Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan

Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad (Jawi: ; 24 August 1895 – 1 April 1960) was the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan from 1933, and the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of the Federation of Malaya from 1957, until his death in 1960.

Early career

Born at Seri Menanti on 24 August 1895, he was the second son of Tuanku Muhammad ibni Tuanku Antah, first Yang di-Pertuan Besar of modern Negeri Sembilan and seventh Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Seri Menanti (1888–1933) by his second wife, Tunku Puan Chik.

He received his primary education at the Jempol Malay School, going on to the Malay College between 1907 and 1914. He worked at the Federal Secretariat in Kuala Lumpur for a period of one year before being appointed Assistant Collector of Land Revenue in Seremban. He served in the Malayan Volunteer Infantry as a second lieutenant, and was promoted lieutenant in 1918.

On the death of his elder brother, Tunku Abdul Aziz, in 1917, he was groomed as heir to the throne and received the title of Tunku Muda Serting.

He was later appointed as Assistant Malay Officer in Klang before being transferred to Sepang. He was then assigned to work in Ulu Selangor as Assistant Collector of Land Revenue. As a result of his perseverance and diligence, he was promoted to Assistant District Officer. The turning point of his career was in 1925, when he served for a short period in the Kuala Lumpur Supreme Court.

In 1925, he accompanied his father, who was then the ruler of Negeri Sembilan, on a trip to the United Kingdom for the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley and to visit King George V. During the journey to the United Kingdom, he decided he wanted to study law. For the first few years, he worked hard until he became a Magistrate. Subsequently, he was appointed District Officer.

Election as Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan Signature of the Federation of Malaya Agreement, 1948, and the State Agreements, at King's House, Kuala Lumpur, 21 January 1948.

In 1933, following the death of his father, he succeeded him onto the throne of Negeri Sembilan.

Although he subsequently signed the Malayan Union treaty, he repudiated it later and upon the suggestion of Sultan Badlishah of Kedah, engaged a London-based lawyer to represent the case of the Malay rulers against the Malayan Union plan of Clement Attlee's government.

Election as Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdul Rahman was elected first Yang di-Pertuan Agong or Paramount Ruler of independent Malaya on 31 August 1957 for a five-year term by eight votes to one, defeating the more senior Sultan Abu Bakar of Pahang.

He had been the ruler of Negeri Sembilan for 24 years before being elected as the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Installation Abdul Rahman was installed as the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of independent Malaya on 2 September 1957 at the throne room of the Istana Negara.

As Malay rulers do not traditionally possess crowns, he was installed by kissing the royal kris of state (keris kerajaan) to the beat of the nobat, a tradition which has been followed by every Yang di-Pertuan Agong since.

In honour of Abdul Rahman, all subsequent Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia have also used the headdress with Dendam Tak Sudah (literally Unending Revenge) style, the fashion employed in Negeri Sembilan.

Death and funeral Abdul Rahman died in his sleep at the Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur in the early morning of 1 April 1960. The lying in state was held at the Banquet Hall of the Istana Negara. On 2 April 1960, a state funeral procession was held in Kuala Lumpur, whereupon Abdul Rahman's teak coffin was then taken by train to Seremban and later by hearse to the Istana Besar, Seri Menanti. He was buried at the Royal Mausoleum in Seri Menanti, Negeri Sembilan on 5 April 1960.

Legacy Abdul Rahman's portrait has been featured on the obverse of Malaysian Ringgit banknotes since the first series was issued in 1967.

Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman (; abbr. STAR) is a premier, all-boys fully residential school in Malaysia funded by the Government of Malaysia and is named after Abdul Rahman. It is located in Ipoh, Perak and was built in 1957.

Belief in democracy Abdul Rahman believed strongly in parliamentary democracy and one of his most memorable quotes was to a foreign dignitary from the Middle East who in 1959 complained about Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj's "high handed" manner and wanted the King to sack him. To which he replied: "Alas I can't sack him; he is elected by the people, and as Prime Minister of the country he can sack me!"

