Che Puan Besar Hajjah Haminah, formerly known as Sultanah Haminah ( Jawi: ; ''née'' Haminah binti Hamidun; born 15 July 1953) is the former Sultanah consort of Malaysian State of Kedah and is the widow of Sultan Abdul Halim Mua'dzam Shah. Born a commoner from

Bagan Serai Bagan Serai ( Jawi: باݢن سراي) is a mukim in Kerian District, Perak, Malaysia. It is located southeast of George Town, the capital city of the neighbouring state of Penang. As such, the town is also part of Greater Penang, Malaysia' ...

, Perak, she married Sultan Abdul Halim on 25 December 1975, and as his second wife, she was styled as ''Yang Teramat Mulia Che Puan Kedah''. She was crowned ''Sultanah'' ( Queen Consort) on 9 January 2004 at the Balai Penghadapan Istana Anak Bukit following the death of Tuanku Bahiyah, the previous Sultanah and first wife of Sultan Abdul Halim. She served as the 14th

Raja Permaisuri Agong ''Raja Permaisuri Agong'' ( Jawi: راج ڤرمايسوري اݢوڠ; full title: ''Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong''; سري ڤدوک بݢيندا راج ڤرمايسوري اݢوڠ, literally ''The Que ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

(Supreme Queen Consort) from 2011 to 2016, during her husband's second term as

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The o ...

, the Malaysian federal

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

. After her husband's death in September 2017, his successor and her brother-in-law, Sultan Sallehuddin, bestowed the title of ''Yang Maha Mulia Che Puan Besar of Kedah Darul Aman'', roughly equivalent to a queen dowager.

Early life

Born on 15 July 1953 in Kampung Matang Jelutong,

, Perak. She is the fourth of seven siblings born to father ''Haji'' Hamidun Taib and mother ''Hajjah'' Isma Muhammad. HRH Tuanku Hajah Haminah was educated at SK Matang Jelutong and later SM Inggeris Bagan Serai.

Royalty

On 25 December 1975, at age 23, Haminah married HRH The Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Abdul Halim and became his second wife. She received the title HH Che Puan Kedah. HRH Sultan Abdul Halim's first wife, Tuanku Bahiyah died on 26 August 2003. On 21 November 2003, HH Che Puan Haminah was proclaimed her successor as Sultanah of Kedah. Her coronation took place in the royal town of

Anak Bukit Anak Bukit (Jawi:انق بوكيت) is a mukim and the royal town of Kedah, Malaysia, located in Kota Setar District Royal Town It is known as the royal town of Kedah because the Sultan of Kedah's royal palace and official residence, ...

on 9 January 2004. Upon the installation of HRH Sultan Abdul Halim as HM The

XIV on 13 December 2011, HRH Tuanku Hajah Haminah became HM The

. HRH Tuanku Hajah Haminah is the fourth commoner who become a Raja Permaisuri Agong after HRH Tuanku Bainun binti Mohamad Ali of Perak, HRH Tengku Permaisuri Siti Aishah of Selangor and HRH Tuanku Nur Zahirah of Terengganu. Following the demise of HRH Almarhum Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah on 11 September 2017, she has been formally addressed as YMM Sultanah Hajjah Haminah during a brief period of time. On 21 January 2018, in conjunction with the Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Sallehuddin's 76th birthday, she was conferred the title ''Yang Maha Mulia Che Puan Besar Kedah'' or HRH The Che Puan Besar of Kedah. She is now formally addressed as HRH Che Puan Besar Hajjah Haminah or simply HRH Tuanku Hajjah Haminah.

Interests

HRH Tuanku Haminah is known to enjoy golf, tennis, badminton,

lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

and music. She has participated in various golf tournaments in Kedah and initiated amateur women's golf tournaments such as the Kedah International Red Tee Invitational, as well as being invited as the royal guest for the International Lawn Bowls Mahsuri Cup in

Langkawi Langkawi, officially known by its sobriquet Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah ( ms, Langkawi Permata Kedah ), is a duty-free island and an archipelago of 99 islands (plus five small islands visible only at low tide in the Strait of Malacca) loc ...

Awards and recognitions

She has been awarded the following honours:

Honours of Kedah

Member of the

Royal Family Order of Kedah The Most Illustrious Royal Family Order of Kedah (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kerabat Yang Amat Mulia Kedah'') is an honorific order of the Sultanate of Kedah. History It was founded by Sultan Abdul Halim of Kedah on 21 February 1964. Classes It ...

(DK, 9 January 2004). * MY-KED Halimi Family Order of Kedah (DKH)

Member of the Halimi Family Order of Kedah (DKH, 16 July 2008).Photo
of Sultan Abdul Halim and Sultanah Haminah * MY-KED Supreme Order of Sri Mahawangsa (DMK)

MY-KED Supreme Order of Sri Mahawangsa (DMK)

Member of the Supreme Order of Sri Mahawangsa (DMK, 20 January 2017) with title Dato' Seri Utama.

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Recipient of the Order of the Crown of the Realm (DMN, 26 January 2012)

Foreign honours

* : **

Grand Cordon (Paulownia) of the

Order of the Precious Crown The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. Originally the order had five classes, but on Apr ...

(3 October 2012) * : ** Order of Chula Chom Klao - 1st Class (Thailand) ribbon

Dame Grand Cross (First Class) of the Order of Chula Chom Klao (2 September 2013)

Places named after her

Several places were named after her, including: * Sultanah Haminah Mosque in Pendang, Kedah * Taman Tuanku Haminah, a residential area in Sungai Petani, Kedah * Pusat Perdagangan Tuanku Haminah, a trade centre in Alor Setar, Kedah * Dewan Tuanku Permaisuri Hajah Haminah, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah in Kuala Ketil, Kedah * Wisma Yayasan Anak anak Yatim Sultanah Haminah in Kedah

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haminah, Che Puan Besar 1953 births People from Perak Living people Royal House of Kedah Kedah royal consorts Malaysian royal consorts Malaysian Muslims Malaysian people of Malay descent Members of the Royal Family Order of Kedah Members of the Halimi Family Order of Kedah Members of the Supreme Order of Sri Mahawangsa Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown Dames Grand Cross of the Order of Chula Chom Klao Malaysian queens consort Recipients of the Order of the Crown of the Realm