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Tunku Puan Zanariah

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Zanariah
زانريه
Tunku Puan
Official photo
Raja Permaisuri Agong VIII
Tenure26 April 1984 – 25 April 1989
Installation15 November 1984
PredecessorTengku Ampuan Afzan
SuccessorTuanku Bainun
Sultanah of Johor
Tenure29 April 1981 – 22 January 2010
Proclamation11 May 1981
PredecessorSultanah Nora
SuccessorRaja Zarith Sofiah (as Permaisuri)
Consort of the Crown Prince of Johor
Tenure20 August 1961 – 29 April 1981
PredecessorChe’ Puan Khalsom
SuccessorRaja Zarith Sofiah
Born(1940-07-05)5 July 1940
Istana Dusun Green, Pasir Mas, Kelantan
Died17 March 2019(2019-03-17) (aged 78)
Johor Bahru, Johor
Burial18 March 2019
Spouse
(m. 1961; died 2010)
Issue
Names
Tengku Zanariah binti Tengku Ahmad (at birth)
Regnal name
Tunku Puan Zanariah Iskandar
HouseTemenggong (by marriage)
Long Yunus (by birth)
FatherTengku Long Ahmad bin Tengku Abdul Ghaffar (Tengku Panglima Raja of Kelantan)
MotherChe Puan Hajah Fatimah binti Dato' Abdul Hamid
ReligionSunni Islam

Tunku Puan Zanariah Iskandar[3] (Jawi: تونكو ڤوان زانريه إسكندر), formerly known as Sultanah Zanariah (born Tengku Zanariah binti Tengku Ahmad; 5 July 1940 – 17 March 2019),[4] was the second wife of the fourth Sultan of modern Johor, Sultan Iskandar from their marriage in 1961 until his death in 2010. She served as Raja Permaisuri Agong (Queen consort of Malaysia) between 1984 and 1989.

Her sister, Tunku Puan Nora formerly Sultanah Nora was married to the third Sultan of modern Johor, Sultan Ismail.[5]

Early life

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Born on 5 July 1940, in Dusun Green Palace, Pasir Mas, Kelantan. Tengku Zanariah was the seventh child of HH Tengku Panglima Raja of Kelantan from among nine siblings. She came from the Kelantan royal family.[4] Her father, the late Tengku Panglima Raja Tengku Ahmad was a son of Almarhum Tengku Temenggong Tengku Abdul Ghaffar Ibni Almarhum Long Senik Mulut Merah (Sultan Muhammad II).

Tengku Zanariah was enrolled into Sultanah Zainab School, Kelantan an elementary school where she studied from 1946 to 1949. Between 1950 and 1952 she studied at the Convent Bukit Nanas in Kuala Lumpur before returning to Kelantan where she continued her studies at Sultan Ibrahim School, Pasir Mas. With the encouragement of her father and her own desire to equip herself for the future, she left for England in 1954 to further her studies at the Upper Chime School, Isle of Wight.[4]

While studying in England, Tengku Zanariah met Tunku Mahmood Iskandar[6] (later Sultan Iskandar) who was also studying there. They later married in 1961 (his second marriage) and she later became the mother of six of Tunku Mahmood's children.[2][7]

Tengku Zanariah is also the former beauty queen and historically was the first ever Miss International Malaysia titleholders. She went to compete internationally representing Federation of Malaya at the first Miss International beauty pageant in 1960 at the Long Beach, California, United States. She failed to place in the semi-finals.

Sultanah of Johor

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Her husband became Sultan of Johor in 1981. Although she was known as Sultanah,[8] she was never formally crowned.[3]

In 1982, Tengku Zanariah sponsored and established the Majlis Wanita Negeri Johor or MAWAR (the Women's Council of Johor), which organises various religious activities such as the celebration of the Prophet's birthday at its headquarters at Sungai Cat Road in Johor Bahru.[9] MAWAR also collected donations for distribution among flood victims in Johor as well as the less fortunate and the needy.

