Pretender to the Throne.

I am attracted to the recent news that a Malaysian, and Malay at that, is the richest man on the planet. He was supposed to have in his bank account a saving of a sum of more than 5 trillion Euros (RM 20 trillion) which made him the first trillionaire in the world ahead of the crowded billionaires. The figure is mind boggling.

Kamal Ashnawi who hailed from Tanjung Malim, Perak and educated at the prestigious Sekolah Alam Shah claimed that his wealth came from the “Combined International Collateral of the Global Debt Facility” that was instituted by the world’s royal family way back in 1875. He claimed to be the descendent of the royal household of Jawa with the name of Raden Mas Prabhu Gusti Agung Ki Asmoro Wijoyo who was part of the claimant to the wealth. He was expected to be declared the “Maharaja Indonesia” in a coronation.

I am intrigued by this story.

Soon after I retired at the end of 1995 I was approached by a group of people headed by a Raja who claimed to be the legitimate Sultan of Selangor according to the lineage. The Raja earnestly said that his forefather the Selangor ruler then with the agreement of the Sultans of Langkat, Johor and Pontianak decided to form a consortium to save their wealth in the Bank of Switzerland for security and safety reason. The saving was left at the Bank until that time.

The raja said being the legitimate descendent of the ruler he was entitled to the wealth. He could prove his legitimacy. At the same there was legal representation who was working on the claim in Europe. Individuals interested in the claim can have their share through him with payment, has access to the legal papers and could present themselves at the research in Europe.

The fee per share was RM 250,000.00. Of course, I don’t have that amount in hand. On quick calculation, I noticed that with my gratuity, EPF and the only property I owned (my house) the amount just reached that figure. My mind starts working: “clever fellow”. I just told the Raja outright that I was not interested to be “rich” and would be satisfied with my meagre pension. He was adamant as he kept repeating the benefit.

Not to be rude, I asked him if he would entertain some questions on the issue. He was happy to answer. My first question: what was the main ingredient of the savings. His answer was simple and expected: GOLD. I told him if it was gold the consortium should include the Sultan of Sambas. He was surprised as he had never heard of the place. I told him it is a province in Kalimantan Barat a neighbour of Pontianak. It produced one of the best gold in the world, 24 carat. The normal gold was 21.

He couldn’t answer specifically how the rulers obtained their wealth during that early period. I put my case to rest when I asked him whether he knew that Langkat produced black gold. He was dumbfounded but told me there was no such thing as black gold. He told me he has never been to Langkat. So I advised him to go there and look at the wealth that could be found there in abundance on the field waiting to be collected. He said I must be joking. I said it’s a fact – Langkat has oil reserve and the term used for it is black gold – remember the song by Frankie Laine.

So the Raja and entourage left my house without bothering me anymore. I suppose he was a happy to find new information from me to convince his future audience.

As for Kamal Ashnawi he must be one lucky guy to have found his bounty. He fulfilled the slogan “Malaysia Boleh”.