Ungku Abdul Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid (28 January 1922 – 15 December 2020) was a Malaysian economist and lecturer. He was the 3rd Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Malaya The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...

from 1968 to 1988 and the 1st General Director of the Council on Language and Literature of Malaysia from 1956 until 1957. He was awarded the title of Royal Professor (''Profesor Diraja'') in 1978.

Early life, family and education

He was born into the

Johor Royal Family The Sultan of Johor is a hereditary seat and the sovereign ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a ''bendahara''. Currently, the role of ''bendahara'' has been take ...

. His father, Ungku Abdul Hamid Ungku Abdul Majid was a Malayan prince and military officer. He was a cousin of

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas Syed Muhammad al Naquib bin Ali al-Attas ( ar, سيد محمد نقيب العطاس '; born 5 September 1931) is a Malaysian Muslim philosopher. He is one of the few contemporary scholars who is thoroughly rooted in the traditional Islamic sci ...

and

Syed Hussein Alatas Syed Hussein Alatas ( ar, سيد حسین العطاس '; 17 September 1928 – 23 January 2007) was a Malaysian academic, sociologist, politician, and founder of social science organisations. He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya ...

as well as

Sultan Ibrahim of Johor Sultan Sir Ibrahim Al-Masyhur Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar Al-Khalil Ibrahim Shah (17 September 1873 – 8 May 1959) was a Malaysian sultan and the 22nd Sultan of Johor and the 2nd Sultan of modern Johor. He was considered to be "fabulously ...

on his father's side. His father was of Malay and Turkish-( Circassian) descent, while his mother was English. He graduated from the English college at

Johore Bahru Johor Bahru (), colloquially referred to as JB, is the capital city of the state of Johor, Malaysia. It is located at the southern end of Peninsular Malaysia,along the north bank of the Straits of Johor, opposite of the city-state Singapore. T ...

and the Malay school in

Batu Pahat The Batu Pahat District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies southeast of Muar, southwest of Kluang, northwest of Pontian, south of Segamat and Tangkak District. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram. Geography ...

. He received Diploma in Arts from Raffles College, Singapore (now

) and Bachelor of Arts in economics at University of Malaya, Singapore (now

in Kuala Lumpur) in 1951. He then defended his doctoral dissertation in

Waseda University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the ''Tōkyō Senmon Gakkō'' by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the school was formally renamed Waseda University in 1902. The university has numerou ...

(Tokyo, Japan) in 1964. His daughter,

Zeti Akhtar Aziz Ungku Zeti Akhtar binti Ungku Abdul Aziz (born 26 August 1947) was the 7th Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia's central bank. She served as Governor from 2000 to 2016, and was the first woman in the position. Zeti was one of the members o ...

, was the former governor of

Bank Negara Malaysia The Central Bank of Malaysia (BNM; ms, Bank Negara Malaysia) is the Malaysian central bank. Established on 26 January 1959 as the Central Bank of Malaya (''Bank Negara Tanah Melayu''), its main purpose is to issue currency, act as banker and ad ...

, Malaysia's

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

Academic career

He worked in the state administration of

Johore Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime bor ...

, in 1952–1961 as a lecturer at the University of Malaya (Singapore), with a one-year break, when he headed the Council on Language and Literature of Malaysia. In the years 1962–1965, he was a professor and dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Malaya (Kuala Lumpur), while in 1968–1988, he was promoted to vice-chancellor of this university. He was the first Malaysian to become the vice-chancellor of

. On his initiative, the university created the Botanical Garden, the Museum of Asian Art, the cooperative bookstore. He is the author of the economic justification of a number of industrial projects, more than 50 books and monographs on social and economic problems of Malaysia, consultant to UN specialized organizations (

ILO The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East). On 17 June 1978, he was awarded the rank and title of Royal Professor (''Profesor Diraja'') by the

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 of ...

of Malaysia and he was the only person in Malaysia to hold that rank.

Awards

* Rank of the Royal Professor (1978) (awarded by the

of Malaysia) (only in Malaysia) *

Japan Foundation The was established in 1972 by an Act of the National Diet as a special legal entity to undertake international dissemination of Japanese culture, and became an Independent Administrative Institution under the jurisdiction of the Ministry o ...

Award (1981) * The Fukuoka Prize (1993) * The title of "Outstanding Figure of the Islamic era" ( ms , Tokoh Maal Hijrah) (1997) (awarded by the

of Malaysia) * The title of "Outstanding Figure of the National Cooperative Movement" ( ms , Tokoh Koperasi Negara) (2002) * The Outstanding Malay Figure Award ( ms , Anugerah Melayu Terbilang) (2005) * National Academic Award ( ms , Anugerah Akademik Negara) (2006) * National

Merdeka Award The Merdeka Award is a Malaysian award that recognises and celebrates the achievements and significant contributions of individuals to Malaysia and its people, within their respective fields. The Royal Patron of the Merdeka Award Trust is the S ...

(2008) * Rochdale Award (2009)

Death

Ungku Aziz died in Prince Court Medical Centre,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

at 4:30 in the evening due to old age. He was 98 and is survived by his wife, Rahaiah Baheran and his only daughter,

. He was laid to rest at the

Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery The Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery is a cemetery in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located at Damansara near Taman Tun Dr Ismail. This cemetery can be seen from the Damansara Link of the Sprint Expressway. It is the final resting place of many prom ...

, Kuala Lumpur.

Namesakes

Several places were named after him, including: *Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ungku Aziz (SMKUA), Sabak Bernam, Selangor *Balai Ungku Aziz, Faculty of Dentistry,

*Kolej Kediaman Ungku Aziz, 11th residential college at the

* Jalan Prof Diraja Ungku Aziz, formerly known as Jalan Universiti and named in his honour in late 2020

References

Bibliography

* Abu Bakar A. Hamid, K. T. Joseph. The University at Pantai Valley: Glimpses of the past. Kuala Lumpur: UM Press, 2009

External links

List of former Vice Chancellors of University of Malaya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdul Aziz, Ungku 1922 births 2020 deaths House of Temenggong of Johor Vice-chancellors of universities in Malaysia Malaysian economists Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims Malaysian people of Circassian descent Malaysian people of English descent Malaysian people of Turkish descent University of Malaya faculty Waseda University alumni Citizens of Malaysia through descent University of Malaya alumni