Obituary: Tunku Ibrahim Alang - A tribute to the passing of a dear sailing friend
By Capt Marty Rijkuris

It is amazing who you might meet on the RSYC pontoons just before the Raja Muda Regatta starts each year in Pt Klang. Way back in 1992 and 93 amongst the invited guests and crew onboard the then Raja Muda's (Now Sultan of Selangor) yacht was his good friend Tunku Ibrahim Alang (Commonly known as Tunku Alang) from the southern state of Johor. Despite his wirey frame he had developed a passion for sailing, way beyond most Asians I've ever met and a zest for all the good things in life. Which no doubt came about by being raised in a royal family plus education and work stints in the UK. One of the things his late farther Tunku Mohd Archibald had left the family to run was the Rawa Safaris Resort on stunning Pulau Rawa. Situated ten miles into the South China Sea from Mersing, on the east coast of the Malaysian peninsula is amongst the nine islands that form the Johor Group. First discovered way back in 1971 before anyone even knew what a island resort was, Tunku Archibald's future vision has not only earned them one of the most unique island resorts in the South China Sea but makes him the pioneer of nature and marine tourism which is all a rage today.

Life on a sailing boat is some what governed by the number and quality of coincidental meetings that may occur along the way. On one such occasion at Changi Sailing Club in Singapore (1995) the crew on Ray Roberts Sydney 41 Millennium were wondering what to do for the next few months, when Ariffin Abdul Aziz (Capt Fin) bought the 53ft Sang Bayu alongside, with Tunku Alang onboard as they had just come from Pulau Rawa. Already then Alang was determined to go racing and invited everyone out to his island to discuss how it could be done and showed us the boat he was building.

Another time was at the end of the 1995 Raja Muda Regatta, when Alang had acquired the Jeanneau - Selection 37 Impy and wanted to form a team to head for Phuket and compete at the King's Cup where Impy had won the inaugural event back in 1986. The most memorable occasion was being plucked out of the Malacca Straits in the dark of the night after an accidental gybe the boom knocked me on the head and into the sea with a huge Sumartra storm bearing down on us. That fateful day maybe one of the main reasons why I am still residing in Malaysia today.

Many sailing trips followed including competing at the Singapore Straits Regatta in 1996 and eventually back to his beloved Rawa conducting sunset cruises and the odd sailing class during the high season. The sailing Tunku could be seen on many occasions sailing his Hobie 18 single handed in front of the resort or giving visitors to the island a generous taste of what sailing is all about.

There is a certain sort of magic that island resorts can weave and easy to see why visitors fall in love with a timeless treasure on the softest, whitest quartz sand beach, all wrapped with marine life second to none. No wonder some of the staff have worked there since they were kids and the huge expat community mainly from Singapore have made Rawa over the last 40 years their island getaway on long weekends and school holidays. There are few places in the South China Sea that you can stumble upon that serves delicious seafood, International and Asian cuisine with full bar service and a selection of cocktails - 1/2 the price and twice the size of Raffles in Singapore.

A separation of the ways between Tunku Alang and Rawa Safaris occurred during the Asian financial crises only to see a more determined Tunku return to the island and build Le Club Rawa and six wooden chalets alongside his brothers high class air conditioned bungalows on the revamped Rawa Safaris property. No such thing as brotherly love here! After a huge thunderstorm Impy broke the mooring line and got washed up onto the beach, loosing her keel on the way and remains buried on the beach in front of Club Rawa still today. Undeterred the Johor Yachting Association was formed to promote, educate and regulate yachting in Johor plus compete in neighboring states sailing competitions. One such event in Pt Dickson saw a much thinner Capt Fin crewing for Tunku Alang in the Laser 2 dinghy class. (See photo)

As late as last year (2006) Tunku Alang was still at it commissioning local traditional boat builders in Mersing to construct a sailing boat with his design ideas. Feeling very privileged to be asked to help I traveled to Mersing to meet up with my old friend and offer some free advice. Being a hands on sort of person the Tunku had all sorts of people from cabinet makers in rubber plantations to handy man welders over from Maur working under his strict supervision on what I would only describe as - a 16ft traditional looking sailing scow with a 6mm steel plate for a keel. After working for a full day placing fittings and designing sheeting angles etc the official launching took place and we promptly run aground on the sandbar that forms at the entrance to the Mersing River. Allot of cursing the dredging operators ensued before a speed boat towed the boat to sea and a short sea trail was successfully conducted. Wow! The boat can actually sail and after a few keel modifications taken to Rawa and since seen sailing at Tioman and surrounding islands.

Earlier this year some rumors emerged that our good friend was undergoing some tests in a JB hospital as his health had deteriorated. After further treatment Alang returned to his beloved island resort for the last time and sadly passed away on 26 June 2007. He leaves a swag of family and good friends behind and I'm sure Alang would like to be remembered as the good hearted Tunku or Prince of Sailing from Le Club Rawa known for enjoying and sharing the finer things in life.

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