I ATTENDED the official launch of the book “What Sabahans Should Know” at the library at Tanjung Aru recently.
The book is mainly a collection of articles by Sabah’s first English reporter, Datuk Mohd Fauzi Patel in the Daily Express over the years before his passing. His last piece was in 2007.
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It also contains exclusive interviews with the veteran journalist by Daily Express chief editor, Datuk James Sarda, JP where he was joined in some by Prof Datuk Dr Danny Wong, a Sabahan and ex-La Salle TG Aru student.
Patel arrived from India in the then Jesselton in 1954. That was the year I was born. In other words, we are a generation apart. He died when he was in his 80s while I am only in my early 70s.
Directly or indirectly, the late Patel had something to do with three post-Independence Sabah Governors/Chief Ministers; namely Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun, Tun Mohd Fuad (formerly Donald Stephens) and CM Tan Sri Harris Salleh.
Patel’s involvement with the two Tuns was via newspapers while he was Harris’ press secretary during the Berjaya era between the late 70s and mid-80s.
Thus, for a foreigner who only had $9 in his pocket when he arrived by ship and who could not afford an apple back home in India and spoke little English and yet rose to become an English reporter and later Editor, to rise to become someone who walked in the corridors of power in the former North Boneo, that was quite a story. I don’t think you will find another Patel in Sabah’s history.
I became a reporter by accident (to borrow Patel’s words) in early 1973. I started reading newspapers about a year before that. Newspapers were cheap then.
While waiting for the Cambridge Examination (Form 5) results, there was this function in my hometown Tamparuli. A buddy of mine took pictures with his now ancient camera. While waiting for the film to be developed and black and white pictures to be printed, he verbally described to me what the function was about as I was not even there. Those days, there was only one photographic studio in Tamparuli and it would take days before you get your pictures printed.
Those days I had nothing – no camera, no typewriter. While waiting for the pictures, I wrote the story by hand on paper. It was just what was called a caption story, I think. When the pictures were ready, I sent them to local newspapers including the Daily Express through the Tamparuli post office. It took more than a day to reach Kota Kinabalu so that by the time it was published it was already a week after the function.
I am still wondering what gave me the courage to send the pictures to the newspapers. Sabahans say Pandai2 To my surprise, it came out in the local papers including the Sabah Times. Not sure if Patel was still an Editor somewhere then. If he was not, then he could have joined Sedco.
Harris was the minister-in-charge of Sedco then. In fact, in his capacity as Minister of Industrial and Rural Development then he was also Chairman of Sedco. So you see the connection between Patel and Harris even then. Of course, Patel knew Harris from his reporter days.
However, Harris resigned from the Usno government as a Minister (in 1974 I think) as he could not stand Syed Kechik, a non-Sabahan, who was “running” Sabah and no Sabahans would want to offend him as Mustapha listened to him. That set the tone for Harris’ involvement in the formation of Berjaya in 1975. In fact, he was the founder president but handed over to Stephens who stepped down from Istana two weeks later.
Coming back to my own journalism career, I continued sending materials to the newspapers and normally they used it. After a few times, Daily Express offered me what they called a “Stringer” post (part time reporter) based in Tamparuli but I also covered events around Tuaran district under which Tamparuli comes.
That started my journalism career. With my first “pay cheque” which was very little, I bought a Polaroid instant camera so that I don’t have to depend on the Tamparuli studio. Those days, even Polaroid pictures (in Black and White) were also accepted by the newspapers. That was another pleasant surprise.
With my second “pay cheque” the following month. I bought a small typewriter so the editors don’t have to figure out my “doctor handwriting” as my teacher called it. I received my pay (actually it was cash) from Datin Margaret De Souza (Puan Sri Yeh’s sister I think) in the SPH office on the first floor in Gaya Street which is now part of the enlarged Jesselton Hotel.
Also sometime in 1973 I attended my first 3-day Basic Journalism Course organized by the Sabah Press Club whose President was the late Datuk Wahid Norbinsha who by the way married someone from my hometown, Datin Malim Ugau. I attended this course, thanks go to the late Mitty Gabu who provided me with transport as I did not have a car then.
When I attended that course as a stringer, it was beyond my wildest dream that one day I would become the President of the Sabah Press Club myself. It was also beyond my dream that I would go on to become a full-time Daily Express reporter and Press Secretary to four Ministers including a CM and a Federal Minister.
Sometime in the middle of 1973, I applied to become a Press Assistant with the Information Department as they advertised the vacancy. It would be another dream for me as a Press Assistant is actually a government reporter.
Around August I received a letter from the Department saying that my application was unsuccessful. They however offered me the post of Field Officer (Pegawai Luar) as they needed someone who could speak Chinese. Not what I wanted but it’s better than being jobless.
