THE event last week at the Inner Temple was one not to be missed; one that provided another glimpse into the history and friendship of two countries — Malaysia and Britain as they celebrate their 60th anniversary of their special ties, and more importantly, a peek into the special ties between one family and this prestigious place that went beyond that 60 years.
For the family of Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negri Sembilan Tuanku Muhriz Tuanku Munawir, the evening provided a poignant moment when the portrait of their grandfather and great grandfather; the late Tuanku Abdul Rahman Tuanku Muhammad, the first king of independent Malaya, was unveiled and presented to the very Inn from where he was called to the bar 89 years ago in 1928.
The Inner Temple, for the uninitiated, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional association for barristers and judges) steeped in history and traditions — a distinct society which had existed from at least 1388, and responsible for training, regulating, and selecting barristers before they are allowed to practice.
Before the brief, albeit dignified unveiling ceremony by the Yang di-Pertuan Besar, guests which included close family members and friends of the Negri Sembilan royal family, senior members of the Inner Temple as well as students, gathered in the Luncheon Room before proceeding to the Parliament Chamber.
It was in this hall, one of many Georgian-style rooms at the Inn with its fine oak panelling and carvings by Grinling Gibbons, the Dutch-British sculptor and wood carver, and oil paintings depicting the Inn’s 650 years’ worth of history, that the unveiling took place.
The Yang di-Pertuan Besar spoke briefly to thank the Inner Temple for honouring their illustrious student, whose portrait will be part of historical record of paintings, including portraits of Sir Edward Coke, the great Jurist, Charles II’s judges after the Great Fire of London, and more recent portraits of Clement Atlee and Baroness Butler Slows.
Also in the halls of their alma mater is the portrait of another illustrious Malaysian, our first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj.
It was indeed a poignant moment for us Malaysians present that evening.
The portrait of the smiling Tuanku Abdul Rahman, painted by one of Malaysia’s renowned artist, Ahmad Zakii Anwar, was a familiar one — one that perhaps we had taken for granted for it was the familiar face that had graced our currency notes by virtue of being elected the first paramount ruler of Malaya on Aug 3, 1957.
Personally, the brief unveiling ceremony had been nothing short of a history lesson, thanks to the efforts of the Malaysian Inner Temple Alumni Association (MITAA) and its president, Datin Faizah Jamaludin, a Templar herself, whose months of work had ended with a successful event with a documentary Of Wig and Robe in the making.
More glimpses into the life of Tuanku Abdul Rahman, who studied law at the Inner Temple from 1925 to 1928, was provided by his great grandson, Tunku Besar Seri Menanti Tunku Ali Redhauddin Tuanku Muhriz, who admitted that the project had re-ignited his own research into his great grandfather’s life.
As a contemporary of Tunku Abdul Rahman while studying in the United Kingdom, both had served on the inaugural committee of the Kesatuan Melayu United Kingdom (KMUK), with Tuanku Abdul Rahman as the first president and Tunku Abdul Rahman as the first secretary, roles he said, that they would reprise in a very similar form 30-odd years later as first king and first prime minister of Malaya.
With similar names, this had given rise to much confusion in the minds of many people.
“You could say that the Inner Temple was their training ground,” he said, adding that the late Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who had much affection for the UK, had made several voyages, including one to attend the coronation of King George VI.
Treasurer of the Inner Temple, David Pittaway Q.C., who showed documents pertaining to the registration of the late Yang di-Pertuan Agong to Tuanku Muhriz and his party, added more to the history lesson that evening.
He said the young Tuanku Abdul Rahman had accompanied his father on a trip to London in 1925 to see the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley, and to visit King George V.
“It was during that visit that HM decided to study law and following submission of references in September 1925, he became a member of this Inn,” he said.
The evening at the Inner Temple was just a taster of what was yet to come. The documentary, Of Wig and Robe, is due to be screened in April and already a teaser posted on MITAA’s Facebook promises to delve more into the life of our first Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and certainly, the longstanding relationship between Malaysia and Britain.
For many, it will certainly be an education of who Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman was.