1955–1957
Tunku Abdul Rahman, full name Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah
Tunku Abdul Rahman · 马来西亚
First Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya (1955–1957) and first Prime Minister of Malaysia (1957–1970), Malaysia's "Father of Independence".
Born on 8 February 1903 in the royal palace at Alor Setar, Kedah, son of the Sultan of Kedah, he studied early in Alor Setar, Penang, and Bangkok, and in 1920 received a state government scholarship to St Catharine's College, Cambridge University, later qualifying as a lawyer at the Inner Temple, London. In 1931 he returned to Kedah as a colonial civil servant, in 1951 was elected president of UMNO, and the following year formed the Alliance Party of UMNO, the Malayan Chinese Association, and the Malayan Indian Congress; in 1955 he won the Federation's first general election and became Chief Minister. In 1956 he went to London to negotiate the Treaty of London, and on 31 August 1957 at Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, he cried "Merdeka" (independence), proclaiming Malaya's independence; in 1963 he led the formation of the Federation of Malaysia (including Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak; Singapore left in 1965). He stepped down as prime minister in 1970 and died in Kuala Lumpur on 6 December 1990, buried in the Langgar Royal Tomb, Alor Setar.
People & stories
Places in their life
Birthplace Alor Setar (Kedah); place of proclaiming independence Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur.
People
Cultural significance
Representative of the moderate route to independence through negotiation rather than armed struggle; the Alliance Party's multi-ethnic cooperation model became the paradigm of early Malaysian politics; the cry of "Merdeka" remains the core scene of Malaysia's National Day narrative.
