Sir Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni
Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah was the Chief Minister of the
Federation of Malaya from 1955 and became the country's first Prime
Minister after its Independence in 1957. Born in a royal family in
Kedah, Abdul Rahman was the son of 24th Sultan of Kedah and went to
become the founding father of the independent Malaysia. Before
attaining independence of the country, Abdul Rahman was also a member
of the United Malays National Organization, an organization
struggling against Britain's Malayan Union. Also known as Bapa
Kemerdekaan, he became the first Prime Minister of the country after
Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore merged to form Malaysia in 1963. He
played a key role when the Organization of Islamic Conference was
established in 1969 and served as its first Secretary-General.
Childhood & Early Life
Abdul Rahman was born on 8 February
1903 in Istana Pelamin, Alor Star in Kedah to the 24th Sultan of
Kedah Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah and his sixth wife Cik Menjalara.
He was the fourteenth son and twentieth child of his father. As a
child Abdul Rahman was raised in Isatan, the Palace, which was built
by a Chinese contractor and had a royal childhood with a number of
servants around him. Prince Abdul was sent to a Malay Primary School
Jalan Baharu in 1909 and was later moved to the Government English
School in Alor Star, which eventually became known as the Sultan
Abdul Hamid College. In 1911, little prince Abdul was sent to
Debsirin School in Bangkok to study with his three brothers. He
returned to Malaya in 1915 and resumed his studies at Penang Free
School. After three years in 1918, he enrolled at St. Catharine’s
College in Cambridge University with the Kedah State Scholarship and
graduated with a bachelor degree in Arts in 1925. At that time, he
drew national attention and was praised as the first student to
receive a scholarship from Kedah State for studying in the United
Kingdom.
Early Career
After finishing his graduation, Abdul
Rahman served in the Kedah public service and was made the District
Officer of Kulim and Sungai Petani. At that time, the colonial Malaya
was totally dominated by the British officers, with the only
exception of Abdul Rahman who was a Malaya and had concern for his
fellow people of Malaya. The two could never come to terms and he
often had to pay for it by loosing promotion to higher positions.
However, the British Administration did not dare do anything against
him, as he was a son of the Sultan and a price of Malaya. Few years
later, Abdul went to England and stayed there briefly before finally
returning to Malaya following the eruption of the World War II.
He continued his law studies at Inner
Temple in 1947 and after admitted to bar in 1949, he returned to
Malaya where he was appointed at the Legal Officer’s office in Alor
Star in the same year. Further, he was made a Deputy Public
Prosecutor in Kaula Lampur and president of the session’s court.
Abdul Rahman was also a member of the United Malays National
Organization, an organization struggling against Britain’s Malayan
Union. In 1951, a conflict surfaced within the UMNO forcing its
president Datuk onn Jaafar to resign and the person replacing him was
Abdul Rahman, who eventually seized the position for the next twenty
years.
Independence of Malaya
Abdul Rahman began his campaign for
Malaya’s independence in 1954. His initial efforts failed to
achieve anything as the British Administration was averse to grant
independence unless it was assured of the racial harmony and equality
in a new independent Malaya. As President of the UMNO, Abdul Rahman
consolidated a political alliance with the Malaya Chinese Association
to form the Alliance Party and later the Indian community Malayan
Indian Association joined them in 1955. The coalition gained huge
popularity among people though the UMNO members were initially
reluctant to open the party to Chinese and Indian community. Abdul
Rahman became the first Chief Minister of Malaya with the Alliance
Party winning the first federal general election held in the same
year. In 1955, he traveled to Japan, where he negotiated the Malaya
Independence and 31 August 1957 was finally decided for its
independence.
Premiership of Malaysia
Malaya became Malaysia with the
emergence of Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei in 1963. In 1961,
Abdul Rahman called upon these states to form an amalgamation and was
subsequently elected the first Prime Minister of Malaysia on 16
September 1963. However Singapore’s addition in the federal proved
disastrous which increased the Chinese influx in the country. Abdul
Rahman fearing, that Lee Kuan Yew’s Party could influence the
voters in Malaya, started demanding Singapore’s exclusion from
Malaysia. After endless clashes between Abdul Rahman and Lee Kuan,
Singapore seceded and declared its Independence on 9 August 1965.
