant public opinion via elections, a free Press and above all the Parliament."
Malaysia
In 1963, Malaya merged with the former British colonies of SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
to form Malaysia. Ismail retained his cabinet positions in the new polity. During this period, despite no longer being in charge of external affairs, Ismail expressed strong support for an "Association of Southeast Asia", telling the media that "We look forward to a regional association embracing Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Burma, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Malaysia, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
." This proposal eventually became the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN rarely ), is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has...
(ASEAN).
Ismail also presented Malaysia's case to the United Nations when Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
launched its armed "Confrontation
Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation during 1962–1966 was Indonesia’s political and armed opposition to the creation of Malaysia. It is also known by its Indonesian/Malay name Konfrontasi...
" against the new polity, charging it with being the tool of neo-colonialists. Ismail managed to sneak a number of weapons captured from Indonesian military personnel into a meeting of the UN Security Council, greatly upsetting the Council's President, who asked him to remove them. Later, Ismail was a critic of Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
, the Singaporean Prime Minister, for his attempt to de-emphasise race in Malaysian politics through the establishment of a non-racial political coalition, the Malaysian Solidarity Council
Malaysian Solidarity Council
The Malaysian Solidarity Council is a confederation of political parties formed in 1964 to oppose Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia. This article specifically provides special quotas for the Malay and other indigenous peoples of Malaysia in admission to the public service, awarding of...
(MSC). The resulting political controversy led to Singapore's separation from Malaysia; however, Ismail, like Toh Chin Chye
Toh Chin Chye
Toh Chin Chye is a prominent first generation political leader in Singapore. He completed his Secondary education in St. George's Institution and continued his studies at Raffles College and the University of London. Subsequently, Toh received his PhD at the National Institute for Medical...
, expressed his belief that Singapore and Malaysia would eventually merge once more, stating: "It is better to wait for this to come because if they do not do so they will sink together instead of coming together."
In 1966, Ismail became the first recipient of the First Class of the Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia (The Most Esteemed Order of the Crown of Malaysia), entitling him to the title of Tun
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
and the post-nominal SSM. Ismail resigned from his government posts in 1967, citing his poor health. A heart specialist had previously told him to retire from politics due to Ismail being "more sensitive to personality stresses than most people" — advice Ismail said he would have ignored, had it not been for his five young children. The Tunku accepted Ismail's resignation, noting that he had previously forced Ismail's brother, Suleiman, to continue working in public service, with fatal results when Suleiman suddenly died. After retiring from politics, Ismail went on to head the Guthrie Group of Companies, where he was paid three times the amount earned by a cabinet minister.
May 13
In the 1969 general electionMalaysian general election, 1969
General elections were held in Malaysia on 10 May 1969, although voting was postponed until between 21 and 27 June in Sabah and Sarawak. It resulted in the return to power, with a reduced majority, of the ruling Alliance Party, comprising the United Malays National Organization , the Malayan...
, the Alliance suffered substantial losses. The MCA, which was hardest hit, decided to withdraw from the government as they felt they were no longer representative of the Chinese community. Ismail was very critical of this decision, and attempted to persuade the MCA President, Tan Siew Sin
Tan Siew Sin
Tun Tan Siew Sin was Malaya's first Minister of Commerce and Industry, Finance Minister for 15 years, and president of the Malayan Chinese Association .-Early life:...
, to change his mind. Ismail warned that "this decision if not revoked would contribute to rioting and chaos in the country". On May 13, after several controversial victory rallies were held by the victorious opposition, racial riots
May 13 Incident
The 13 May Incident is a term for the Sino-Malay sectarian violences in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia, which began on 13 May 1969...
broke out in the federal capital, Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
. Ismail's daughter later said that her father "remained calm, but took out his pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
, put it into his pocket, and went out with my mother to dinner". On the morning of May 14, a police escort was dispatched by Tun Abdul Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister, to escort Ismail from his home. Ismail was persuaded to rejoin the government as home affairs minister.
