Dato' Seri Yang Rashdi's last article (Excerpt from Ipoh Echo Issue 55)

- Gentle Last Words -

Raja Azlan Shah, the Sultan of Perak. His hospital visit,
according to the late Dato Seri Yang Rashdi, was “the greatest gift of all” .

Yang Rashdi's last piece for Ipoh Echo relates his joy at seeing his friends and the royal couple who came visiting when he was in hospital. (Written on June 21, 2008) Read more…

I am now back home after two weeks at the Pantai Puteri Medical Centre, Ipoh. I am not fully recovered yet – it may take another month or so for me to be my normal self again. But I am such a restless person and have to be at my computer and try to write again.

I want to thank the dear friends from the Kelab Bakti Gunung Keledang who visited me in hospital. Tan Sri Azizuddin came when I was in a very critical condition. I could barely say a word and had to say sorry by sign language from afar. Then the others … Dato’ Syed Azman and Datin, Dato’ Ahmad Ismail, Dr Ameen, the Club Secretary, Haris and his family, my great friend Mohamad Hamzah who, together with Razali, our artist, brought a very valuable gift on behalf of the Club – a robotic hospital bed. (I heard it cost the Club a bomb). But I feel that I will not be bed-ridden for long. Insya Allah (God's willing).

The greatest gift of all was the surprise visit of our beloved Sultan, Raja Azlan Shah and Raja Perempuan, Tuanku Bainun.

One quiet afternoon, Tuanku trotted in, affecting a cheerful tone, in jest, asking, “Hey, what are you doing here?” The two doctors present briefed the Sultan. My chat with the royal couple lasted about 40 minutes. The Sultan queried about my age and compared it with our Tun Bendahara's age. Of course, Tun is about four or five years my senior, I am just turning 83. He then asked me about my College contemporaries. I rattled off a few names. He then added a few more to see how I would respond.

We rambled on about other matters like my sporting days. I gladly told him that I too was a hockey player like him. Perhaps, wanting to test me, he asked what position I played. I said, readily, ‘right wing’. I even added, rather cheekily (I realise this now) that I was quite a nippy player. He asked, “apa lagi cerita?” So I talked about my involvement in the scouting movement. The Sultan was a patrol leader during his school days.

He enquired about my leisure time. I told him of the support I give my daughter, Ju, who works to alleviate the problems of single mothers in Kampong Buaia. Ju, who was there during the visit was very articulate in her discourse with the royal couple.

I informed the Sultan that my family had started our own agro-project, planting lemon grass on the land around my house. When I told him that it was only five acres, the Sultan exclaimed that it was big. He asked again, “apa lagi cerita?” I remembered the Ipoh Echo.

I told him one of my articles was published in Ipoh Echo Issue 47. It was a story about me and my brothers when we were kids growing up in the kampung. Tuanku prodded me to carry on writing.

My four children, Ida, Lahn, Ju and Shima smartly dressed in baju kurong and samping, were on hand to provide me support whenever I faltered.
Ida and Ju attended to Tuanku Bainun who was very sweet and friendly. Shima was awed by Tuanku’s charm and became speechless.

Ya-Ya, Ida’s teenage daughter, was assigned to take photos but lost her composure. Let us say she got a bad attack of stage fright – so there went my treasure trove of pictures.
Raja Azlan told my kids never to leave their father all by himself. They nodded in agreement. Ida walked them to the staff car which was parked under the hospital porch below.
What a day it was! Thank you, Tuanku!

Dato Seri Rashdi requested his daughter to forward the above article to the Ipoh Echo. He died on July 3. See our tribute, IE Issue 54