Salahuddin of Selangor

Born on at 3:30 pm. Tengku Abdul Aziz Shah on Monday 8 March 1926 at Istana Bandar Temasha, Jugra, Kuala Langat, he is the eldest son of Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Alauddin 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.[2]

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 Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah married at least four wives.

His first wife and cousin, HRH Paduka Bonda Raja Raja Nur Saidatul Ihsan binti Al Marhum Raja Bendahara Tengku Badar Shah, whom he later divorced, bore:

1. Tengku Nor Halija
2. Tengku Idris Shah, later Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah
3. Tengku Puteri Sofiah (died 8 June 2017)[4]
4. Tengku Laksamana Tengku Sulaiman Shah
5. Tengku Puteri Zahariah (Ku Yah)
6. Tengku Fatimah
7. Tengku Panglima Besar Tengku Abdul Samad
8. Tengku Puteri Arafiah
9. Tengku Puteri Aishah

Che Maheram binti Muhammad Rais, his second wife, bore him:

1. Tengku Panglima Raja Tengku 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:

1. Tengku Puteri Nor Marina
2. 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.

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 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 1 February 1974.[5] 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[6] making him as the second royal military officer to become supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

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.

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 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.[7] He was buried in the Royal Mausoleum near Sultan Sulaiman Mosque in Klang.[8]

Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque in Shah Alam.

Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery in Klang.

Several projects and institutions were named after the Sultan, including:

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.[9]

• Alagappa, Muthiah, Coercion and Governance: The Declining Political Role of the Military in Asia, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-4227-8
• 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

• Photo Album: Dalam Kenangan, Utusan Malaysia
• Photo Album: Agong sihat di Singapura, 15 October 2001, Utusan Malaysia