Tun TUN or tun may refer to: Biology * Tun shells, large sea snails of the family ''Tonnidae'' * Tun, a tardigrade in its cryptobiotic state * Tun or Toon, common name for trees of the genus '' Toona'' Places * Tun, Sweden, a locality in Västra G ...

Sharifah Rodziah binti Syed Alwi Barakbah ( ms, شريفة راضية بنت سيد علوي برقبة, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 1920 – 12 March 2000) was the third wife of

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

, the founding father and first

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the fed ...

Early life

Born in 1920, Sharifah Rodziah is of Hadhrami- Malay descent; her Arab ancestors had migrated from

Hadhramaut Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Saud ...

and settled in

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

for several generations. Being of the Barakbah clan, she is related to Syed Sheh Hassan Barakbah, the former

Yang di-Pertua Negeri In Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertua Negeri ( in Malay) is a constitutional title given to the head of state in states without a Ruler, namely: Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak. This is in constrast to a Ruler () which is a constitutional title giv ...

(Governor) of Penang.

Marriage

Sharifah Rodziah was actually the younger sister of Tunku's university mate in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Syed Omar Barakbah. Tunku and Sharifah Rodziah married in 1939 when he returned to

from

upon hearing news that

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

was about to erupt in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. She became Tunku's third wife after the death of

Meriam Chong Lady Meriam Chong Abdullah, also known as Chong Ah Mei or Mariam Abdullah, was the first wife of Tunku Abdul Rahman, who later became the founding father and the first Prime Minister of Malaysia. Early life Lady Meriam was the daughter of a tin mi ...

and his divorce from

Violet Coulson Violet Coulson was the second wife of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia. Friendship Tunku had met Coulson in 1927, during his second year as a law student in London. She was an attractive lady who managed a restaurant where ...

. However, the marriage did not result in any offspring. Sharifah Rodziah became a loving stepmother to Tunku's children from his first marriage to

. They later adopted three children, Sulaiman, Mariam and Faridah.

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, ‏تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...

'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".

Influence

Sharifah Rodziah played an important role in rallying political support for her husband during

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 ...

's tumultuous formative years.

Death

She died due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

, in Penang, on 12 March 2000 at the age of 80 and was buried next to her husband's grave,

Kedah Royal Mausoleum Kedah Royal Mausoleum or Langgar Royal Mausoleum ( ms, Makam Diraja Langgar) is a Kedah royal burial grounds. It is located in Langgar, Kota Setar District, Kedah, Malaysia. List of graves Sultan graves * Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin Mu'adz ...

in Langgar,

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Grand Commander of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...

(SMN) – Tun (1970) * : ** MY-TER Order of the Crown of Terengganu - SPMT - SMT - AMT

Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Terengganu The Most Distinguished Order of the Crown of Terengganu (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Terengganu Yang Amat Mulia'') is an honorific order of the Sultanate of Terengganu. History It was founded by Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin of Tereng ...

(SPMT) – Dato' (1964)

Places named after her

Several places were named after her, including: *SMK Tun Sharifah Rodziah in Alor Setar,

*SMK Agama Sharifah Rodziah in

Telok Mas Telok Mas is a small town in Melaka Tengah District, Malacca, Malaysia. Economy * Telok Mas Industrial Estate Schools *Henry Gurney Prisoners School *SK Telok Mas *SMK Telok Mas *SMK(A) Sharifah Rodziah *SJK(C) Kuang Yah 光亚华小 *SRA Tel ...

Melaka Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...

*Tun Sharifah Rodziah Sea Base, located at Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE),

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

* Piala Tun Sharifah Rodziah

References

Sources

Asiaweek.com
24 March 2000. * ''Putera Negara''; 1987, Firma Publishing, Aziz Zarina Ahmad. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodziah Barakbah, Sharifah Spouses of prime ministers of Malaysia Malaysian people of Yemeni descent 1920 births 2000 deaths Grand Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Terengganu Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims People from Kedah