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Obituary: Ruler sensitive to needs of others

Tuanku Ja’afar Tuanku Abdul Rahman travelling to Kuala Lumpur in a special train with his grandchildren in 1994.
Tuanku Ja’afar Tuanku Abdul Rahman travelling to Kuala Lumpur in a special train with his grandchildren in 1994.

KUALA LUMPUR: The fourth Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Ja'afar Tuanku Abdul Rahman, will be remembered as a monarch who was sensitive to the needs of others.

Respected by his brother rulers as well as local and foreign leaders and loved by his people for his wisdom, sincerity and dedication, Tuanku Ja'afar was the son of the country's first king, Tuanku Abdul Rahman Tuanku Muhammad, whose portrait is on our ringgit notes.

During the 40 years years as ruler of Negri Sembilan, Tuanku Ja'afar focused on the problems faced by the people and the administration of the state.

Tuanku Ja'afar gave special attention to industry and public housing so that the people's living standards could be improved.

As a result, several new housing areas were developed including Taman Tuanku Ja'afar, which includes an industrial area and a world-class golf course, Taman Tuanku Ampuan Najihah in Sungai Gadut and the Mambau housing project.
Tuanku Ja'afar was born on July 19, 1922.

He wanted Negri Sembilan to remain a peaceful and prosperous state where the various races could live in peace and harmony.

In his efforts to eradicate poverty among the people, Tuanku Ja'afar created more employment opportunities.

He wanted to ensure that all levels of society benefited from the state's economic progress.

Tuanku Ja'afar will be missed by the golf fraternity as he was a regular participant at national and international golf tournaments.

He also improved the standard of the sport in Negri Sembilan by upgrading golf courses and facilities, especially those of the International Golf Club of Seremban.

This passion for sports runs deep in the royal family of Negri Sembilan.

In fact, the royal family is known as the "Royal Family of Sports".

Members of the royal family have shown great interest in various sports, including cricket, squash, tennis, badminton, hockey and golf.

Tuanku Ja'afar's son Tunku Imran is the president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia.

Tunku Imran was also the president of the World Squash Federation for seven years.

Tuanku Ja'afar became the chancellor of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia on April 16, 1976.

He was a strong advocate for education and pushed for the improvement of Malaysia's standard of education.

He was awarded honorary doctorates of law by the University of the Philippines (July 27, 1990), University of Nottingham (July, 21 1995), University of Santiago, Chile (Sept 28, 1995) and University of Brunei Darussalam (Sept 11, 1996).

During the Japanese occupation of Malaya, Tuanku Ja'afar served at the Land Office of Seremban. He also served as the Rembau district officer from 1946 to 1947.

Upon his return from Britain in 1952, Tuanku Ja'afar held several posts in the civil service, including that of assistant state secretary of Perak, assistant district officer of Parit, Perak, and district officer of Tampin.

In 1957 he took up a special course for diplomatic services in London for one year.

His first appointment was as charge d'affaires in Washington DC, followed by first secretary of the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, consular and deputy high commissioner at the High Commission of Malaya in London.

Tuanku Ja'afar was later appointed the Malaysian ambassador to Egypt and then the high commissioner to Nigeria and Ghana.

NST

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