With tears rolling down his cheeks, he appealed to everyone who showed up to hear him in a hall in Melaka that day in 1956 to help him free their country from British rule, urging them to chip in whatever they could afford.

Tunku, as he is lovingly called, is remembered saying that he would have sold off his own palace in Kedah to get the required funds for the trip but stopped short of doing this out of fear of being reprimanded by his father, the Sultan.

So in response to his appeal, ordinary Malaysians dug deep and donated everything from gold bangles to rings to brooches, and even the gold handles of their walking sticks.

Our first prime minister’s love for the country resonated within the hearts of many that day who wanted to contribute to Tunku’s efforts.

But what many do not know is that Tunku was also instrumental in “crowdfunding” for the National Mosque construction, which hit a snag shortly after the project got underway in 1957 and funds dried up.

Tunku first conceived the idea of building a national mosque when he became prime minister in 1957.

He wanted to commemorate the peaceful transition of power, thankful that there had been no bloodshed in gaining Malaysia’s independence from Great Britain.

A 3-person architect team was appointed to undertake the RM10 million project – Malaysians Hisham Albakri and Baharuddin Kassim, and UK architect Howard Ashley.

Searching for a roof design idea more appropriate for a tropical country than the domes traditional in the deserts of Arabia, Baharuddin was inspired by how Malayan royalty were always escorted with an umbrella when stepping outside.

He drew plans for a semi-folded payung kertas which could be cast in concrete and would drain monsoon rains away.

In 1960, after the designs were completed and approved the project officially began.

“However, the Federal Government could only allocate RM4.5 million,” writes Edward Ong, in Marketing magazine.

“Several state governments gave RM2.5 million and Brunei wrote a cheque for RM250,000, but it wasn’t enough. The work still needed an additional RM3 million,” he says.

As this was Tunku’s first official project after becoming prime minister, expectations were high for him to see the construction through.

And so he did what he did best – he rallied Malaysians once more to unite for the country.

Tunku organised nationwide donation drives to raise the remaining RM3 million needed to get the mosque built.

According to news reports at the time, the people came out in droves to chip in whatever they could afford, even at a time when the nation was still in its infancy and did not enjoy its current wealth.

“He didn’t approach the World Bank or wait for Kickstarter to be invented. Instead, he went down to the kebuns, kopitiams and pasar malams and approached the rakyat,” says Ong.

“In so doing he inadvertently created Malaysia’s first large-scale crowdfunding exercise.”

Architect Baharuddin Kassim remembers that these funds came from Malaysians from all walks of life – even from students studying overseas.

“Imagine, people back then donating 5 sen, 10 sen, and one ringgit. The largest donation at the time was just RM10. But it was a priceless gesture nevertheless,” he reportedly said.

According to an old mosque brochure, the building was “designed by a Malay, constructed by Chinese and Indians, and financed by Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims.”

Baharuddin said that in order to cut costs they had modified the original specifications. For example, instead of having marble flooring, they opted for the cheaper terrazzo.

Finally, after five years of construction, the mosque was completed.

It was officially opened on 27 August 1965, by the third Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Putra.

On that day, a Friday, it was reported that nearly 10,000 worshippers attended, even though the mosque was built to accommodate only 8,000 people in its main prayer hall.

In 1958, the chief ministers from the then 11 states of Malaya (Sabah and Sarawak joined to form Malaysia in 1963) proposed to name the mosque after Tunku, in recognition of his efforts in gaining the country’s independence.

Tunku, however, in a display of humility often lacking in powerful leaders, refused this honour and named the mosque Masjid Negara.

The iconic building in the heart of Kuala Lumpur is hard to miss. These days it has a capacity of 15,000 worshippers.

Its trademark 73-metre-high “folded umbrella” minaret and 16-point “open beach umbrella” dome have constituted a prominent landmark in the city centre since its opening.

The mosque underwent major renovations in 1987 and its trademark pink roof was changed to green and blue.

On August 27, 2015, Masjid Negara celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Bank Negara Malaysia minted a set of commemorative coins to mark the occasion.

Which seems appropriate, for it was ordinary Malaysians showering the project with their hard-earned coins decades ago in answer to Tunku’s crowdfunding call that enabled this unique national symbol to be successfully completed.