A most humble Governor

Daily Express

25-05-2025

Published on: Sunday, May 25, 2025
Published on: Sun, May 25, 2025
By: Datuk Teddy Chin Text Size: The writer (left) with Ahmadshah and Toh Puan at the Istana when he received his ASDK in 2004. On the right is Datin Marcella Mally. ON Tuesday (20.5.2025) evening, at a private hospital in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah lost an illustrious son. Tun Ahmadshah Abdullah passed away at the age of 79. The late Tun Ahmadshah needs no introduction to Sabahans, unless one has been sleeping or been overseas all this while. He was born at Kampung Inanam near Manggatal on Dec 9, 1946, the youngest of six siblings. He was buried beside his wife who passed away a few years ago in his village. He began his education at the Government Primary School at Darau, Manggatal (now SK Darau) in 1952. He then attended the La Salleh Secondary School in Tanjung Aru until 1967. The late Tun then began a distinguished career as a civil servant. He became a Customs Officer in Kota Kinabalu on 1 March 1968. He later became an Executive Officer (Rural) and was posted to the Beaufort District Office as an Assistant District Officer (Rural) or ADO on 10 November 1969. It was while in the civil service that he was sent to outh Devon College, Torquay,UK and came back with a Diploma in Development Administration a year later.
Advertisement Upon returning from UK, he was seconded to the National Padi and Rice Board (LPN) as Chief Administrative Officer from 14 April 1979 till July 1983. He also served as Secretary of the State Civil Service Commission. Sometime in between all this he won a scholarship to study Political Science at the Indiana State University, USA. Upon his return he joined the State Religious Service as a Prosecutor with the Sabah Islamic Religious Council (Muis) from Oct 1986 to Jan 1988. From Jan 1988 to June 1994 he was Secretary of Muis, becoming its administrative head. Between 1994 to 1995 he was Secretary of the Internal Affairs and Research Division of the Chief Minister's Department. From 16 Dec 1995 to March 1998 he was Director of the State Civil Service Department. In the old days this office was known as the State Establishment Office and among its Directors during Usno time was former Berjaya Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hj Mohd Noor Mansoor. Today the holder is known as Director-General. From 21 March 1998 to his retirement on 8 December 2002, he was further promoted to Deputy State Secretary (Admin), thus ending a distinguished civil service career spanning a few decades. The story goes that when he was about to retire, he was summoned by then Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat. He thought it was just a farewell courtesy call of sorts. He certainly was not prepared for what the Chief Minister had to tell him. Chong wanted him to be the new Governor or TYT beginning 1.1.2023 replacing Tun Sakaran Dandai who had served two terms, the maximum at that time. When interviewed by this writer, Tan Sri Chong had this to say: 'He was shocked. 'I gave him two conditions, first to promise me never to sell any State awards especially the Datukships and secondly to play golf with me after I leave my CM post. (Chong finished his two-year term in March 2003, three months after Tun Ahmadshah became TYT). 'Both he promised straight away but still could not believe his ear hearing from me because he was just a mere TSKN then. 'But of course I told him no guarantee because it's up to the PM then (Dr M) to forward to the Agong.' On why he chose Ahmadshah when he could have chosen a politician especially from Umno, Tan Sri Chong had this to say: 'He was my Deputy State Secretary. I knew him to be conscientious, humble and helpful official. Very much overlooked as a civil servant. 'Hence my decision to tap him for the TYT post. A very humble and very soft -spoken gentleman. 'Never an extremist. Never a racist,' Chong concluded. Perhaps Chong was right, in fact more than right. The story goes that when Ahmadshah was in La Salle, a Catholic school which was then under the watchful eyes of the late Datuk Brother Charles, he even scored good grades for his Scripture Study. Which perhaps helped to shape the person that he later became, including holding the highest office in the Land Below The Wind. Another Muslim old boy of La Salle who went on to become a leader in Sabah is Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Noor Mansoor (Matnor). Which perhaps explains why when he was Finance Minister, Matnor even acting as Fund Raising Chairman for a new Catholic Church in his constituency in Papar. As for not being racial. During his tenure as TYY Tun Ahmadshah gave Datukship to two of his childhhood friends both of whom were non-Muslims. The story goes that they used to bath together in the river as kids. But this is not to say that the duo was not qualified. One, a Kadazan, was a senior civil servant while the other, a Sino, was a Chinese. As for me personally, I first knew him when he was a senior civil servant. I was sent by my former boss to see him and he was very helpful and cooperative. Soft-spoken, always smiling. No wonder Chong chose him as Governor. Talking about Chong, while he was still CM my former boss recommended me for an ASDK. All nominations for ASDK, PGDK and JP must be vetted by and approved personally by the CM except for TYT's own nominations (his quota). In other words, Chong could have struck out my name but he didn't; for which until today I am grateful. I actually got my award in 2002 when Sakaran was the Governor. But I only went up to the Istana to receive my ASDK in 2004 due to waiting for my official uniform. Because the TYT only wears uniform during the actual birthday celebration. It used to be Sept 16 but later first Saturday of October. By the time I went up to Istana, the TYT was already Ahmadshah. He still remembered me and was happy to see me so much so that he obliged for my photo request not once but twice – the first inside the Investiture Hall and the second as we were leaving the Istana. Such a humble TYT. Another close friend of Ahmadshah since childhood is Datuk Iskandar Malik Jangkat. I am not sure if they went to school together but they certainly came from the same area , Manggatal which is just next to Inanam. Malik, a Dusun and a businessman, was awarded the Datukship during Ahmadshah's time. Then Iskandar got the idea for the formation of the the Sabah Datuks Association (Majlis Datuk-Datuk Negeri Sabah) and the association was born with the blessings of the TYT. Ever since its formation, the Majlis has held annual dinner in conjunction with His Excellency's birthday. But it's not just about celebrating the birthday. They do charity too and normally donations for charity are made during the dinner. Iskandar has since retired and became the Adviser but he went on to become the Chairman of the Malaysian Datuks Association. Quite and achievement for a Sabahan. The Chairman of the Malaysian Justice of Peace Association is also a Sabahan. The TAS Oil and Gas Academy was a collaboration between UMSLink Holdings and Silverkris Sdn Bhd in which Iskandar was involved, but mooted by Ahmadshah himself. After his retirement as TYT, Ahmadshah became Chairman of Azam Jaya Berhad, now a public-listed company and leader in Sabah's construction industry. However, he was there only for a few years and later completely retired until his recent death. The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]