Retired cook remembers his Sultan

GEORGE TOWN: P. Sivagnanam (pic) would glow with pride whenever the late Sultan of Kedah Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah complimented him on his teh tarik.

“He would drink kopi-o elsewhere, but whenever he came to play golf at the Harvard Golf and Country Club in Bedong, Kedah, he would ask for my teh tarik,” said the 78-year-old retired cook.

Sivagnanam, who met the Sultan in the 60s while working part-time at the club, said the Sultan would personally request the teh tarik before he started playing, and a young coconut after one round of golf.

“He did not need to ask me himself as he could have sent any of his bodyguards, caddies or servants to do so.

“After that, he would instruct his bodyguard to send word that he loved the tea,” he reminisced with pride.

Sivagnanam would always tell his children stories about the jovial Sultan who loved Indian food, especially tosai, mutton korma and briyani.

“We miss him a lot. He stopped coming after he was made the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the 1970s and we would only see him on television after that.

“I’m saddened by his passing as I had no chance to meet him after that.

“He was a very good king,” he added.