KUALA LUMPUR: Two veterans who witnessed the birth of Umno were here yesterday to witness proceedings on the second day of the 2014 Umno General Assembly.
One of them showed up at Dewan Merdeka yesterday and her presence prompted Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and other leaders to leave their seats in Dewan Merdeka to greet her. They shook her frail hand while some even hugged her affectionately.
Umno veteran Datuk Siti Rahmah Kassim, 89, was the first Malay woman who donated her gold bangle so that the nation’s first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman could make the trip to London to obtain the country’s independence from the British.
Her presence was announced by Umno permanent chairman Tan Sri Badruddin Amiruldin, who also left his seat to greet and hug her.
Najib bent down to listen attentively to what the Umno veteran had to say for more than a minute while the rest huddled around her to listen in as well. After she shared her thoughts with the top leaders, Siti Rahmah, clad in red baju kurung and a scarf to match, slowly exited the main stage.
Siti Rahmah was thrown into politics at the age of 19 and was the first woman to contest in the general election in 1959. She won the Terentang state constituency in Negri Sembilan which she held for two terms before retiring as an assemblyman in 1964.
Siti Rahmah was not the only Umno veteran who had donated her jewellery for political struggles.
Puteh Mat Kah, 74, did the same when she was young.
A daughter of a staunch Umno member, she has never missed a single party assembly since she became a member in 1963. Puteh recalled the time when her late mother had to pawn the family’s jewellery, including her gold necklace to fund her mother’s expenses to campaign for Umno and fight for independence.
“I was taught to make sacrifices for the sake of the nation. That has always been my mother’s principle and the same principle has kept my passion for Umno burning all these years. My mother was an inspirational nationalist who had served the party with passion. We have followed her through rough terrains and taking boat rides for hours just to reach a village to campaign for the party because we truly believe in the spirit of our struggles.”
Puteh, who was seen walking on her own in Putra World Trade Centre, said after she moved from Kemaman, Terengganu to live with her children here, she would make it a point to come to the party assembly every year. She would take the public transport from her house in Selayang.
“Having the chance to look at the ‘sea of red’ has made me reminisce about the past and I find comfort in the memories of my family’s involvement, no matter how small, in building a legacy such as Umno.”
Puteh added that she could not help but ponder about the newer and younger members of Umno.
“I realised that the youth are a bit uptight and refused to mingle with the veterans. Perhaps, because they belong to a different generation, they do things differently. But there were times in Umno where everyone feels like family; everyone feels like they belong.”