The Tunku arranged a meeting of several of his top aides, including Ismail. At the meeting, Tun Abdul Razak expressed support for declaring martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
, but was dissuaded by General Ibrahim Ismail, who told him that "I cannot provide any guarantee (that I will) be able to hold back the members of the armed forces who might take over control of the government." On May 15, a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
was declared and Parliament was suspended in favour of the National Operations Council
National Operations Council
The National Operations Council or Majlis Gerakan Negara was an emergency administrative body which attempted to restore law and order in Malaysia after the May 13 Incident in 1969, when racial rioting broke out in the federal capital of Kuala Lumpur. From 1969 to 1971, the NOC governed the...
(NOC), a body of top government officials. That day, Ismail announced to the media that "Democracy is dead in this country. It died at the hands of the opposition parties who triggered off the event leading to this violence." Privately, Ismail accused the opposition parties of playing "communal politics", by using the Islamic party, PAS, to appeal to the extremist Malays, and using the ostensibly multiracial parties such as the Democratic Action Party
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...
and Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia
Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia
The Malaysian People's Movement Party is a political party in Malaysia. The party was founded on March 24, 1968, and , it is part of the ruling National Front coalition....
to appeal to the extremist Chinese. "Since the Alliance's policy is based on compromise," he said, "it could not therefore please all the Malays or all the Chinese but could only please the moderate Malays and the understanding Chinese." Ismail blamed the MCA as well, telling a friend that "it was with this tension, with this irresponsible decision by the MCA that the riot started".
Tun Abdul Razak was initially interested in the possibility of a benevolent dictatorship
Benevolent dictatorship
Benevolent dictatorship is a form of government in which an authoritarian leader exercises political power for the benefit of the whole population rather than exclusively for his or her own self-interest or benefit or for the benefit of only a small portion of the population...
, but was reportedly dissuaded by Ismail, who wanted to restore power to Parliament as soon as possible. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
, future Prime Minister and then an aide to the NOC, later recalled that Tun Abdul Razak often took pains to accommodate Ismail's views, extending meetings whenever there was a clash of opinions so as to satisfy Ismail.
Ismail's reputation for fairness but uncompromising toughness — at one point, he declared he would arrest his own mother if she had broken the law — has been cited by a number of top officials as greatly contributing to stability in the wake of the riots. During this period, several Malay "ultras
Ultra (Malaysia)
During the 1960s in Malaysia and Singapore, some racial extremists were referred to as "ultras". The phrase was most commonly used by the first Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, and other leaders of his political party, the People's Action Party , to refer to Malay extremists...
" such as Mahathir bin Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad
Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad . is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years.Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir...
and Musa Hitam
Musa Hitam
Tun Musa bin Hitam , is a Malaysian politician and a former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, serving under Mahathir bin Mohamad. He was born in Johor Bahru, Johor in 1934...
called for the resignation of the Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
. Mahathir penned an open letter to the Tunku, accusing him of "giving the Chinese what they demand ... you have given them too much face." Soon, students at higher educational institutions across the country began to hold mass demonstrations, calling for the Tunku to step down in favour of a leader who would restore "Malay sovereignty". Sporadic rioting, believed to have been instigated by the Tunku's opponents, broke out. The Tunku responded by forcing Mahathir and Musa out of UMNO, while Ismail as Home Affairs Minister issued a statement: "These ultras believe in the wild and fantastic theory of absolute dominion by one race over the other communities, regardless of the Constitution. ... Polarisation has taken place in Malaysian politics and the extreme racialists among the ruling party are making a desperate bid to topple the present leadership."
At the time, some suggested that Tun Abdul Razak was a power-hungry ultra, seeking to displace the Tunku as Prime Minister. Although this was denied by both the Tunku and Abdul Razak, there was great concern among non-Malays as to how the NOC's policy would affect them, as the NOC was chaired by Abdul Razak and not the Tunku. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah
Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh bin Tengku Mohd Hamzah is a major Malaysian political figure from the state of Kelantan, and a former Finance Minister. He is an uncle of the current Raja Perempuan of Kelantan. Tengku is a Malay hereditary title usually translated as prince...
