Ismail has been called "the man who saved Malaysia" for his actions as Minister of Home Affairs after the 13 May incident of racial rioting in 1969.

Ismail's family was heavily involved in the anti-Malayan Union campaign led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

Ismail observed: It was impossible to influence people to support the independence movement merely by writing articles because time was against it and in any case all the newspapers that enjoyed a wide circulation were not anxious to do the wrong thing against the government in power.

On passing through Kuala Lumpur on the way to their honeymoon in Penang, they met Tunku Abdul Rahman, who would later succeed Onn Jaafar as President of UMNO.

Ismail accused the report's opponents in the Council of making "no considerations for the Chinese and Indians who are already in this country", and acting in an imperialistic manner.

When the Malays seized political power after the Second World War, their main defence against their more virile and richer neighbours was to deny them the right of citizenship.

[3]In Ismail's view, it was imperative that "if the Chinese – the real political problem since the other races were not dominant – were to be persuaded into accepting Malay as the national language, they should be granted citizenship as a quid pro quo" – an early expression of what would later be referred to as the Malaysian social contract.

The following year, a controversy arose when the Tunku stated that Malaya would eventually have to recognise the communist People's Republic of China.

In these roles, Ismail was in charge of detaining people under the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA), which permits detention without trial.

[6] Ismail also presented Malaysia's case to the United Nations when Indonesia launched its armed "Confrontation" against the new polity, charging it with being the tool of neo-colonialists.

[7] After retiring from politics, Ismail went on to head the Guthrie Group of Companies, where he was paid three times the amount earned by a cabinet minister.

At the meeting, Tun Abdul Razak expressed support for declaring martial law, but was dissuaded by General Ibrahim Ismail, who told him that "I cannot provide any guarantee (that I will) be able to hold back the members of the armed forces who might take over control of the government."

On 15 May, a state of emergency was declared and Parliament was suspended in favour of the National Operations Council (NOC), a body of top government officials.

[9] Ismail's reputation for fairness but uncompromising toughness – at one point, he declared he would arrest his own mother if she had broken the law – has been cited by a number of top officials as greatly contributing to stability in the wake of the riots.

[9] During this period, several Malay "ultras" such as Mahathir Mohamad and Musa Hitam called for the resignation of the Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Soon, students at higher educational institutions across the country began to hold mass demonstrations, calling for the Tunku to step down in favour of a leader who would restore "Malay sovereignty".

The Tunku responded by forcing Mahathir and Musa out of UMNO, while Ismail as Home Affairs Minister issued a statement: "These ultras believe in the wild and fantastic theory of absolute dominion by one race over the other communities, regardless of the Constitution.

... Polarisation has taken place in Malaysian politics and the extreme racialists among the ruling party are making a desperate bid to topple the present leadership.

[11] On 2 August 1973, Ismail attended the silver jubilee celebrations of the Peninsular Malaysia Malay Students Foundation (GPMS).

After a sudden explosion sound effect, Ismail's daughter, who was watching the event live on television, noticed her dad began to sweat profusely.

However, Macpherson had accompanied Razak to the summit, forcing Ismail to phone his other doctor, Dr Catterall, who lived in the satellite town of Petaling Jaya.

Upon arrival, Catterall immediately began efforts to resuscitate Ismail, soon being joined by the royal physician, Dr Pillai.

Tun Razak ordered that he be laid in state at the Malaysian Houses of Parliament, and be buried at the Makam Pahlawan (Heroes' Mausoleum) near Masjid Negara (National Mosque), Kuala Lumpur.

[3] Tun Sardon Jubir attempted to justify his instructions by citing a mufti who had informed him that Muslims could not be buried under a roof.

Razak, who would normally have overlooked such incidents, delayed the burial and brought in a detachment of soldiers to tear up the floor of the mausoleum, where Ismail was indeed laid to rest.

He also supported the establishment of a central bank to quell foreign investment worries about a lack of independence in Malaysian monetary policy.

It is conventionally held that his sudden death altered the course of Malaysian history – Tun Abdul Razak appointed Hussein Onn as his new deputy, and Hussein Onn would later appoint Mahathir as deputy prime minister after succeeding Razak, setting Mahathir on the course towards becoming prime minister.

Historiographic convention has always allowed the Tunku and Razak to overshadow Ismail's achievements, and his name is often mentioned in combination with the other two, and with Tan Siew Sin.

"[4] Generally, Ismail has been regarded as reliable and incorruptible, "remembered for his deep dislike of incompetence and bigotry, his strict adherence to the virtues of hard work and honesty, and his belief in the principles of national independence and multi-racialism".

[11] Tycoon Robert Kuok, a friend of Ismail's, would later remark that: In my opinion, he was probably the most non-racial, non-racist Malay I have met in my life.