Family life Che Engku Maimunah bt Abdullah, former wife of Tuanku Abdul Rahman and mother of Tuanku Ja'afar. The Tuanku Ja'afar Royal Gallery, Seremban. Abdul Rahman married four times. His marriages were to: in 1919 to Dulcie Campbell, a Eurasian nurse who embraced Islam and took the name Cik Maimunah (divorced) in 1920 to Tunku Maharun binti Tunku Mambang, a member of the Negeri Sembilan royal family (divorced) in 1929 to Tunku Kurshiah binti Tunku Besar Burhanuddin, a cousin, who became first Raja Permaisuri Agong or Queen of Malaya in 1948 to Tunku Zaidah binti Tunku Zakaria, another cousin.

Abdul Rahman fathered three sons and five daughters. His second wife, Tuanku Maharum gave birth to his firstborn son, Tuanku Munawir. Cik Engku Maimunah, his first wife, gave birth to two sons and two daughters. The eldest is Tunku Aida, followed by Tuanku Ja'afar, Tunku Sheilah and Tunku Abdullah. Tunku Kursiah, his third wife, gave birth to two daughters. His fourth wife, Tunku Zaidah, gave birth to his youngest child, a daughter.

Two of his sons succeeded him as Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan: Tuanku Munawir (son of Tunku Maharun), who reigned from 1960 to 1967 as the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Besar. Tuanku Ja'afar (son of Dulcie Campbell), who succeeded his brother in 1967, as the tenth Yang di-Pertuan Besar, and reigned till 27 December 2008. He served as the tenth Yang di-Pertuan Agong from 1994 to 1999.

His grandson, Tuanku Muhriz, currently reigns as the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.

His daughter, Sultanah Bahiyah, from his third marriage to Tunku Kurshiah served as Sultanah of Kedah upon the accession of her husband, Sultan Abdul Halim, in 1958 until her death in 2003. She also served as the fifth Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia from 1970 to 1975.

