KUALA LUMPUR: The future is bright — but beware lest the people are divided.
This advice was given by the last British adviser to
Selangor, Frederick Victor Duckworth, more than 50 years ago but it still
remains relevant today.
Speaking on the eve of his premature return to Britain in May 1956 due to severe
heart problems, Duckworth had warned that apart from the threat of communism,
the only serious danger for the federation would arise from the divisions among
its own people.
Duckworth may not be around to witness the country’s growth in the last 50
years, but his 65-year-old daughter Rosemary Duckworth is here to honour her
father’s efforts.
Rosemary, who is here with some friends, said her father’s concerns about
potential disunity among the people of Malaya stemmed from what he experienced
in India as a boy.
"My father’s biggest horror was what happened in India. He
grew up at the foothills of the Himalayas during the Amritsar Massacre. And
then, there was the enormous clash between the Muslims and the Hindus leading up
to the partition in 1947.
"And so, he was very cognisant of what could happen here," she told the New
Straits Times.
Duckworth had also aimed to correct the belief among certain quarters that the
British advisers were in the habit of giving political advice with the intention
of furthering British interests.
Instead, he said the advisers, who commonly had between 25 and 30 years’
experience in the country, imparted considerable administrative experience and
knowledge for the effective running of the state.
Duckworth, who was made adviser in 1953, was not replaced in accordance with the
agreement reached at the Merdeka talks in London.
This paved the way for Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was the country’s chief minister
at the time, to move into the Residency - the official residence of the British
adviser.
Duckworth, who arrived in Malaya in 1924, rose through the ranks, holding the
posts of district officer, magistrate and commissioner for labour before he was
made adviser to Selangor in 1953.
He escaped the Japanese invasion in Singapore in 1942 but returned in September
1945 with Lord Mountbatten under Operation Zipper.
BRIGHT FUTURE, BUT BASES OF UNITY ESSENTIAL written by Stephen Tan Ban Cheng,
Saturday, September 01 2007 11:10 pm
"The future is bright — but beware lest the people are divided," so goes the timeless advice of Sir Frederick Victor Duckworth, the last British Adviser to the Selangor Government, whose service was not "renewed" (not "not replaced" as reported) due probably to the Malayanisation of our top posts following Merdeka.
I consider that a timeless advice whose relevance still rings true because of what has been happening recently.
Our political leaders must be able to hold the ring, so to speak, so that we know WHY we ought to be united and FOR WHAT we must maintain that unity.
Our country faces a lot of challenges on the international front and it is for our leaders to tell us like it is so that we can collectively brace ourselves to tackle these challenges intelligently.
I am sure that if unity is founded on the right reasons and for the right reasons, all Malaysians will respond in a positive manner. Right now, the Government must look again at the distribution of wealth that has gone askew.
Stephen Tan Ban Cheng
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"The future is bright — but beware lest the people are divided," so goes the timeless advice of Sir Frederick Victor Duckworth, the last British Adviser to the Selangor Government, whose service was not "renewed" (not "not replaced" as reported) due probably to the Malayanisation of our top posts following Merdeka.
I consider that a timeless advice whose relevance still rings true because of what has been happening recently.
Our political leaders must be able to hold the ring, so to speak, so that we know WHY we ought to be united and FOR WHAT we must maintain that unity.
Our country faces a lot of challenges on the international front and it is for our leaders to tell us like it is so that we can collectively brace ourselves to tackle these challenges intelligently.
I am sure that if unity is founded on the right reasons and for the right reasons, all Malaysians will respond in a positive manner. Right now, the Government must look again at the distribution of wealth that has gone askew.
Stephen Tan Ban Cheng