Abdul Rahman’s regime came to
downfall in 1969, when the Alliance Party lost most of its support in
the general election that year. Abdul Rahman lost its support from
the people within UMNO who were highly critical of his headship and
eventually, an emergency committee captured the country from Abdul
Rahman and declared a state of emergency leaving him with no power.
On 22 November 1970 Abdul Rahman resigned from the position of Prime
Minister and subsequently from UMNO in 1971.
Other Activities
In 1960, when he was still the Chief
Minister, Abdul Rahman declared Islam the official religion of
Malaysia and established the Islamic Welfare Organization (PERKIM) as
a guiding body for Muslim converts. He became the president of PERKIM
and served until a year before his death. As President of PERKIM, he
organized the first International Quran Recital Competition in 1961.
Abdul Rahman played a key role when the
Organization of Islamic Conference was established in 1969 and served
as its first Secretary-General. He was a co founder of the Islamic
Development Bank and President of the Regional Islamic Da’wah
Council of South East Asia and the Pacific (RISEAP), serving from
1982 till 1988. However he declared Islam the official religion of
Malaysia, he stuck to his idea of running Malaysia as a secular
country where people of different beliefs and religion lived and
worked together.
An enthusiastic sportsman himself,
Abdul Rahman promoted many sports events in Malaysia, viewing is a
medium to bring people of different race and religion together. He
started an international football tournament in 1957 and was elected
as the first president of Asian Football Confederation in the next
year in 1958. He had a passion for horse racing and was a member of
the Selangor Turf Club.
Later Life & Death
In 1977, Abdul Rahman became the
chairman of The Star, a newspaper which was banned in 1987 by Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad because of its provoking columns that were
harshly critical of the Malaysia’s government. Following a rift
with in UMNO, he unsuccessfully tried to establish a new party UMNO
Malaysia. In the general election of 1900, Abdul Rahman actively
participated and widely campaigned against Mahathir Mohamad despite
his worsening health. He died on 6 December 1990, aged eighty seven
and his body was buried at the Langgar Royal Mausoleum in Alor Star.
Family & Children
Abdul Rahman is believed to have at
least four marriages in which only three are officially confirmed.
His first wife was Meriam Ching, a Chinese woman who gave birth to
two children Tunku Khadijah and Tunku Ahmad Nerang. After her death,
Abdul married Violet Coulson, his former landlady in England. He
divorced her and married Sharifah Rodziah Syed Alwi Barakbah and the
couple adopted four children Sulaiman, Mariam, Sharifah Hanizah and
Faridah. His fourth marriage to a Chinese woman Bibi Chong remained
secret with whom; he had two daughters Tunku Noor Hayati and Tunku
Mastura.
TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN TIMELINE
1903- :
Abdul Rahman was born on 8 February
1903.
1909- :
Abdul was sent to a Malay Primary
School in 1909.
1911- :
Abdul was sent to Debsirin School in
Bangkok.
1918- :
He enrolled at St. Catharine’s
College in Cambridge University.
1925- :
He graduated with a bachelor degree in
Arts in 1925.
1949- :
Abdul Rahman was admitted to bar in
1949.
1951- :
He was made the president of UMNO.
1954- :
Abdul Rahman began his campaign for
Malaya’s independence in 1954.
1955 :
Abdul Rahman became the first Chief
Minister of Malaya.
1957- :
Malaya was declared independent on 31
August.
1957- :
He started an international football
tournament in 1957.
1958- :
He was elected as the first president
of Asian Football Confederation.
1960- :
Abdul Rahman declared Islam the
official religion of Malaysia.
1960- :
He established the Islamic Welfare
Organization (PERKIM).
1963- :
Malaya became Malaysia in 1963.
1963- :
Abdul Rahman became the first Prime
Minister of Malaysia.
1965 :
Singapore seceded and declared its
Independence on 9 August 1965.
1970 :
Abdul Rahman resigned from the position
of Prime Minister on 22 November.
1971 :
He resigned from the presidency of
UMNO.
1977 :
Abdul Rahman became the chairman of The
Star.
1982 :
He became the president of the Regional
Islamic Da’wah Council of South East Asia and the Pacific (RISEAP).
1987 :
The Star was banned in 1987
