TUNKU'S SAFE: Contents, if any, to be known soon

In 2004, when the movie National Treasure was released, a few Malaysian journalists were among an international group invited to Washington DC for the Press preview and a chance to meet and interview the stars, including lead man Nicolas Cage.

The story goes that a war chest was hidden by the Founding Fathers after the US Revolutionary War somewhere in the country. To cut a long story short, the clue to the treasure was said to be on the back of the Declaration of Independence that is kept in the National Archives. It was fiction all the way as to how the treasure hunters stole the Declaration of Independence to get the clue. But it did not stop journalists going to the National Archives to ask the officer guarding the framed Declaration of Independence if anything was written behind it. "No Sir, there certainly isn't," was the answer.

The mystery of Tunku Abdul Rahman's unopened safe has stirred a lot of interest, maybe not as much as the movie, but it certainly has our imagination working in overdrive.

The unopened safe was brought to the attention of Malay Mail by film director Mansor Puteh who chanced upon it while doing a documentary on the Tunku titled Tunku, the Residential Years, in conjunction with the 53rd anniversary of Merdeka.

For a long time, the safe has been in the former residence of the Tunku on Jalan Dato Onn, which was turned into the Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Memorial. It's on public display atop a steel cabinet.

But it was only after Malay Mail wrote about it that people became aware and interested.

It is indeed surprising how the safe managed to escape the attention of the authorities, historians and even the curator of the memorial, given the many of years it has been at the residence and on public display.

The question now: What is in the safe?

There has been much speculation.

Some think it could hold historical documents; others think the contents could be of a personal nature. And others believe it is empty.

No member of the Tunku's family has commented on the safe. They could well have the answer.

But the wait may be over soon. Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim says his Ministry intends to open the safe next week....