By Rashid Yusof

Zubaidah Aziz lives in Berlin. She was born in Kuala Lumpur, at the tail-end of World War II.

Growing up, she watched Abdul Aziz Ishak, her father, pacing the Jalan Tunku official residence, reading the text of his speeches he had crafted, “stressing on his pronunciation and diction”.

Born in Padang Gajah, Trong, Aziz Ishak was appointed Minister of Agriculture at age 42 in 1955. He arrived on the scene with proper grounding.

The man had been a journalist with Utusan Melayu in Singapore, and, at the Jalan Hale office in Kuala Lumpur, preceded by a six-month incarceration by the Japanese during the war. Plus, a career in the Fisheries Department in Perak, Pahang and Singapore.

A 1958 photo that appeared in the book, “No Compromise On Principles And Policies” by Abd Aziz Ishak (1963)

“We want men, we want money, but most of all we want determination everywhere,” Aziz Ishak informed the Federal Legislative Council Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 7 1957. No discernible means to find out now, if he had paused, before emphasising this in the Budget speech: “Let Honourable members give me the tools. Let the States support them and I promise, Sir, that with the help of my departments and the awakened enthusiasm of the kampong people, whose interests I very humbly serve, there is no human power that I know of, strong enough to defeat us!”.

By 1965, Zubaidah, the third child, found herself personally impacted by the Internal Security Act. The ISA was used against her father.

This was 1965, the year of Separation. Yusof Ishak, Aziz’s eldest brother, was made president of Singapore.

“Bapa was accused of treason…. he was a nationalist.”

He was freed after a year.

The “treason” twist, it seems, was related to ties with Indonesia which had digressed into a Konfrontasi mode with Malaysia.

Zubaidah, the daughter went on to type out the draft of her father’s book. This was an explainer titled Special Guest: The Detention in Malaysia of an Ex-Cabinet Minister, published fairly soon after his release.

The telling of this story featuring Zubaidah Aziz, Aziz Ishak, Konfrontasi, Separation, a young nation finding its feet against a backdrop of a different sort of world order, mustn’t be rushed. A strong cast of personalities is going to make an appearance; also this era spanned decades with many pitstops and deadlines.

When Aziz Ishak went into detention under the ISA, Zubaidah had to kick start a career, get a job somewhere. Rahmah, the eldest sister was at a teachers’ training college and elder brother , Zakaria was with a law firm.

Zubaidah landed a job in RTM. TV Malaysia based in Jalan Ampang had been launched some 17 months earlier.

Zubaidah started her career under the tutelage of Penang-born Ahmad Merican.

“Pak Mad is my mentor. He chose me to be his assistant.” Petite Zubaidah was to Ahmad Merican ‘a cili padi“.

This Chili Padi grew as a broadcaster.

Now into her 78th year, she is alert and attentive, rapidly correcting factual errors in ApaKhabar notes.

She took on a challenging job during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Five years later, she was in Berlin when the Berlin Wall collapsed. Zubaidah Aziz and big moments!

“I am sitting in a cafe; visited my family doctor at 9.00am. I feel on top of the world. My medical results are good.” This was Wednesday, Feb 8.

Zubaidah Aziz sitting in a cafe after a medical check-up

Main photo: The then President of Singapore Yusof Ishak (far right) on a 1967 visit to Kuala Lumpur. Aziz Ishak is far left. Next to him is brother, Ramlee

Part Two : Ayah Sulung (Yusof Ishak), Berlin on Nov 9 1989, and, TV