Sharifah Rodziah Barakbah

Sharifah Rodziah Barakbah
Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun; Sharifah Rodziah Barakbah; SMN
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Malaysia
	In role; 31 August 1957 – 22 September 1970
Monarch	Abdul Rahman; Hisamuddin; Putra; Ismail Nasiruddin; Abdul Halim
Prime Minister	Tunku Abdul Rahman
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Toh Puan Rahah Tan Sri Mohammad Noah
Personal details
Born	1920
Died	12 March 2000 (aged 80); Penang, Malaysia
Resting place	Kedah Royal Mausoleum
Spouse(s)	Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj
Children	Sulaiman; Mariam; Sharifah Hanizah; Faridah

Tun Sharifah Rodziah binti Syed Alwi Barakbah (1920 – 12 March 2000) was the third wife of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the founding father and first Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Early life

Born in 1920, Sharifah Rodziah is of Hadhrami-Malay descent; her Arab ancestors had migrated from Hadhramaut and settled in Kedah for several generations.[1] Being of the Barakbah clan, she is related to Syed Sheh Hassan Barakbah, the former Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of Penang.

Marriage

Sharifah Rodziah was actually the younger sister of Tunku's university mate in England, Syed Omar Barakbah. Tunku and Sharifah Rodziah married in 1939 when he returned to Kedah from England upon hearing news that World War II was about to erupt in Europe.

She became Tunku's third wife after the death of Meriam Chong and his divorce from Violet Coulson. However, the marriage did not result in any offspring. Sharifah Rodziah became a loving stepmother to Tunku's children from his first marriage to Meriam Chong. They later adopted three children, Sulaiman, Mariam and Faridah.

Tunku Abdul Rahman's eldest daughter, Tunku Khadijah said in an interview to The Star that Sharifah Rodziah “loved my father dearly to a fault. She did not want to share him with anyone else".[2]

Influence

Sharifah Rodziah played an important role in rallying political support for her husband during Malaysia's tumultuous formative years.

Death

She died due to pneumonia, in Penang, on 12 March 2000 at the age of 80 and was buried next to her husband's grave, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj at Kedah Royal Mausoleum in Langgar, Kedah.

Honours

Honour of Malaysia

Malaysia : Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (S.M.N.) (1970)[3]

Places named after her

Several places were named after her, including:

SMK Tun Sharifah Rodziah in Alor Setar, Kedah
SMK Agama Sharifah Rodziah in Telok Mas, Melaka
Tun Sharifah Rodziah Sea Base, located at Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE), Sabah
Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah

gollark: Its error handling is awful and the GC causes unreliability apparently.

gollark: Not really!

gollark: Agreement does NOT imply objectivity.

gollark: Nope.

gollark: Nothing is objectively bad but it has many, many flaws.

References

Macam-macam Ada: Memo untuk Pak Lah (Bahagian Satu), by Hussien Alattas, published by JB News Media Network, 2006, ISBN 983-40962-8-3, pg 254
The nation came first for Tunku Archived 6 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine, The Star, 26 August 2007
"Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1970" (PDF).

Sources

Asiaweek.com, 24 March 2000.
Putera Negara; 1987, Firma Publishing, Aziz Zarina Ahmad.

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[1] Macam-macam Ada: Memo untuk Pak Lah (Bahagian Satu), by Hussien Alattas, published by JB News Media Network, 2006, ISBN 983-40962-8-3, pg 254

[2] The nation came first for Tunku Archived 6 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine, The Star, 26 August 2007

[3] "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1970" (PDF).