IN CONVERSATION WITH A LEGEND: TUN MOHAMED HANIF OMAR ( TMHO) THE 4TH IGP AND 35TH HEAD BOY OF MCKK
There are many stories told of legends. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.
Those were the thoughts that crossed my mind when I drove my MCKK batchmate, Jak Li to the home of Tun Mohamed Hanif Omar or Tun Hanif in Section 13 Shah Alam.
Tun Hanif used to live in our neighborhood of USJ 12, but the house was burgled ( what irony burglars entering the home of a former IGP) twice and he moved to Shah Alam leaving the old house to his eldest son.
Tun Hanif has not been feeling too well lately due to some recurring heart ailments and it’s been a long time since we chatted face-to-face with him. Throughout our tenure in MCKK and life afterward, the name Tun Hanif was always about a stern face with a no-nonsense attitude who call a spade a spade, without "beating about the bush", but rather speaking truthfully, frankly, and directly about a topic, even to the point of bluntness.
We arrived at his home and were ushered in by the maid who told us that Tun Hanif was expecting us. He was slumped in a lounge sofa chair, looking quite frail and weak. He told us to sit nearby as his eyes were failing and his hearing was a bit impaired. A tell-tale sign of his prevailing condition was the newly installed chair elevator on the stair balustrades going upstairs.
‘“What can I help you?” was the word he said as we adjourned to the dining table for a spot of tea and ‘ karipaps’ . On the wall where he sat was a black and white photo of his parents, him, and his two elder sisters. He started our conversation with a reminder of the immortal words of his father “ Be brave. Always remember, you are my SON!
And then, the conversation with a legend ensued. Storytellers seldom let facts get in the way of perpetuating a legend, although a few facts add seasoning and make the legend more tenable.
I remember sometime in early 2000, the now defunct Berita MCOBA, the now defunct hard-copy version of MCOBA featured an article on Tun Hanif Omar in its ‘ Sudut Tera’ ( a column about prominent MCOBs) under the title ‘ Lion in Winter’.
That really got me intrigued and I looked up the real meaning of the ‘ Lion in Winter’; I know about the Lion of the Desert as it was a film about the brave Libyan freedom fighter, Umar Mokhtar.
Lion in Winter was also a film and a play in the 60’s about the personal and political conflicts of Henry II of England.
Google says the phrase “the lion in winter" is a little-used but wonderful phrase, a real compliment. It refers to a proud, competent man who's aging (in the winter of life) but remains active and vital.
Ah- Ah, now I could see the correlation of the phrase being used to describe this person that I had a wonderful conversation with at his home in Shah Alam yesterday evening.
For the record, Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar, was the youngest Inspector General of the Royal Malaysia Police Malaysia and also the longest-serving IGP (1974–1994) of this nation, who had served steadfastly, diligently, and loyally for 3 Agungs, under 3 Prime Ministers and 3 Home Minister and of course, selfless derive to the Nation, practically a National legend … a true Kingsman in the services for King and Country.
In simple terms, a legend is a story. However, as more than just a story, it has a bit of history to it. Typically, these stories started as oral stories that took on a life of their own. Often, a legend tells the exploits of a character like a historical account that could be possible. And, typically, legends have at least a little historical truth to them.
For Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar, he was part of the history of Malaysia, often submerged in the important milestones and vital decisions of the nation.
From the perspective of the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, ( MCKK) his Alma Mater, he is a prominent Malay College Old Boy C54, who was a Head Boy for two years ( 1954-1956) He entered Form 4 from Anglo Chinese School (ACS ) Telok Intan and is currently the Chairman of the Board of Governor of MCKK.
Tun Hanif is married to Toh Puan Hamidah Abdul Hamid and has 5 children.
Born in Teluk Intan, Perak, Tun Hanif Omar graduated from the University of Malaya, , Singapore, and joined the Police Training Centre ( PULAPOL) thereafter. In quick succession, he was in several posts in various districts, in CID, Special Branch. etc He was Special Chief of Staff (Police) of the National Operations Council ( MAGERAN) in 1969.
He became the Malacca Police Chief on 7 September 1970 and later the Selangor Police Chief on 6 December 1971. He had CIA and FBI training in the United States and at times leaving family and aspirations behind.
Once, when he went for somebody Police related course in the USA, he thought of touring Europe after the course but that notion was dashed as he was recalled home for a new posting. Even when he disembarked from the Subang Airport, he was given his transfer order to Ipoh, Perak as Chief Police for the district of Ipoh, Perak. Dutifully, he followed the orders but to him, it was sort of an ‘ exile’ for he was a vocal officer who spoke his mind.
He was appointed as the Deputy Inspector General of Police on 1 February 1973. He was appointed as the 4th Inspector General of Police on 8 June 1974 at the age of 35, upon the assassination of the former IGP , TS Abdul Rahman Hashim by communist insurgencies.
In addition, he was been appointed as Deputy Chairman of the Malaysian Institute of Management Commission (MIM), President of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (MBRAS), Member of the Malaysian Equity Council, Member of the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation Council, Chairman of the Tun Razak Foundation and Trustee of the Foundation Heart of the Nation.
After retirement, Tun Haniff was actively involved in the corporate world by holding important positions such as Chairman of Maxis Communications Berhad, General Corporation Berhad, Park May Berhad, Deputy Chairman of Genting Berhad and Resort World Berhad, Board of Directors of AMMB Holding Berhad, AMFB Holdings Berhad, Ambank Berhad, and AmIslamic Bank Berhad.
