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Ismail Nasiruddin Shah
Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (King of Malaysia) and Sultan of Terengganu
Almarhum Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah
Reign	1945-1979
Coronation	1945
Born	1906/1907
Birthplace	Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu
Died	1979
Place of death	Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu
Predecessor	Sultan Ali Shah
Yang di-Pertuan Muda	Tengku Mahmud
Successor	Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah
Consort	Tuanku Intan Zaharah
Offspring	Tengku Mahmud
Father	Sultan Zainal Abidin III
Mother	Cik Maimunah binti Abdullah

In full, Almarhum Sultan Sir Ismail Nasiruddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Zainal Abidin III KCMG (died September 20, 1979) was the fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong (roughly equivalent to King) of Malaysia, and the fifteenth Sultan of Terengganu.

Early career

The date of his birth has been given as either March 16, 1906^[1] or as January 24, 1907, ^[2] the latter being the one more often used. Born in Kuala Terengganu, he was the fifth, but third surviving, son of Sultan Zainal Abidin III ibni Almarhum Sultan Ahmad II (reigned 1881-1918). His mother was a Thai Muslim convert, Cik Maimunah binti Abdullah, who died in 1918.^[3]

Educated at the Kuala Terengganu Malay School, he then went to the Malay College. In 1929, he entered the Terengganu administrative service. In 1934, he was appointed Assistant Collector of Land Revenue in Kuala Terengganu.

In 1935, he became aide-de-camp to his elder half brother Sultan Sulaiman, accompanying him to the coronation of King George VI on May 12, 1937. In 1939, he became Registrar of the High Court and the Court of Appeal. He also served as the Land Court Registrar. In 1940, he was appointed a minister of the Terengganu state cabinet, having been made Tengku Paduka Raja. In 1941, he became First Class Magistrate and was promoted Terengganu State Secretary on November 15, 1941.^[4]

Succession dispute

Sultan Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah of Terengganu died on September 25, 1942 of blood poisoning. The Japanese Military Administration proclaimed his son as the fourteenth sultan of Terengganu bearing the title Sultan Ali. On October 18, 1943, the Thai government under prime minister Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram took over the administration of Terengganu from the Japanese and continued to recognise Sultan Ali.^[5]

When the British returned after the end of the Second World War, they declined to recognise Sultan Ali. Allegedly, Sultan Ali was too much in debt, had been too close to the Japanese, had repudiated his official consort (the daughter of Sultan Abu Bakar of Pahang) and had contracted an unsuitable second marriage to a former prostitute. ^[6] According to Sultan Ali, the British Military Administration wanted him removed for his refusal to sign the Malayan Union treaty.^[7]

On November 5, 1945 the Terengganu State Council of thirteen members announced the dismissal of Sultan Ali and the appointment of Tengku Ismail as the fifteenth sultan of Terengganu. Sultan Ali continued to dispute his dismissal until his death on May 17, 1996. ^[8] Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah (as he then became) was installed on June 6, 1949 at Istana Maziah, Kuala Terengganu. ^[9]

Election as Deputy King

Sultan Ismail served as Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong between September 21, 1960 to September 20, 1965.

Election as King

Sultan Ismail was elected fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia and served in that office from September 21, 1965 until September 20, 1970.

Unhappiness in office

Sultan Ismail was sickly in office and suffered from heart trouble. He wanted to resign as Yang di-Pertuan Agong in 1969, but was persuaded by prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman not to do so as the next Yang di-Pertuan Agong would be Tunku Abdul Rahman's nephew (Tuanku Abdul Halim of Kedah) and the prime minister felt it was not right for him to continue in office during that time.^[10]

Tunku Abdul Rahman described Sultan Ismail as "highly sensitive and temperamental".^[11] Sultan Ismail was reigning as Yang di-Pertuan Agong when the May 13 incident sparked racial riots in Kuala Lumpur and parliament was suspended.

Death and funeral

Sultan Ismail died in Kuala Terengganu on September 20, 1979 and was buried a day later at the Royal Mausoleum near Abidin Mosque, Kuala Terengganu. ^[12] He was succeeded by Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah, his eldest son.

Family life

Sultan Ismail married four times:

1. Che Wan Aminah binti Che Wan Chik, by whom he had two daughters
2. in 1929 to Tengku Tengah Zaharah binti Tengku Setia Raja Pahang Tengku Umar bin Sultan Ahmad Pahang (1911-1979; divorced) by whom he had seven children including his successor as sultan of Terengganu, Sultan Mahmud
3. Che Jarah binti Abdullah, by whom he had one daughter
4. in 1944 to Tengku Intan Zaharah binti Tengku Setia Raja Terengganu Tengku Hitam Umar (1928- ) sometime Tengku Ampuan Besar of Terengganu, Raja Permaisuri Agong and currently Tengku Ampuan Tua of Terengganu^[13]

Foreign Honours

• King George V Silver Jubilee Medal-1935
• King George VI Coronation Medal-1937
• Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG)-1951 (CMG-1948)
• Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal-1953
• Raja of the Order of Sikatuna of the Philippines-1966
• Special Class of the Bundesverdienstkreuz-1966
• Grand Order of Mugunghwa of Korea-1966
• Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum of Japan-1968
• Collar of the Order of Pahlavi of the Empire of Iran-1968
• Grand Cordon w/ Collar of the Order of the Queen of Sheba of the Empire of Ethiopia-1968
• Order of the Republic of Indonesia, 1st Class

Trivia

1. Sultan Ismail was a keen photographer and his works had been exhibited
2. His two royal consorts had exactly the same name (Zaharah Umar)
3. Jalan Sultan Ismail, the main business street in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is named after him
4. In July, 2008, a collection of the first ever Malaysian banknotes was purchased for an amazing £115,100, four times the original estimate, which broke Spink’s previously held record for the most expensive Asian Banknotes sold ever at auction. The banknotes were a gift presented by Ismail Mohd Ali, on behalf of the Board of Governors of Bank Negara Malaysia, to the (fourth) King of Malaysia, Tuanku Ismail Nasiruddin Shah.

Notes