While watching a Merdeka Day video, my eyes were fixed on Tunku Abdul Rahman, fist raised, the crowd echoing his cry of “Merdeka!”. But I also noticed another tall figure in a black colonial suit:
Sir Donald MacGillivray, the last British High Commissioner in Malaya.
Although the formal act of handing over sovereignty was carried out by the Duke of Gloucester on behalf of the British Crown, MacGillivray’s presence on that day was no less significant. For years he had worked quietly with Tunku and the Alliance leaders, preparing the machinery of government and guiding the delicate transition from colonial rule. He wasn’t the one who proclaimed independence, but he was the steady hand that helped ensure Merdeka arrived peacefully and with dignity.
And when his duty was done, Malaya bid him a farewell few colonial administrators ever received. At the airport, our own King personally accompanied him onto the tarmac, walking right up to the steps of his plane. It was a gesture as poignant as it was historic, a mark of gratitude to the man who had helped close one chapter and open another in the story of our nation.
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