Her husband died in 2010 and was succeeded by her stepson Tunku Ibrahim Ismail. In 2011, a government circular issued removed the honorific prefix of 'Sultanah' from her given name, and instructed that she be referred to instead as 'Tunku Puan Zanariah Iskandar' or simply 'Tunku Zanariah'.[note 1] The current royal court also does not recognise her as a former holder of the title Sultanah of Johor.[3]

Interests

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Tengku Zanariah had a passion for the arts. She also loved cooking and took great care in her daily chores. She paid special attention to the selection and arrangement of decorations in the palace particularly in preparation for official dinners. Tengku Zanariah also loved reading especially about culture, history and affairs of neighbouring countries.

She was also the winner of the first edition of Miss Malaya-International 1960 where she had rights to represent Malaya in the first edition of Miss International 1960 pageant in California, United States. Unfortunately, she was not placed in the pageant during that time.

During her free time, Tengku Zanariah loved to exercise, ride horses and play golf or tennis. She was also good in water skiing. During her younger days, she climbed Gunung Ledang, the highest mountain in Johor. She is currently the only consort to have done so.[4]

Patronages

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  • Chancellor of the University of Technology, Malaysia (UTM) from 1986 to 2010.
  • Patron of the Iskandar Puteri Foundation.
  • Patron of the Women's Council of Johor (MAWAR) from 1982 to 2011.

Death

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Tengku Zanariah died on 17 March 2019. She was laid to rest next to grave of her late mother, Che Puan Hajah Fatimah at the Mahmoodiah Royal Mausoleum in Johor Bahru, Johor.

Awards and recognitions

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Honours of Johor

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Honours of Malaysia

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Foreign Honours

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Places named after her

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Several places were named after her, including:

References

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  1. ^ JOHOR (Sultanate)
  2. ^ a b Rahman, Solomon, pg 21
  3. ^ a b c "No 'sultanah' title or special perks for 2 Johor consorts". New Straits Times. 17 February 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ a b c d Information Malaysia (1985), pg 58
  5. ^ Tan Chee Khoon, pg 25
  6. ^ "Tengku" is spelled as "Tunku" in Johor; Malaysian Protocol and Correct Forms of Address (1986), pg 20
  7. ^ Negara Brunei Darussalam: A Biographical Dictionary (1860-1996) (1996), pg 290
  8. ^ "Sultanah: We need more graduates". New Straits Times. 16 April 2000. National p. 9.
  9. ^ Maklumat lisan Johor, pg 146
  10. ^ Nelson Benjamin (24 February 2011). "Sultanah titles removed due to tradition". The Star (in Malay). Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Royal 'divorce after death' valid, rules highest court". Malaysiakini (in Malay). 9 June 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1987" (PDF).

Notes

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  1. ^ Sultanah title was removed and changed to Tunku Puan later.[10][11]

Further reading

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  • Negara Brunei Darussalam: A Biographical Dictionary (1860-1996), A. V. M. Horton, 1996, ISBN 0-9524831-8-1
  • Challenging Times, Abdul Rahman, J. S. Solomon, published by Pelanduk Publications, 1985, ISBN 967-978-094-5
  • Information Malaysia, published by Berita Publications Sdn. Bhd., 1985
  • Maklumat Lisan Johor: Projek Pelajar-Pelajar Lewartawanan, Kajian Sebaran Am, Institut Teknologi MARA, Biroteks, published by Institut Teknologi MARA, 1987
  • Malaysian Protocol and Correct Forms of Address, Abdullah Ali, published by Times Books International, 1986, ISBN 9971-65-370-2
  • Sistem beraja di Malaysia, Tan Chee Khoon, published by Pelanduk Publications, 1985
Malaysian royalty
Preceded by
Tengku Afzan
(Tengku Ampuan of Pahang)
Raja Permaisuri Agong
(Queen of Malaysia)
Succeeded by
Tuanku Bainun
(Raja Permaisuri of Perak)