KUANTAN, July 29 — Television sets have always been the choice of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al- Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah as a gift to newly-married couples.
Ramli Mahmud, 68, who has served as Istana Abdulaziz administrator since 2007, said Tunku Azizah sometimes loves to give a dish set to the newlyweds.
“Each time His Majesty wants to attend a wedding, he would order me to buy a television and send it to the location of the ceremony.
“Sometimes I wonder why television? But I don’t have the answer... I certainly do not remember how many television sets have been bought,” he told Bernama here recently.
Ramli, who is from Sungai Ara, Penang, said he had received enquiries on the appropriate gifts to be given to His Majesty.
While expressing his understanding that trying to find a suitable gift for a king might be difficult due to his status, Ramli said among the gifts that Sultan Abdullah liked was a photo album.
“His Majesty would love to be given an album, especially if there are old photos of him. In his spare time, His Majesty will ask me to take out old albums and recall the story behind the photos.
“There was a time when he would look at photos when he was young and ask if I still remember who were in them and if I knew their updates,” he said.
Ramli, who was a Pahang football player in the 70s, said Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah were also concerned about the welfare of the staff, causing almost all retired staff to return to work again.
Sultan Abdullah always wanted to be informed on staff who were not well and to ensure that he would not forget, Ramli would always carry a small notebook with him to record important information.
“I need to make sure that food from Istana Abdulaziz is delivered to staff who are admitted to hospital on each visit. The same thing happens if it involves members of the royal household and their friends, even though Their Majesties may not be in the country at the time.
“If there is an accident that His Majesty knows about, I need to know the update of the people involved. I need to know about the police and medical reports. It must be taken into account because His Majesty will surely ask,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kamarulzaman Md Nor, 60, who retired in July after serving as Tunku Azizah’s personal bodyguard since 1980, acknowledged the generosity of the royal couple, especially to the palace staff.
Citing Tunku Azizah as example, Kamarulzaman said Her Majesty would always give mobile phones to the staff, besides giving glasses to prisoners at the Tenun Diraja workshop of the Penor Prison in Pekan.
“I once asked for permission to buy a disused motorcycle at a low price for my son who wanted to further his studies and Tunku Azizah ordered me to just take it (for free),” said the native of Kampung Peramu, Pekan.
Kamarulzaman, who is now resuming his service as a general worker at Istana Abdulaziz, said Tunku Azizah did not differentiate Sultan Abdullah’s meal from that for staff as the same food would be served, especially if she prepared it while they were abroad.
He also said that Tunku Azizah would not be pleased if her personal bodyguard ordered the crowd to give way to her while she was out shopping or in crowded places during her leisure time.
“She also repeatedly asked us not to correct someone who called her ‘kakak’ (elder sister) or something else (for not knowing her). She’s happy that way because she can have a conversation with them.
“At first, we felt a little awkward when we heard (people calling her kakak) but eventually we began to get used to it. Her Majesty dislikes exaggeration,” he said. — Bernama
