It was pure theatre as the royal couple, easy with the smile, and easier with the laugh, soaked up an emotional farewell.
The scene, 51 days before the end of Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah’s five-year reign on Jan 30, mirrored a Malaysia built on the bonds of family and community.
To many, like me, it was the first experience being up close and personal with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong. It was so easy to love them.
Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah roused a feeling of rapport, and did things you never expect to see them doing.
By doing the unexpected, they rocked the house. By singing, they stirred love.
By relating stories, they raised a chuckle, in some cases, lifting the heart as well.
The event, Sports Flame, is a showpiece to honour Malaysia’s sporting heroes from the 1960s, 70s and early 80s, and its co-founder Lazarus Rokk acted as emcee to help make the event joyful, heartwarming and history-making.
It was initiated in 2011 by four former sports journalists, George Das, R Velu, Rokk and Fauzi Omar, and this year’s edition was co-steered by FMT.
Moments that rarely happen
Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah were so humble, taking time to meet everyone, table by table, posing for photographs with them, and spending time talking to those on wheelchairs.
Part of their power was surprise, and the sports personalities were surprised when the royals joined them in knockabout fun on a matchless evening at Concorde Hotel.
One of the most common reactions was, “I feel so patriotic.”
When Sultan Abdullah spontaneously improvised the lyrics of Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody” to “to love all of you”, the audience responded with “the way we love you.”
Before the duet in their final song, the Hindi chart-topper, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”, the royal couple joked about their relationship.
Tunku Azizah kidded they were always holding each other’s hands “because Tuanku walks so fast and I have to hang on him,” and “because we both have knee problems and hold hands in case we trip and fall.”
She said the truth is they just love holding each other’s hands, to which Sultan Abdullah said, “and it’s warm.”
Tunku Azizah had begun the royal singing session with Frank Sinatra’s “My (Azizah’s) Way” followed by Kris Dayanti’s “Menghitung Hari”, while Sultan Abdullah sang another Bee Gees number “How Deep is Your Love”.
“I can’t see this act of singing, mingling and meeting everyone being done by King Charles and Queen Camilla,” said hockey great Franco D’Cruz, who came from London.
Former national football goalkeeper Lim Fong Kee, who lives in Hong Kong, said: “They have served our country with grace, wisdom, dignity, love, and with a common touch we will not see again for a long time.”
Olympian Noraseela Mohd Khalid said it was a celebration of human relationship, “one which showed we were made for each other.”
Extraordinary arena of stars
It was a delightful arena bursting with major names in sports, who made hundreds of headlines and held the nation spellbound with their might.
All their gifts came together in breathless abundance, old friendships were excavated, and some slyly gauged the impact of time on one another.
Countless stories flowed about devoted athletes, coaches and officials, and sporting and academic excellence, as the glorious past and capricious present raised mixed emotions.
While they appeared content with the way their lives have panned out, some of their recollections were hilarious and rose-tinted while others had sharp edges.
The foreigners included Filipino Michael Marcos Keon, who in the 80s fired up the imagination of his nation with the “Gintong Alay” (Golden Gift) project, producing several outstanding track stars like Lydia De Vega and Isidro Del Prado.
Former Singapore football coach Jita Singh, who came with his 80s hotshot defender Samad Allapitchay, said: “I’m pleased the sports-loving King and Queen joined in the celebrations as we must have more high-powered pats-on-the-back.
“The event certainly is an acknowledgement of the importance of sports in the cultural fabric of Asean where sport has long been a fertile ground for nurturing national identity.”
Thailand’s former sprint king Anat Ratanapol came with former Thai sports journalist Wirote Kitguulanantaek, while hockey writer Sandeep Nakai, from India, was also present.
King, journalists and an invite to Pahang
Sultan Abdullah said certain pressmen who had criticised him during his time as sports administrator in football and hockey had actually made him a better man.
He said: “You (journalists) built my character and I have to admit I became stronger, and more loving as well.”
The King singled out Rokk, Hishamuddin Aun and Johnson Fernandez as his fiercest critics, while painting Das and Fauzi as “gentlemen journalists.”
On his five years as King, he said: “I am proud that I gave my heart and soul to the people and the Raja Permaisuri Agong has been a great queen. She has done more than me actually and deserves a round of applause.”
“No king is perfect,” he said. “We are only human and we always try our best.”
Sultan Abdullah echoed Tunku Azizah’s earlier call “please don’t forget us” and said he was willing to host a Sports Flame gathering in Pahang someday.
In closing, he told the audience: “You are all a great family, please take care of your health, and family and friends as well.”