Issue

Name Birth Date Death Date Marriage Date Spouse Issue Grandchildren Che Engku Maimunah binti Abdullah (m. 1919, divorced) Tunku Aida 27 May 1920 29 May 1937 Tunku Ma’amor bin Tunku Usoh Tunku Datuk Sri Mizan Tunku Ainunnisa Tunku Ainah Tunku Maztom 3 daughters Tunku Puan Sri Arishah 2 sons and 3 daughters Tuanku Ja’afar 19 July 1922 27 December 2008 8 August 1942 Tunku Najihah binti Almarhum Tunku Besar Burhanuddin Tunku Tan Sri Naquiah Tunku NadzimuddinTunku Datin Mir'atun MadihahTunku NasaifuddinTunku Nasruan Adil Tunku Dato' Seri Utama Naquiyuddin Tunku Mohamed AlauddinTunku Alia NadiraTunku Nadia SahiyaTunku Khairul Zaim Tunku Tan Sri Dato' Seri Imran Tunku Abdul Rahman Aminullah 4 step-children Tunku Puteri Puan Sri Dato' Seri Jawahir Tengku Azra Jahan JuzailaTengku Aslahuddin Ja’afarTengku A'zran Abdul Jawaad Tunku Dato' Seri Irinah Tengku Alam Shah AmiruddinTengku Aiman Shahirah Tunku Dato' Seri Nadzaruddin Tunku Muhammad Hazim Shah RadenTunku Muhammad Mish’al RadenTunku Ines Najiha Raden Tunku Sheilah 2 May 1924 25 May 2023 23 August 1942 Tunku Daud bin Tunku Besar Burhanuddin Tunku Ivy Mu’hsinah Putri Sian Shaharia binti Sharif Winter Tengku Datuk Munasir Tunku MutalibTunku MuzaffarTunku Maisura Adibah Tunku Mu’tasim Tunku MahzuzTunku MahirTunku Masna Tunku Mukhrizah Tunku Roxana Paul Kamil LafranceSarah Melane Lafrance Tunku Tan Sri Abdullah 2 May 1925 19 August 2008 22 April 1946 (div. 1958) Tunku Zahara binti Tunku Zakaria Tunku Dato’ Sri Iskandar Tunku Idalyn MazuraTunku Izrina MazuinTunku Izora Mulaika Tunku Hajjah Marina Ashraf Mazran ZamaniMazlina ZairinMizfarah ZaraMazrah Zuraihan Tunku Dato’ Kamil Ikram Tunku Shazwan KaiyishaTunku Arina NakitaTunku Arina Nashita 6 August 1959 (div. 30 March 1966) Che Ho Yuzin binti Abdullah Tunku Dato’ Yaacob Khyra Tunku Elana KhyraTunku Leana KhyraTunku Amaan KhyraTunku Nadya KhyraTunku Omaan KhyraTunku Imaan KhyraTunku Rmaan Khyra Tunku Yahaya Tunku Mikael Tunku Halim Tunku Kristina RadinTunku Adam Radin 30 March 1966 (div. 20 February 1970) Cik Khadija binti Abdullah Tunku Soraya Dakhlah 21 April 1973 (div. 1991) Che Engku Chesterina binti Abdullah 10 August 1991 (div. 1996) Cik Engku Maimunah binti Abdullah 25 April 1997 Puan Sri Che Engku Rozita binti Ahmad Baharuddin Tunku Muhammad Shah Tunku Intan Kursiah Tuanku Ampuan Maharunnisa binti Tunku Mambang (m. March 1921, div. 1923) Tuanku Munawir 29 March 1922 14 April 1967 1 January 1940 Tuanku Ampuan Durah binti Almarhum Tunku Besar Burhanuddin Tunku Umpa Munawirah Tengku Mu'adzam SadruddinTengku Munawir IslahuddinTengku Mu'amir Izzuddin Tunku Mudziah Syed Mashafud-din bin Syed Badaruddin Jamalullail Sharifa Basma Alawiya binti Syed Badaruddin JamalullailSharifa Bahiya Abla binti Syed Badaruddin JamalullailSharifa Bashira Asma binti Syed Badaruddin Jamalullail Tuanku Muhriz Tunku Ali RedhauddinTunku Zain Al-'AbidinTunku Alif Hussein Saifuddin Al-Amin Tunku Datin Anne Dakhlah Siti MazeeraSiti MazlinaSiti Mazlynda Tunku Deborah 2 daughters Tunku Datin Deanna Tengku Amera NafisahTengku Nadia AzrinaTengku Dahira Azirah Tuanku Kurshiah binti Almarhum Tunku Besar Burhanuddin (m. 21 March 1929) Sultanah Bahiyah 24 August 1930 26 August 2003 9 March 1956 Al-Sultan Al-Mu’tassimu Billahi Muhibbuddin Tuanku Al-Haj Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah Tunku Soraya binti Almarhum Tengku Abdul Aziz (adopted) Raja Nabil ImranRaja Idris ShahRaja Sarina Intan BahiyahRaja Safia AzizahRaja Sifuddin Muadzam Shah Tunku Sarina binti Almarhum Tengku Abdul Aziz (adopted) Tan Sri Tunku Puteri Intan Shafinaz Tunku Hajah Shahariah 8 April 1932 25 October 1956 Tunku Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail Al-Khalidi Tunku Abu Bakar Tunku Kurshiah Aminah AtiahTunku Abdul Rahman BurhanuddinTunku Aishah Johara Tunku Zaidah binti Tunku Zakaria (m. 1948) Tunku Noraida Zakiah 6 December 1950 Encik Abdul Rahim bin Abdul Manaf Putri Norashiqin

Hobbies and interests Abdul Rahman had an interest in sports such as cricket, football and tennis. His favourite sport was boxing. When he was young, he would wear boxing gloves to box with his sons.

Awards and recognitions National Honours

Places named after him Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, a road in Kuala Lumpur Medan Tuanku district in downtown Kuala Lumpur Medan Tuanku Monorail station Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman, an all-boys school in Ipoh, Perak Tuanku Abdul Rahman Mosque in Sarikei, Sarawak Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi, Negeri Sembilan SK Tuanku Abdul Rahman, a primary school in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan SMK Tuanku Abdul Rahman, a secondary school in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan SMK Tuanku Abdul Rahman, a secondary school in Nibong Tebal, Penang SMK Tuanku Abdul Rahman, a secondary school in Rawang, Selangor Tuanku Abdul Rahman Residential College, a residential college at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur