Passing of A Friend

I have to record with great sadness the passing of my dear friend Tengku Ismail Tengku Su at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London at approximately 4.30 pm London time yesterday, Saturday 13th August.

Tengku Ismail was in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital for more than a month after suffering two heart attacks. He was here on a mission for his beloved Terengganu, to exhibit some of his songket collection at the Royal Weave exhibition at the Prince's School of Traditional Arts in July and for a presentation at Asia House.

He was given an emergency angioplasty procedure and stenting at the Royal Brompton to clear a clogged artery but recovery eluded him. For much of his time in hospital he was under induced sleep and even another angioplasty done later gave only minimal help to the damaged left ventricle of his heart.

His brother Tengku Yusof was by his bedside at the time of his passing.

I shall always remember Tengku Ismail as a very pleasant and cheerful man with much love for Terengganu handicraft, especially the weaving arts. He was responsible for the preservation of many Terengganu traditional houses which he brought together to his Pura Tanjung Sabtu resort in Kuala Terengganu.

He had an encyclopedic knowledge of the genealogy of the Terengganu royal house and was responsible for a beautiful facsimile reproduction of the Trengganu edition of the Tuhfat An Nafis, the original copy of which was kept by his family. He brought a copy of the Tuhfat to present to Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. In a rare moment when he was awake in his hospital bed, Tengku Ismail asked me to write a dedication in the book he brought for the Prince, but the Terengganu Duke of Songket - as he styled himself - never recovered from his illness to make the presentation.

His leaving us in this blessed month of Ramadhan is especially poignant for me as I remember in my childhood days that it was in this month that my mother would rush to the Tengku's parents' house in the precinct of the Istana Maziah to order for each of us a hand-stitched suit of Malay baju for Hari Raya. His late father, Tengku Su, was known for his tailoring skills and it was from him that Tengku Ismail inherited his interest in handicraft, design and weaving.

He was a student here in the early 1970s and coming back here gave him special joy as he was keen to revisit his old haunts. His legacy will be his works of design for the Terengganu royal regalia. He had friends throughout the world and his mild eccentricity made him an especially endearing man.

He turned 60 in hospital surrounded by friends. The Yang di Pertuan Agong DYMM Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nor Zahirah visited Tengku Ismail in his hospital bed earlier this month.

Tengku Ismail's funeral service will take place at the East London Mosque on Monday 15th August before burial at the Garden of Peace in Ilford. May Allah grant him jannah and place him among the righteous. Alfatihah.

NOTE 15 Aug.: Bureaucracy took time to process documents needed by Tengku Ismail in his to final journey home. His funeral will now take place on Tuesday 16th August at the place stated above.

Tengku Ismail Tengku Su

My dear friend Tengku Ismail Tengku Su is still in hospital here in London after undergoing an emergency angioplasty last week.

He was here on an invitation to the Prince's School of Traditional Arts and the Asia House, to give a presentation on the Royal Weave - the Trengganu songket - a subject close to his heart. This is a trip he has been working on very hard and the result was a stunning display here in London of this weaving heritage that Trengganu so excels in. Indeed, Tengku Ismail has often referred to himself jocularly as the Duke of Trengganu songket.

He was taken ill very suddenly after his return from a trip to Istanbul and was immediately admitted to the Chelsea and Westminster hospital. He suffered a heart attack soon after he was admitted to the Royal Brompton Hospital awaiting further medical intervention.

He is now on an induced sleep to give his body adequate rest after a chest infection last week. Please remember him in your prayers.

UPDATE

My Dear Friends:

Thank you for your prayers and to those who have emailed asking about his condition, this is the latest [21/7]:

Our dear Tengku is still in a very serious condition and has been induced back to sleep to conserve his energy for the fight. He is now back on the ventilator as his heart is causing some concern. Please do continue your prayers for him.