UCAPAN DI MAJLIS PERKAHWINAN MELATI

UCAPAN DI MAJLIS PERKAHWINAN MELATI
JW MARRIOTT, KUALA LUMPUR
2 Oktober 2011

– Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi
– Yang Mulia Tengku Toh Puan Noriah Binti Tengku Ismail,
– Yang Amat Arif Tan Sri Ariffin Zakaria dan Yang Bebahagia Puan Seri Robiah Bt. Abdul Kadir,
– Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato’ Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin Bin Pengarah Dato’ Paduka Haji Awang Othman dan Yang Mulia Hajah Maimoonah Bte Haji Omar,
– Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Sidek Hassan dan Yang Berbahagia Puan Seri Dato’ Wan Noorlina Wan Hussin,
– Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Seri Pekerma Raja, Raja Dato Seri Abdul Aziz Bin Raja Salim dan Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Datin Seri Ramlah Azizah Binti Sultan Ismail Nasharuddin Shah
– Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya Setia Raja Dato Paduka Seri Setia Haji Awang Suhaili Bin Haji Mohiddin,
– Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail dan Yang Berbahagia Puan Seri Maimon Binti Datuk Haji Ariff,
– Tan Sri-Tan Sri dan Puan Seri-Puan Seri,
– Dato’- Dato’ dan Datin-Datin,
– Tuan-Tuan dan Puan-Puan.

Ladies and gentlemen,

You are listening to my new voice. Like all of you, I was born crying, meaning that I was blessed with voice. But, unlike you, one year ago, I lost it in a series of surgeries. I thought that the days of public speaking were over for me. However, Allah s.w.t. has been kind to me. He has restored it just in time for this occasion and this is the first time I am testing it in public and in the presence of my doctors.

Ladies and gentlemen,

My family and I are honored by, and grateful for, your presence this evening. Looking around, this humble gathering is not very humble after all. We have with us the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi. Tun Abdullah and I have one thing in common (it may be the only one) and it is that we are both from Kepala Batas. But, I did not invite him to any of my children’s weddings when he was a Prime Minister or a Deputy Prime Minister. Nor did I attend any of his open houses in Kepala Batas during the nine years that I was in Penang as a High Court Judge, even though, every Hari Raya, I was in Kepala Batas. (I am merely stating the facts, without giving the reasons. I reserve the reasons for my memoir. If that amounts to an advertisement, I apologize.). Now that we have both retired, I feel free to invite him and he has obliged me. Thank you Tun.

We also have with us the newly appointed Chief Justice of Malaysia (I extend my congratulation to him), the Minister of Home Affairs, Brunei Darussalam, the Chief Secretary to the Government, the Former Director General of Inland Revenue, the Attorney General who is now the father-in-law of my daughter, the newly appointed President of the Court of Appeal, two former and one newly appointed Chief Judges of Malaya ( I congratulate all the new appointees), former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, former and present Deputy Ministers, retired and serving Judges of the Superior Courts, past and present Chief Commissioners of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, (and their spouses, where applicable). We also have with us academicians, medical practitioners, Shari’ah scholars, bankers, lawyers, friends and relatives from all walks of life, not forgetting my own relatives from Kepala Batas, my wife’s relatives from Melaka and Singapore and my newly acquired relatives from Sabah and Semenanjung. I also welcome Melati’s friends who have come all the way from Dubai, Indonesia and Singapore to grace this occasion. Thank you very much. Every one of you present here this evening is important to us.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to make two statements regarding this marriage between my daughter Melati and Faezul, the son of Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail, the Attorney General of Malaysia,:

First, it is NOT an arranged marriage.
Secondly, it IS a recent development.
Therefore, there is NO conspiracy.

Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Patail and I were both in the Legal and Judicial Service at one time. When I was Head of Prosecution in the Attorney General’s Chambers, he was my Deputy Public Prosecutor in Sabah. When I was a Judge of the Court of Appeal, he became the Attorney General, jumping over me, protocol-wise. Later, when I became the Chief Justice, I jumped over him again. Now we are at par: we are just the father of the bride and the groom, respectively.

He appeared before me many times in court. Sometimes I agreed with him. Sometimes I did not. There were times when I reached the same conclusion as he was persuading me to arrive at, but on different grounds. However, regarding this marriage, we both agree absolutely and on all grounds.

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan,

Saya sekeluarga mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian yang sudi melapangkan masa dan hadir di majlis ini. Kehadiran tuan-tuan an puan-puan telah memeriahkan dan menyerikan majlis ini, manakala do’a tuan-tuan dan puan-puan, saya percaya, akan memberkati majlis ini dan, lebih-lebih lagi, perkahwinan Melati dan Faezul ini. Saya sekeluarga sungguh terhutang budi. Semuga Allah membalas tuan-tuan dan puan-puan dengan ganjaran yang sepadan.

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan,

Saya dan keluarga juga mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada setiap orang yang telah, dengan apa cara juga pun, termasuk do’a dan ucap selamat, menjayakan majlis ini. Biar apa pun, majlis ini tidak akan berjaya tanpa kehadiran tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian. Semoga Allah s.w.t. akan membalasnya dengan balasan yang setimpal. Sama-sama lah kita do’akan semoga perkahwian ini diberkati Allah s.w.t. dan akan berpanjangan dan berbahagia sehingga ke akhir hayat.

Akhir sekali, saya memohon maaf sekiraya terdapat apa-apa kekurangan atau kesilapan di pihak kami. Khususnya, saya memohon ma’af kerana tidak dapat pergi ke setiap meja untuk mengucapkan terima kasih dan bersalaman dengan setiap orang dalam dewan ini. Saya terpaksa menyinmpan sedikit tenaga untuk berdiri dan menyampaikan ucapan ini.

Terima kasih.