The Story of the Lambor Man Who Saved Prime Minister Tun Razak
Who doesn't know the Father of Development, the late Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Dato Haji Hussein, who was the second Prime Minister of Malaysia? He served as Prime Minister of Malaysia for 6 years, from 1970 to 1976.
Everyone knows that Tun Haji Abdul Razak was the father of the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Mohammad Najib. The late Tun Haji Abdul Razak is well-known for launching the New Economic Policy, which aimed to address economic and social issues that had sparked antagonism and racial tension among Malaysia's multi-ethnic society. Returning to the story we want to share here on orangperak.com, it concerns a great man from Lambor, Perak, who once saved the life of the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, the late Tun Haji Abdul Razak. Since that incident, he became one of Tun Razak's close friends. The man from Lambor we are talking about was well-known by the nickname Enot among his acquaintances and friends. Even the 33rd Sultan of Perak at the time, the late Sultan Idris Shah, knew him and referred to him as Tok Kohor Alam. When the late Tun Haji Abdul Razak was Prime Minister of Malaysia, it was the era of communist insurgent movements in our country. There were many challenges and trials faced in developing a nation that was being battered by communist movements seeking to turn the country into a communist state.
The late Tun Haji Abdul Razak
When Tun Haji Abdul Razak served as the State Secretary of Pahang, Enot, or Tok Kohor Alam, was serving in the Royal Malay Regiment as a sergeant. As the story goes, one day, Tok Kohor Alam and his platoon members were tasked with guarding and escorting Tun Haji Abdul Razak on a boat heading up the Pahang River. While they were on the boat heading up the Pahang River and arrived in the Temerloh area, Tun Haji Abdul Razak's escort squad suddenly shouted "duck/lie down" loudly because they noticed communist movements on the riverbank, preparing to attack the boat carrying Tun Haji Abdul Razak.
Tok Kohor Alam
Tun Haji Abdul Razak, who was unfamiliar with military commands, was stunned and remained sitting in his chair, motionless. Fortunately, Tok Kohor Alam, who was beside him at the time, immediately kicked the chair Tun Haji Abdul Razak was sitting on, causing him to fall onto the floor of the boat. Seconds later, a bullet pierced the chair where Tun Haji Abdul Razak had been sitting just moments before. The shot had been fired by a group of communist insurgents from the riverbank. Since that incident, Tun Haji Abdul Razak became close friends with Tok Kohor Alam. The proof of their closeness can be seen in a photograph taken when Tun Haji Abdul Razak passed away. At that time, Tok Kohor Alam was waiting by the late Tun Haji Abdul Razak's remains at his residence before the burial.
Tok Kohor Alam (circled) looking at the remains of Tun Razak
Tok Kohor Alam opened the coffin window to see and gaze upon his friend's face for the last time before the burial. Tok Kohor Alam passed away on September 28, 1987, due to a heart attack during a meeting of smallholders in Kuala Lumpur. Tok Kohor Alam was buried in Kampung Tua, Lambor Kanan. For the information of our loyal readers at orangperak.com, Tok Kohor Alam's real name was Zainudin bin Mat Sait, with the Royal Malay Regiment service number 3405. Meanwhile, we also managed to find Tok Kohor Alam's third child to obtain more information about the brief biography of Zainudin bin Mat Sait in the Bota area.
Cikgu Lin, the third child of Tok Kohor Alam
We talked and chatted a lot while gathering this story. Many interesting stories regarding Perak were shared by Cikgu Lin with the orangperak.com editor to be published in the future. References:
mokhtarpetah.blogspot.my
and Cikgu Lin, the third child of Tok Kohor Alam
