Salahuddin of Malaysia

Infobox_Monarch | name =Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin
title =Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia XI (King of Malaysia) and Sultan of Selangor


caption =Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Sir Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj

reign =28th Sultan of Selangor 3 September 1960 - 21 November 2001
10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong 26 April 1999 - 21 November 2001
coronation =28 June 1961
predecessor =Sultan Hisamuddin
successor =Sultan Sharafuddin
suc-type =Raja Muda
heir =Tengku Idris Shah
consort =Raja Nur Saidat ul-Ihsan (div. 1943) Che' Mahiran (div. 1954) Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Sharifa Salmah (div. 1962) Tuanku Siti Aishah
issue =Tengku Nor Halija
Tengku Idris Shah
Tengku Puteri Sofiah
Tengku Sulaiman Shah
Tengku Puteri Zahariah
Tengku Fatimah
Tengku Abdul Samad
Tengku Puteri Arafiah
Tengku Puteri Aishah
Tengku Ahmad Shah
Tengku Puteri Nor Marina
Tengku Puteri Nor Zehan
royal house =Selangor
royal anthem =
father =Sultan Hisamuddin
mother =Tengku Ampuan Raja Jemaah
date of birth =birth date|1926|3|8|df=y
place of birth =Kuala Langat, Selangor
date of death =death date and age|2001|11|21|1926|3|8
place of death =Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
buried =Royal Mausoleum,Klang|

Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Sir Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj (March 8, 1926 - November 21, 2001) was the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia and seventh Sultan of Selangor.

Early life

Born Tengku Abdul Aziz Shah on March 8, 1926 at Istana Bandar Temasya, Kuala Langat, he is the eldest son of Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah by his royal consort Tengku Ampuan Raja Jemaah binti Raja Ahmad.

He received his early education at the Pengkalan Batu Malay School in Klang in 1934. In 1936 he furthered his studies at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar until 1941 when World War II began. After World War II, he went to England in 1947 and studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London for two years.

Upon his return from the United Kingdom, he served with the Civil Service Department as a Trainee Officer with the Selangor Survey Department. He later served as an Inspector of Schools for eight years.

In 1952, he attended a short-term course at the Malay Military Troop in Port Dickson for six months and was commissioned with the Queen Commission in the rank of captain. Thereafter, he was promoted to the rank of major.

Marriages

Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah married at least four wives. His first wife and cousin, Raja Nur Saidatul Ihsan binti Tengku Bendahara Badar, whom he later divorced, bore:
# Tengku Nor Halija
# Tengku Idris Shah, later became Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah
# Tengku Puteri Sofiah
# Tengku Panglima Diraja Sulaiman Shah
# Tengku Puteri Zahariah (Ku Yah)
# Tengku Fatimah
# Tengku Panglima Besar Abdul Samad
# Tengku Puteri Arafiah
# Tengku Puteri Aishah

Che Maheram Bt Muhammad Rais, his second wife, bore him:
# Tengku Indera Setia Ahmad Shah

His royal consort, Tengku Ampuan Rahimah binti Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah of the Langkat royal family in Sumatra died in 1993 before his election as Yang di-Pertuan Agong. She was the mother of:
# Tengku Puteri Nor Marina
# Tengku Puteri Nor Zehan

His last wife, commoner Tuanku Siti Aishah binti Abdul Rahman, served as his Raja Permaisuri Agong. Being fifty years younger than him, she was also the youngest ever occupant of that office - only 29 at her succession to the throne.

Hobbies and Interests

Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah was a keen sportsman. His interest in golf is well-known within and outside the country. The Sultan also loved sailing, collecting antique cars, rearing animals and planting orchids. He also likes visiting foreign countries to widen his knowledge and experience.

Sultan

Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah was appointed as the Tengku Laksamana of Selangor on 1 August 1946 and as the Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of Selangor on 13 May 1950.

On the demise of his father, Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah, Tengku Abdul Aziz Shah became the eighth Sultan of Selangor with the title "Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah" on 3 September 1960 and was installed as the 28th Sultan on 28 June 1961.

On 26 April 1984, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah was appointed as Captain-in-Chief of the Royal Navy by the Malaysian Armed Forces in place of the position of Colonel-in-Chief of the Malaysian Royal Air Force which he held since 1966.

Sultan Salahuddin was the Sultan who signed the cession of Kuala Lumpur from Selangor to the Federal Government to form a Federal Territory on February 1, 1974. The Sultan cried after the signing as he was very fond and proud of the city, but he did it for the greater good of Malaysia. The Kota Darul Ehsan arch was erected along the Federal Highway at the border of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to commemorate the event in 1981.

Sultan Salahuddin was a founder of Shah Alam, the new Selangor state capital in 1978. He said that for Selangor to become a modern state, it would need a new state capital as Kuala Lumpur had become a Federal Territory. At that time Klang was the state capital after the cession of KL when the Sultan founded Shah Alam. Many buildings and roads in Shah Alam are named after him.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong

He was the oldest ruler to be elected as the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong on April 26, 1999 and installed on 11 September 1999.

The cession of Putrajaya, which was formerly Selangor territory, to the Federal Government in 2001 to become a Federal Territory occurred during his reign as Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The Persiaran Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah in Putrajaya was named after him.

However, after reigning for two years and 6 months, he died in office on November 21, 2001 at the Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

A well-loved, down-to-earth monarch, he was deeply mourned by Malaysians who attended his state funeral in Klang by the thousands. He was buried in the Royal Mausoleum near Sultan Sulaiman Mosque in Klang.

Salahuddin held the rank of Marshal of the Royal Malaysian Air Force. [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/Malaysia/malay2.htm]