What is the work of a Field Officer? As the name suggests, we go out to the field, to be exact the villages or kampung in the Information Department free film show (Wayang Free) vehicle. We would arrive at the kampung around late afternoon. We would meet up with the Village Headman (Ketua Kampung) and other community chiefs like JKKK and ask what their problems or needs were.
Back at the office next morning, we would write our reports so the government knew what the villagers needed or what their problems were. In other words, we were literally “eye & ears” of the government. Someone compared us to the “special branch”.
Sometimes, if we were lucky the Ketua Kampung would ask his wife to cook for us and insisted that we stay for dinner. He would even ask his wife to kill their chicken and ask his daughter to serve us together with Tapai (local brew).
By 6pm the driver would get ready for the Wayang Free, normally in the padang. That’s why the driver is called MCO (Mobile Cinema Operator). In the middle of the Wayang Free, say about 45 minutes later, while the MCO changed the film rolls, my duty as a FO was to give a speech the points of which were given by our office in the morning. Mainly on government policies and programs lah.
I can still remember my first speech was in my hometown Tamparuli. Among the things that I “announced” on behalf of the government was the proposal to build a new Tamparuli bridge. That is the bridge that people going to and fro Kundasang/Ranau/Sandakan and even Kota Belud use now.
The announcement did not go down well with the Tamparuli shopkeepers because it would mean that once the bridge is completed visitors to the abovementioned places don’t have to stop by their shops for a drink/food and groceries.
Besides the Information Department Wayang Free, free film shows were also provided by Milo and Ovaltine. Theirs were more popular because they offered cowboy movies and cartoons among others. Whereas ours were nostly government propaganda materials prepared by Filem Negara. There was no TV then. But Milo and Ovaltine did not go to the kampung and only visited sub-urban centers like Tamparuli and Tuaran. But they provided free chilled Milo and Ovaltine drinks in paper cups which were of course welcome. Whereas we only distributed government propaganda leaflets.
So a Field Officer is trained to be and expected to be a good orator or speaker and even leader. Quite a few FO ended up as government leaders. Examples are the late Datuk Kadoh Agundong and the late Datuk Malek Chua. Malek, especially was a terrific and influential speaker especially in Malay despite having Chinese blood. Kadoh ended up as a Minister while Hj Malek an Assistant Minister. Both were involved in PBS and both started in Berjaya.
Berjaya was defeated by PBS in 1985 and the rest is history. Kadoh, the former Information Department officer in Tenom became a Giant Killer when he defeated CM Harris. The latter had picked him as the Tenom Community Development Officer in Tenom or something like that. But Kadoh turned the table against his former political master and stood as PBS candidate and won.
Malek who first won Kuamut in 1976 became one of the only 6 Berjaya candidates who won in 1985. He later joined PBS, attacking Umno in the process. He was also a former Police Officer.
When Berjaya defeated Usno in 1976, I was still a FO with the Information Department. Berjaya’s Dr James Ongkili won in Tamparuli and became a Minister. Those days, Sabah Ministers had no Press Secretaries. Even the former Usno Chief Minister only had a Press Officer, a Division II post.
When and if Ministers had a function or something to cover, their PA would inform RTM and the Information Department who would then send their men to cover. Later on the Information Department assigned what they called Press Liaison Officers to each Ministry for convenience but they were still based in the Department.
It was against such scenario that I began covering Dr James beginning 1977. In 1979, when my contract with the Department was coming to an end, I told Ongkili about it and he created a Press Secretary post and asked me to come to the Ministry for good.
After Harris became CM, the Press Secretary was Datuk Hamid Awang, a former RTM newscaster if I am not mistaken. He got the post upgraded to Div 1. When Patel took over from Hamid, the post was further upgraded to Super Timescale A9 which entitled him to a car and driver. Hamid was redesignated PR Secretary. I am not sure what his salary scale was but he eventually became an Assemblyman anyway. The late Boyd Munang from Penampang took over from him I think.
That is the good thing about Harris. Just like Hajiji, when he likes somebody he doesn’t look at the colour, creed or religion.
So, I became Press Secretary to the Deputy Chief Minister (Ongkili) more or less the same time around the same time that Patel became Press Secretary to the Chief Minister (Harris).
In other words, Patel was my senior in rank but much older than me in age. By the time, Patel was a veteran and myself a young officer in my 20s still learning the ropes. I certainly learnt a lot from him. He was OK with me although no Sabah civil servant would dare to offend him.
Offending Patel would mean offending Harris and no government officer including heads of departments would take that risk. What Patel said was almost as good as what Harris said.
