Sultan Nazrin launches Tun Ahmad Sarji's 'Pinnacles of Triumph'

Raja Permaisuri Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim also graced the event.

The 416-page memoir published by Pelanduk Publications (M) Sdn Bhd, Pinnacles of Triumph, shares some of the greatest moments and achievements of Malaysian sportsmen and sportswomen recorded by the author.

In his address, Ahmad Sarji lauded the great sportsmen and sportswomen as people of action and not warriors of words.

"I need to record their achievements, which provide a beacon and a source of inspiration for those who come after them," said the former Chief Secretary to the Malaysian Government.

Sharing from the pages of the memoirs, Ahmad Sarji recalled newspaper reports in 1949 that reported on athletic performance of the late Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, who played centre-forward in the Perak hockey team.

"The Straits Echo and Times of Malaya described Raja Azlan Shah (then) as having 'the best stickwork among all the Perak players and is fast and enterprising'," he read.

He also shared his memory watching a football match between Malaysia and England B in 1978 at Stadium Merdeka during which, the late Mokhtar Dahari (Super Mokh) scored an exquisite goal.

“He raced past five English players, twisting and turning before tucking the ball home pass the hapless England B goalkeeper from 35 yards out.

“These are flash bulb memories that stay with us, not just for months or years, but forever,” he said.

The memoir, however, was not limited to sporting events in which Ahmad Sarji wrote a chapter on Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara and how Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) saved both national heritage sites from being demolished.

Priced at RM75, the ‘Pinnacles of Triumph’ is the latest collection of Ahmad Sarji’s memoirs after ‘Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia’ (1996), ‘Lawn Bowls, The President’s Memoir’ (2005) and ‘Given in Trust’ (2011).

Meanwhile asked by reporters after the event on his hope for the country, the Tapah-born senior official said he always pinned the hope for the nation on having patriotic citizens with strong core values.

“Whatever you do, it must first be in the name of 'Allah' and then for the nation. You must also have values of integrity, good ethics, good corporate governance and discipline, either among the workforce or any segment of the society.

“I think if we have these core values, Malaysia will do well in the future,” he said.

On a report by an English newspaper that he’s retiring soon from his position as the non-executive chairman of PNB, Ahmad Sarji asked to wait for the official announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office.