Tunku Abdul Malik ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah (24 September 1929 – 29 November 2015) was the heir presumptive[fn 1] to the throne of Kedah. He was the son of Sultan Badlishah and the brother of the late ruler, Sultan Abdul Halim. He served as Regent of Kedah from 1970 to 1975.

Tunku Abdul Malik
Raja Muda of Kedah
Raja Muda of Kedah
Tenure1981 – 2015
PredecessorTunku Abdul Halim
SuccessorTunku Mahmud Sallehuddin
Born(1929-09-24)24 September 1929
Istana Anak Bukit, Kedah, British Malaya
Died29 November 2015(2015-11-29) (aged 86)
Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia
Burial
SpouseTengku Raudzah binti Al-Marhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah
HouseMahawangsa
FatherSultan Badlishah
MotherTunku Sofia binti Tunku Mahmud
ReligionSunni Islam

Biography edit

Tunku Abdul Malik was born on 24 September 1929 at Istana Anak Bukit, Anak Bukit, as the second son of Tunku Badlishah and Tunku Sofiah Tunku Mahmud to survive infancy. Tunku Badlishah was the seventh son of Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim (also the father of Tunku Abdul Rahman, first Prime Minister of Malaysia). His father was appointed Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of Kedah in 1935 and became sultan in 1943.

He was educated at Titi Gajah Malay School and Sultan Abdul Hamid College, and attended Wadham College, Oxford.

His elder brother, Tunku Abdul Halim succeeded to the throne in 1958 upon the death of their father. Tunku Abdul Malik became Regent of Kedah from 1970 to 1975 during Sultan Abdul Halim's first reign as Yang di-Pertuan Agong.[1] Because Sultan Abdul Halim has no sons, Tunku Abdul Malik was designated as heir in 1981, and was invested as Raja Muda.

Marriage edit

Tunku Abdul Malik married Tengku Raudzah binti Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin (b. 1 September 1929 - d. 21 September 2015), the daughter of Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah of Selangor, on 16 July 1957 at Istana Bukit Kota, Alor Setar. After his appointment as Raja Muda in 1981, Tengku Raudzah became the Raja Puan Muda.[2] They had been married for 58 years until Tengku Raudzah's death in September 2015. He outlived both his wife and his eldest sister, Tunku Hamidah (b. 1924, who died the same year at the age of 91) by two months.

Death edit

Tunku Abdul Malik died at 1:00 am, 29 November 2015, age of 86 at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, Alor Star due to old age. His body was laid to rest at Kedah Royal Mausoleum in Langgar.[3]


Honours edit

He was awarded the following decorations:

Honours of Kedah edit

Honours of Malaysia edit

Ancestry edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Although he was sometimes called heir apparent due to him being invested Raja Muda, this was not technically true since he could still have been displaced in the line of succession by a son born to the then Sultan, however implausible that was.

References edit

  1. ^ Embun Majid (2011-12-13). "The royal family". The Star. Daulat Tuanku, p. 2. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
  2. ^ Siti Hajar Abd Aziz; Syed Zainol Rashid (2004-04-29). "Celebrating Sultan of Kedah's birthday". New Straits Times. Happenings, p. 18.
  3. ^ "Raja Muda of Kedah Tunku Abdul Malik passes away". thesundaily.my.
  4. ^ "DK II 1989". awards.selangor.gov.my.