I can still remember that on one occasion he asked to see me. Our offices were then at the old Secretariat building. He asked to go to the old KK airport the following night armed with my camera. He wanted me to take a picture of Syed Kechik as he came out from the arrival hall with copies of book discrediting Berjaya and Harris. I told him I had no car and I stayed in Tamparuli. He assigned his driver to me and gave me money to stay at the Borneo Hotel which was near the old airport. Very kind of him.
Patel was more than a Press Secretary to the Chief Minister. He was Harris’ confidante. He played many roles. For example, when Harris decided to make Labuan a Federal Territory, he got Patel to inform Dr James Ongkili personally.
We were in KL then. Dr James was Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and me his Press Secretary. Dr James’ PA told Patel that he was not in the office as he was attending a function at UM. Patel traced Ongkili down at UM by telephone and told him of Harris’ decision before it came out in the news the next day. That was how much trust Harris had in Patel. Those days no handphone yet.
On another occasion, we were on our way to Labuan from KK by boat as Harris wanted Berjaya leaders there for a function. We went by boat so Ongkili could fish on the way. Ongkili is famous for fishing and hunting. We were using the No.1 state government boat called Puteri Sabah which was normally used by the Governor or CM.
When we were happily fishing, the head of a relevant government department based in Labuan, a Little Napolean, sent us a smaller boat as according to him he wanted to reserve the bigger boat for Harris. Quite an insult for a Deputy Chief Minister.
On arrival at Labuan, Ongkili told Patel about it and asked him to check if it was true that CM wanted the boat back. Patel asked Harris about it and was told that there was no such instruction. The head of department concerned got a scolding and apologized.
On our way back to KK, we got back “Puteri Sabah”. The head of department even came to the wharf to send us off. Moral of the story – Kalau pun mahu angkat kaki jangan lah melebih-lebih (If you want to please someone, don’t go overboard).
The Chief Minister’s Department had no full-time photographer then. Photographers were assigned by the Information Department when requested. The photographers took instructions from Patel and addressed him as “Mr Patel”. He was not a Datuk then. One of his favourite photographers was “Bruce Lee” as he does resemble Bruce Lee a bit.
Patel went about his work seriously. Although there was a photographer, Patel’s trademark when Harris went around was his hat and a camera hanging around his neck. Why camera? He was taking slides which he said would be useful for a future book or slide presentation. Don’t forget, that was more than 40 years ago when there was no such thing as IT including FB and social media or digital camera or handphone camera.
In conclusion, as I said you can never find another press secretary or journalist like Patel who is seasoned and incomparable. As the Chinese would say, he ate salt more than I eat rice. A self-made man who rose from nobody to somebody who walked in the corridors of power. As I said I learnt a lot from him. I did not fear him as my boss was No.2. But I respected him for his seniority. Besides, if you want to learn from an older man, you must be humble and behave yourself, isn’t it?
As Harris Press Secretary, it was Patel who also set up the Press and Publication Unit in the Chief Minister’s Department, which functions until today.
Sometime in the early 80s, there was this event in Johor in which both Patel and I were present. While there, he told me that the next day he would be going to Singapore to visit his children who were studying there. He asked if I would want to come along and I said “yes” as our official events in Johore were over.
The Johore CP who was a former Sabah DCP sent one of his boys to pick us up at the hotel in a private car. As the driver was a police officer we passed through Immigration without fuss.
We had lunch with his children in a restaurant while the driver went and refuel. I will never forget this incident as it was not easy for a Sabah civil servant to get near Patel those days.
Of course, being human he had moods and slight temper sometimes. Who hasn’t? It’s how you handle people. If you are nice to people, people will also be nice to you. Call it angkat kaki if you like. That’s your problem, not mine.
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: Forum@dailyexpress.com.my
Now RM50 per book and free for libraries
FOLLOWING complaints that it is a bit pricey, the cost of the over 500 page “What Sabahans Should Know” has been halved to just RM50. This is so that more may benefit from what Datuk Mohd Fauzi Patel wished to share before his passing on the politics of the day when he served as Sabah’s first Reporter for the Sabah Times and later becoming its Editor. As well as serving three of Sabah’s political giants – Tun Fuad Stephens, Tun Mustapha and Tan Sri Harris Salleh – from the mid-1950s till the mid-1980s
Those who bought the copies earlier at RM100 each will be contacted to receive additional equivalent copies to match their purchase on a one-for-one basis.
The book is not available online but may be purchased personally from Jessie Lee at 0137280138 during office hours.
Schools may also request for up to 3 free copies for their libraries, while colleges and universities are entitled to 10 copies. However, these requests are until stocks last and must be on an official letterhead signed by the school head or librarian. Schools outside Kota Kinabalu may also apply.
The requests may be emailed to Jessie at editorial@dailyexpress.com.my