, later finance minister, cited Ismail as a major factor in increasing public confidence in the government, stating: "The Chinese did not have much confidence in Razak, but they did in Ismail. Razak was always associated with Malay and rural affairs, et cetera. Ismail was a principled man — and was seen that way by the different races. He was the Rock of Gibraltar. Once he decided on something you could be sure that he had gone through the relevant details and studied them. What is confidence unless it is based on the people’s belief in the leader?"
Deputy Prime Minister
In 1970, he was appointed as the second Deputy Prime Minister, replacing Tun Abdul Razak, who had been elevated to Prime Minister following the resignation of Tunku Abdul RahmanTunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
. Shortly before, Ismail had become privy to the secret that Abdul Razak was suffering from leukaemia. Only Razak's doctors, Razak and Ismail knew of Razak's health problems, with Razak often using the pretext of paying Ismail a visit at his home in order to be examined by doctors at a hidden building near Ismail's house. Not long after, Ismail himself discovered a lump in his neck while shaving — the lump was later confirmed to be cancerous. As a result, many within Ismail's family urged him to retire again. However, Ismail considered it his duty to assist Abdul Razak as Deputy Prime Minister, and thus refused to resign, delaying the treatment for his neck cancer and refusing an operation on his heart valves in order to continue working.
Around July 1973, Ismail suffered three heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
s over the course of two weeks — a secret he kept from his wife, who was expecting. Ismail told a friend that he planned to resign after Tun Abdul Razak returned from Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where he was attending the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
summit — Ismail had promised to serve as acting Prime Minister while Razak was away. Ismail was also reportedly worried about Razak's political plans, as he intended to rehabilitate Mahathir — a move opposed by Ismail, who preferred Musa Hitam to Mahathir.
Death
Eventually, fearing his impending death might keep him from providing for his family, Ismail decided to have his wife's pregnancy terminated. Shortly after, she underwent a tubal ligationTubal ligation
Tubal ligation or tubectomy is a surgical procedure for sterilization in which a woman's fallopian tubes are clamped and blocked, or severed and sealed, either method of which prevents eggs from reaching the uterus for fertilization...
. On August 2, Ismail attended the silver jubilee celebrations of the Peninsular Malaysia Malay Students Foundation (Gabungan Pelajar-pelaiar Melayu Semenanjung or GPMS). After a sudden explosion sound effect
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
, Ismail's daughter (who was watching the event live on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
) noticed he began to sweat profusely. Nevertheless, after he visited his wife, who was recovering from the ligation, at the hospital as had been planned. After having his dinner, Ismail retired to his study. Later, he rang the bell for his maid, asking for his daughter and telling her that "I am going to die, please call my doctor and inform Gopal" (his private secretary). Ismail had suffered a massive heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Normally, Dr Stewart C. Macpherson, a neighbour of Ismail's and personal doctor to him and Tun Razak, would have immediately attended to Ismail. However, Macpherson had accompanied Razak to the summit, forcing Ismail to phone his other doctor, Dr Catterall, who lived in the satellite town
Satellite town
A satellite town or satellite city is a concept in urban planning that refers essentially to smaller metropolitan areas which are located somewhat near to, but are mostly independent of, larger metropolitan areas.-Characteristics:...
of Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya is a Malaysian city originally developed as a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur comprising mostly residential and some industrial areas. It is located in the Petaling district of Selangor with an area of approximately 97.2 km². On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a...
. Upon arrival, Catterall immediately began efforts to resuscitate Ismail, soon being joined by the royal physician, Dr Pillai. Panicked Cabinet members soon arrived, and began discussing the future of politics without Ismail — an incident Ismail's young son found disturbing as Ismail had yet to be declared dead. Catterall laboured for five hours to save Ismail, but to no avail. Ismail's official time of death was later pronounced as 10PM.
Without Ismail, the country was momentarily leaderless, without an acting Prime Minister. Tun Razak ordered that he be laid in state at the Malaysian Houses of Parliament
Malaysian Houses of Parliament
The Malaysian Houses of Parliament is a building complex where the Malaysian Parliament assembles. The structure is located at the Lake Gardens in Kuala Lumpur, right next to the Malaysian National Monument.-Description:...