But all these hard facts are written and documented in Wikipedia and such but I wanted very much to get an insight into this ‘ Lion in Winter’. To know a man's library is, in some measure to know a man’s mind and idiosyncrasy.
Sometimes the addition of a little information can bring a new perspective to an issue or help you to better understand a person . Somehow, there has been no autobiography or memoirs on Tun Hanif Omar. Heard that once someone, a ghostwriter, started writing his memoirs but unfortunately she died.
When asked why he didn’t continue on with other ghostwriters, he humbly said “ Ah, Tak payah-lah“.
Of late, I’ve been reading with much interest the writings of his son Capt. Rahmat Omar aka John F MCOB C83 in the Nostalgia Di SBP Facebook Group and began to understand the story of Tun Hanif Omar as it intertwined with the life story of his son.
I could conjure up and picture the history of the country when I was growing up and understand more clearly about the man.
Born on January 16, 1939, he was the third of 8 siblings and the eldest son of the family. His father was a clerk at the Land office and his origin is from the Mandailing clan and his grandfather was one Ngah Jabor.
Ngah Jabor or his real name Mohammad Jabar bin Bardot and also known by the title of Imam Prang Jabor is one of the important figures in the history of British colonialism in Perak, especially in the timeline of resistance to the first British Resident in Perak which was J.W.W. Birch. He was the right-hand man of the famous Perak warrior Dato Maharaja Lela or his real name is Pandak Lam. Ngah Jabor is also the founder of Kampar district, Perak
With a hereditary lineage of proud Malay fighters, it’s no wonder the ‘Lion of Winter’ was conjured up. Even when he entered MCKK, he kept that fighting spirit with him, though he related that he actually didn’t want to attend that school far away from home as his father had just died 3 months earlier. At ACS, he could readily visit his father's grave every day without fail and he was not prepared to leave his home and family.
Nonetheless, with some persuasion from his uncle, he entered MCKK in Form Four as a 14-year-old small-framed boy with a lion's heart into uncharted territory. Students older or his own batch would try to pick fights with him and bully him. But he was steadfast, courageous, and would challenge them for ‘one-on-one’ fist duels.
As an Ahmad House guy, true to the house motto ‘ Strive Forever’. Tun Hanif made an effort to accomplish an end with his strive which implied great exertion against great difficulty and specifically suggests persistent effort under intense adversity.
He was quite proficient in the English Language and remembers his batchmates asking him to reply to letters from the girls from the Malay Girls College ( later known as TKC). His batchmates would treat him to ‘ makan ‘ at the tuckshop for his good English replies to the girls.
When probed on his appointment as a prefect and later as a Headboy ( 1955- 1956) Tun related that Mr Drennan , the Master in charge of the prefect's board said that he saw ‘ something in this boy’ and this also concurred by HM Mr. Howell . As a prefect, he was stern and took the responsibilities of a perfect seriously.
Once he even offered to resign as Headboy because of some undue changes made in the administration of the prefect’s board but relented when the Headmaster rescinded the changes. It goes to show that Tun Hanif was firm in adherence to whatever one owes allegiance and his steadfastness implied a steady and unwavering course in conviction.
When he was in MCKK. as MCKK’s 15-year-old Headboy, he would walk to the railway station twice at the beginning of the school holidays to see off those going back north and south of Kuala Kangsar.
He would go back to the dorms, write a damage/repairs report and lock the dorms up. He would surrender the keys to the dorms and the list to the school’s Stewart before walking to the railway station to catch a train back to Telok Anson.
Before the school holidays end, he would come back earlier than others, collect the keys and the damage/ repair report to see what had been repaired or not, allocate students to their beds, and wait at the station for their arrival.
At 17, he entered the University of Malaya in Singapore and graduated as an Economics Bachelor, and then joined the police. The rest is Police Story.
Later in his long tenure as the IGP of the Royal Malaysia Police Force he took a sabbatical leave and did law at the University of Buckingham, U.K. That enabled many to go up the ranks.
Tun Hanif was a close confidant of Almarhum Tun Abdul Razak, the 2nd PM who at times, would regularly request Tun Hanif’s presence at important meetings.
Even before Tun Razak’s demise from leukemia in London on 14 January 1976, Tun Hanif was there and he remembered walking down Broadwalk together with Allahyarham Tun Razak during Tun’s treatment at the nearby Hartley St. clinic.
Allahyarham Tun Razak was looking forward to coming back to Malaysia and celebrating Tun Hanif’s birthday on the 16th of January 1976. They were neighbors when the official residence of the Prime Minister was at Seri Perdana , Jalan Cenderawasih , Kuala Lumpur.
We also chatted about his pivotal role in the Peace Agreement of Hat Yai (1989)marked the end of the Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–1989). There were some insights into the negotiations and the deals.
He shared many stories, insights, thoughts, and anecdotes of his past experiences in the Malay College and his career . . all interesting and engrossing.
He told us of his convictions and beliefs and infused us with the lighter side of his career and life journey. An hour and a half session with this legend are just not enough. He even walked us to the front door without his walking stick when it was time for us to leave and we hoped that we had cheered him up a bit with the visitation.
As we drove off and said our goodbyes, I can’t stop pondering about that small-framed Malay boy from Telok Intan who entered MCKK in 1953 and is now a towering Malay of this blessed country.
Thank you, Tun, for your time and for sharing...you’ll always be a legend in my books.
C&P from Spice C76 Facebook Posting.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mckkoldboys/permalink/5823767580991619/?mibextid=Nif5oz
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