Wan Junaidi (centre) and Fauziah, on his left, being joined by (from left) Yong Tat, Shankar, the columnist, Leng Chua, Yap and his wife Datin Yap, Mary Goh, the columnist’s wife and Karishma, in a photo-call.
IT was a rather rare and special occasion to be invited by the Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak for a dinner at His Excellency’s private residence.
A small group of us: my wife Doreen and I; Dato Goh Leng Chua and wife Datin Mary Goh; Datuk Alfred Yap and wife Datin Wee Kheng Li; Dato Shankar Asnani and wife Datin Karishma; and Goh Yong Tat – had joined Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Sarawak’s eighth Head of State, for dinner, at his Kasuma Resort Residence in Kuching.
His Excellency’s wife Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Fauziah Mohd Sanusi and two of his daughters, Sharifah Fariah and Sharifah Nong-Jasima, had also graced us with their presence.
We were a party of lucky 13!
The evening had started with the usual understated courtesies and pleasantries as would be expected of ‘old friends catching up’ – an atmosphere of warm friendship and relaxed cordiality.
Wan Junaidi has known Yap since their university days in England, and Leng Chua since the very early days when they both had practised law.
Shankar has made a name for himself as a distinguished legal eagle in the local community.
I must admit that my previous association with the Head of State was through his late wife Dato Seri Feona Sim Abdullah @ Norjanah Wan Junaidi.
She was a close family friend and a former classmate of my late sister, Edrea Gremli-Ong; and was related on my mother’s side of the family.
During dinner, Wan Junaidi regaled us with stories and memories of his days back in the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM); practising law in his own firm; and of course, his many years as a federal minister, deputy speaker of Dewan Rakyat, and president of the Dewan Negara.
I, for one, was caught by surprise when during one of his many stories from his early days of struggle, he spoke about how a relative of mine had greatly encouraged and assisted him.
It was certainly news to me!
Then the TYT had also told the story of how in 1978 as he started on his early career path as an assistant superintendent of police, his basic salary was only $290.
I was also unaware that he was serving in the Rejang Area Security Command (RASCOM) in Sibu in 1973, the same time when I was with The Borneo Company Ltd as a marketing executive.
He was in the jungles fighting the communist terrorists, while I was at the coffee shops selling beer.
It was obvious that having come from the same era and gone to the same university studying law, Wan Junaidi and Yap had a lot in common and plenty of reminiscing to do, which had taken up quite a bit of the evening.
Yap later presented Wan Junaidi with three law books for his extensive library.
Leng Chua too had much common ground to cover with the Head of State; past court cases and the many eccentricities of magistrates and judges as well as so many stories had unfolded – many to our amusement, and certainly mostly told within the limits for our ‘eyes and ears only’.
Later in the evening, Wan Junaidi made mention of my serious involvement in the film industry from following my ‘exploits and many adventures’ on my Facebook posts and shares, to which Shankar had ‘complemented’ with my experience of having met many famous people like Nick Nolte, Jessica Alba and Sir David Attenborough.
Not many Sarawakians are aware of our Head of State’s many momentous achievements.
His political career started in 1990 when he was elected as MP for the parliamentary seat of Batang Lupar, as the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) candidate.
Since that time, he has stood for and won all the seven general elections, moving to Santubong in 2004.
Between 2013 and 2022, he held federal ministerial portfolios such as Home Affairs, Natural Resources and Environment, Entrepreneurship and Cooperative Development, as well as Parliament and Law.
In 2021, as the law minister, Wan Junaidi played a pivotal role in integrating the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) into ongoing negotiations between the federal, Sarawak and Sabah governments.
His leadership had also facilitated the implementation of various policies affecting Sarawak’s education policies, and membership in the Inland Revenue Board.
Wan Junaidi had also spearheaded the constitutional amendment to ban MPs from party-hopping – in July 2022, the Dewan Rakyat passed the bill with a two-thirds majority.
Also, during his tenure as the de facto law minister, Wan Junaidi had also streamlined the voter registration process for the 18-year-olds; also known as ‘Undi18’.
In March 2022, a constitutional amendment concerning the new minimum voting age and automatic voter registration was ratified under his direction.
Perhaps one of Wan Junaidi’s proudest achievements, as he explained to us the background leading up to it, was the abolition of Malaysia’s death penalty.
He spoke about the ‘irreversible consequences’ of someone’s life in cases when at some future time, with newer technology or discovery of new evidence; when those whose lives ‘were terminated’, but were later found to be innocent – was a thought too inhumane to even ponder.
On June 10, 2022, as law minister then, Wan Junaidi had rescinded Malaysia’s death penalty, which was officially passed as new legislation in April 2023.
A friend had only good commendable words to say about the current Head of State: “He is someone who always sees the good in a person; I’ve never heard him say anything bad or negative about anyone, at most he’d stay silent.”
Another highly-ranked person described him as being ‘all about fairness, justice and the importance of family, friendship and being approachable; with no airs about him and always willing and ready to be with the common folks’.
“In his humility, he is warm, down to earth and connects easily with people of all ages, different racial and religious backgrounds and diverse political ideologies.”
My own personal take on him is that he is well-read, has travelled widely, and has a varying range of interests that has rendered him the experience and knowledge of someone akin to a ‘King Solomon’ of biblical fame.
Thus, he is fully capable to talk, discuss, converse and even debate with anyone on any subject, topic or theme under the sun.
Rather surprisingly too – he is very Internet-savvy.
I was most pleasantly surprised, and honoured, that after a dinner at the Astana Negeri hosted by him over a year ago, he had added me to his personal ‘Friends’ list on Facebook.
Wan Junaidi has two Facebook accounts: the ‘Official’ one handled by the Astana Public Relations Office; the other is his private one, where he personally uploads posts, shares and comments, and is very actively ON!
Wan Junaidi had written a book in his career called ‘A Policeman’.
It is essential reading for anyone interested in Malaysian history, law enforcement and public service, and it chronicles his time in the service from 1964 till 1978.
From my personal observation, Wan Junaidi has led an exceedingly full and exciting life, with a personal background from humble beginnings, endowed with a vision well ahead of his time.
It is obvious too that he has fulfilled most of his personal ambitions.
He has worked extremely hard throughout his life, and has gone through many trials as well as successes to make it to the epitome of what he is today.
I would like to conclude with his own words on happiness and family to be found in a recent publication on his life: “My philosophy is to stay happy and never be sad.
“I keep things simple.
“In my office I have a motto that has been hanging on the wall for over 40 years. It’s still there to remind me to keep things in perspective.
“The motto by Dean Al France reads: (in part) ‘I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon, if I can.
“My greatest joy comes from having all my children with me.
“You know, I’ll tell you the truth for me, my family always comes first; they are my top priority.
“At the end of the day, no one is going to cry for you or support you like your family. Your family is the one who truly stands by you.”
I concur too, Your Excellency!
May God continue to bless you and your family, and thank you very much once again for a lovely evening.
* The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist’s own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper.
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