, and be buried at the Makam Pahlawan
Makam Pahlawan
The Makam Pahlawan is the burial ground of several Malaysian leaders and politicians. It is located near the Malaysian national mosque, Masjid Negara in the national capital, Kuala Lumpur...
(Heroes' Mausoleum) near Masjid Negara
Masjid Negara
The National Mosque of Malaysia is located in Kuala Lumpur. It has a capacity of 15,000 people and is situated among of beautiful gardens. The original structure was designed by a three-person team from the Public Works Department - UK architect Howard Ashley, and Malaysians Hisham Albakri and...
(National Mosque), Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
. Ismail would be the first to be laid to rest there, and also the first recipient of a Malaysian state funeral. However, Works & Communications Minister Tun Sardon Jubir, the next-most senior Cabinet minister, ordered that Ismail lie in state at the Masjid Negara, and that he be buried just outside the Makam Pahlawan instead. As Ismail's body was transported from his home to the National Mosque, crowds thronged the streets.
Razak was provided with a plane by the Canadian government that took him to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, from where he took a commercial flight to Kuala Lumpur. Ismail's burial was postponed until his arrival. Upon arrival, finding that his instructions for Ismail's funeral had not been followed, Razak reportedly exclaimed to Ismail's widow, "Who am I to trust now?" Razak was particularly upset that the lying in state had been held in the National Mosque instead of the Houses of Parliament, as he had intended that non-Muslim Malaysians be able to view the lying in state without discomfort.
Tun Sardon Jubir attempted to justify his instructions by citing a mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
who had informed him that Muslims could not be buried under a roof. The Tunku was exasperated by this explanation, remarking: "My forefathers are all buried in a mausoleum under a roof!" Razak, who would normally have overlooked such incidents, delayed the burial and brought in a detachment of soldiers to tear up the floor of the mausoleum, where Ismail was indeed laid to rest.
Political views
Ismail was particularly known for his non-ethnic approach to political issues. Expressing concern over racial polarisation in the country, he once asked:Although, according to his biographers, Ismail was "usually considered as a very good Malay leader...Ismail knew that Malaysia is full of non-Malays." Unlike other UMNO politicians, Ismail avoided cultivating a political following: "He was there to build the country. That's it. He was actually a reluctant politician. So he wasn't a politician in the sense that he didn't cultivate 'my people'. He didn't care whether he made friends or not. That kind of person wasn't very popular".
As Foreign Minister, Ismail pushed for non-alignment
Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...
and non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN countries. He also supported the establishment of a central bank
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...
to quell foreign investment worries about a lack of independence in Malaysian monetary policy
Monetary policy
Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, often targeting a rate of interest for the purpose of promoting economic growth and stability. The official goals usually include relatively stable prices and low unemployment...
.
Legacy
The legacy left behind by Ismail is often viewed in a positive light. It is conventionally held that his sudden death altered the course of Malaysian history — Tun Abdul Razak appointed Tun Hussein Onn as his new deputy, and Hussein Onn would later appoint Mahathir as Deputy Prime Minister after succeeding Razak, setting Mahathir on the course towards becoming Prime Minister. Despite this, historians have often overlooked Ismail; one biographer of his has said that:Ismail's eldest son has suggested that Ismail was largely ignored because "Razak didn’t want people to know about his illness and he didn’t need a prop like Dr Ismail. He had to move out of Dr Ismail's shadow. My father didn't say he was controlling Razak, but people perceived he was doing so, including those who advised Razak." Generally, Ismail has been regarded as reliable and incorruptible, "remembered for his deep dislike of incompetence and bigotry, his strict adherence to the virtues of hard work and honesty, and his belief in the principles of national independence and multi-racialism".
Tycoon Robert Kuok
Robert Kuok
Robert Kuok Hock Nien , is an influential Malaysian Chinese businessman. According to Forbes his net worth is estimated to be around $12.5 billion on May 2011, making him the richest person in Malaysia and Southeast Asia....
, a friend of Ismail's, would later remark that: