In
2017 I met Ahmad Fadhli Syed Hassan as invited guests at an event.
 |
| The author, Ahmad Fadhli Syed Hassan, discussing his book, Almarhum Sultan Ismail Johor 1894 - 1981 |
He
was aware that I was working on my book project and did not hesitate to tell me
that he was doing extensive research into the Johor royal family for his book project
on the late Sultan Ismail.
For
him, it was a dream come true when his book, Almarhum Sultan Ismail Johor 1894 – 1981, a Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia (UTM) publication, was launched in Batu Pahat in conjunction with His
Majesty the Johor Sultan’s 60th birthday in November 2018.
It
was indeed a memorable moment because his manuscript had gone through
meticulous review by his mentor and advisor, UTM Associate Professor Dr. Kassim
Tukirman, editor Lim Swee Tin, historian Datin Patricia Lim and others, and finally
by the Johor Royal Court Council president, Datuk Abdul Rahim Ramli.
 |
| A UTM publication in Malay on the late Sultan Ismail of Johor |
He
will never forget that moment when his book was presented to the Johor Sultan
and how it received His Majesty’s royal approval.
Recently,
I attended Bicara Karya, a talk held in
UTM where the author discussed his book writing journey and shared some of the
highlights of his experience.
The
event moderator, Dr. Kassim, presented a brief introduction before the author
addressed the audience and replied to queries in the Question & Answer
session.
Ahmad
Fadhli attributed his interest in the Johor royal family to the influence of
his great-grandfather, grandparents and granduncles who worked with the Johor
royal family and left a legacy of old photographs and documents in their family
home at Jalan Wadi Hana.
His
late grandfather, Haji Daud Haji Abdul Hamid was an Under Secretary with the
Johor government while his late grandmother, Khadijah Haji Ahmad, better known
as Cikgu Jah, was an Inspector of
Religious Schools and a religious teacher to the royal family in the 1950s.
 |
| Valuable portraits of the late Sultan Ismail of Johor |
Grandmother’s
brother, Mohd Mahir Haji Ahmad, who worked with the Johor Information
Department, was often the Master of Ceremony for royal events.
Mohd
Mahir was also in the editorial team that published the souvenir book to
commemorate the royal wedding of then Tunku Mahkota (now Sultan Ibrahim) to
Raja Zarith Sofia in 1983 and another souvenir book for the installation of
Sultan Iskandar as Agong in 1984.
He
fondly recalls that another granduncle, Mohd Aris Haji Ahmad, a former
classmate of Sultan Iskandar, had settled in the UK and became the first Malay
mayor of Windsford in Vale Royal, Cheshire.
 |
| The author taking guests on a tour of photo exhibits featured in his book; [Right to Left] UTM Chief Librarian, Noraziah Shahruddin, UTM Associate Professor Dr. Kassim Tukirman and Yours Truly |
His
great-grandfather, Haji Ahmad Yaakub, an Inspector of Religious Schools, was so
skilled in cooking that around 1956 to 1958, he was tasked to prepare wedding
banquets for the royal family, sometimes for up to 5,000 guests.
Haji Ahmad was the
author of two recipe books that featured Johor Malay cuisine, namely Medan Selera and Hidangan Terpilih
in 1958.
Grandfather was
also involved in the publication of a souvenir book to commemorate the Diamond
Jubilee reign of Sultan Sir Ibrahim of Johore.
Since
childhood, Ahmad Fadhli would admire the collection of old photos, souvenir
books, invitation cards and newspaper cuttings on Johor royalty and his family
members.
 |
| A queue waiting for author to autograph each book. |
As
he grew older and could read the photo captions, Ahmad Fadhli started what he
described, “to learn through pictures” and this sparked his interest to seek a
career in publishing books, particularly on the Johor royal family.
An
old photo of his grandfather, smartly dressed in the Johor Civil Servant
uniform, made a strong impression on him and he would often ask his mother,
“Who is this?”
He
was probably about eight when his father drove them pass Film Star Photo Studio
and he saw a photo of someone wearing a similar uniform, displayed in the
showcase.
In
1992, his father – a Lecturer with a teachers’ training college – was awarded
the PLP Long Service Award and his official photos were by Mr Wee, a
photographer from Kedai Gambar Rezeki, a shop in Larkin.
 |
| Ahmad Fadhli, autographing his book for me! |
When
he was 13, Ahmad Fadhli was keen to get some photos of the Awards recipients on
the occasion of Sultan Iskandar’s birthday.
He
took his father’s suggestion to go to Mr Wee, who should have a collection of such
photos for sale, but Ahmad Fadhli was disappointed to find only three photos.
He
then remembered Film Star Photo Studio and it was the start of his friendship
with Mr Heng, the royal photographer, who had a collection of good photos since
the 1960s.
He
would save his pocket money to buy photographs for his collection and because
he was such a regular, Mr Heng was happy to offer him photos at special
discounted prices.
 |
| His mock-up copy [Left] and final copy of book [Right] |
After
Ahmad Fadhli completed his Degree in (Archive) Records Management, he also
obtained his Teaching Diploma and became a Primary School teacher, in charge of
the Library, for three years.
He
then joined UTM as Publications Officer and his first project was as Co-Editor
for Seiring Mengukir Kegemilangan 30
Tahun UTM di Negeri Johor, a souvenir book published in commemoration of
UTM’s 30th anniversary.
While
working on this project, it occurred to him that the late Sultan Ismail
initiated the establishment of UTM and discovered an opportunity to publish a
book on His Royal Highness.
 |
| Authors with our books, Ahmad Fadhli [Left] and Yours Truly |
He
shared his ideas with Dr. Kassim and even created a mock-up of his book for
discussion.
Armed
Dr. Kassim’s advice, Ahmad Fadhli plunged into further research to prepare his
manuscript.
Looking
back, it had been an arduous journey while he patiently arranged for his
manuscript to be reviewed and approved by relevant authorities, starting with
Dr Kassim, step-by-step until it received final approval from Datuk Abdul Rahim
Ramli.
When
we met again recently, Ahmad Fadhli gave me a copy of his mock-up book, an item
which marked the first step towards making his dream come true, in his
book-writing journey.
“So
what’s next?” I asked and Ahmad Fadhli strongly hinted about his next book
project, the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Sultan Sir Ibrahim (1895 – 1959).
Book
orders for Almarhum Sultan Ismail Johor
1894 – 1981, can be made via www.booksonline.my while e-books
may be purchased from www.e-sentral.com.
A version of this was published in the April 2019 issue of The Iskandarian
Update: An award-winning book!
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| Ahmad Fadhli's book earned the National Book Awards 2019 recognition as Best Biography on Royalty. Congratulations! |
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