Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj (Jawi: سلطان صلاح الدين عبدالعزيز شاه الحاج إبن المرحوم سلطان حسام الدين عالم شاه الحاج; 8 March 1926 – 21 November 2001) was Sultan of Selangor from 1960, and previously the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the constitutional monarch of Malaysia, from 1999, until his death in 2001.[1]
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.[3]
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.
Sultan of Selangor
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 26 April 1984, Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah was appointed as Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy by the Malaysian Armed Forces in place of the position of Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Malaysian 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 1 February 1974.[4] 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 Kuala Lumpur when the Sultan founded Shah Alam. Many buildings and roads in Shah Alam are named after him.
Salahuddin held the rank of Marshal of the Royal Malaysian Air Force, Field Marshal of the Malaysian Army and Admiral of the Fleet of the Royal Malaysian Navy as per constitutional provisions[5] making him as the second royal military officer to become supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
He was the second oldest ruler to be elected as the eleventh Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 26 April 1999 and installed on 11 September 1999.
However, after reigning for two years and 6 months, he died in office on 21 November 2001 at the Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur. He underwent a heart operation to put a pacemaker two months prior to his death, which he did not fully recover from.[6] Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had visited him four times before.[7]
He was buried in the Royal Mausoleum near Sultan Sulaiman Mosque in Klang.[8] Mahathir expressed grief over the passing of Salahuddin.[9] The Prime Minister's official residence in Putrajaya was closed to the public for two days.[10]
Personal life
Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah married at least four wives.
His first wife and cousin, Paduka Bonda Raja Raja Nur Saidatul Ihsan binti Al Marhum Raja Bendahara Tengku Badar Shah, whom he later divorced, bore:
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.
Salahuddin's full style and title was: Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Alhaj, Sultan dan Yang di-Pertuan Selangor Darul Ehsan Serta Segala Daerah Takluknya.[12]
Information Malaysia, Berita Publications Sdn. Bhd., 1998
Martin, Frederick, Keltie, John Scott, Renwick, Isaac Parker Anderson, Epstein, Mortimer, Paxton, John, Steinberg, Sigfrid Henry, The Statesman's Year-book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World for the Year ; 1978–1979, St. Martin's Press, 1978
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