KEDAH

BRIEF HISTORY

The Royal House of Kedah is of great antiquity, originating in the Hindu age, and said to have been founded by a Prince from Sri Lanka. Eight generations of the family ruled over the state before the conversion to Islam in 1136. The state frequently fell to superior Siamese forces. Fearing another such invasion, Sultan Abdullah al-Mukarram Shah negotiated a Treaty of Friendship and Alliance with the HEIC in 1786, this entailed the cession of Pinang. The Siamese were forestalled for a time, but struck hard in 1821 and annexed the sultanate. After a severe financial crisis, Kedah was transferred to British sovereignty on 16^th July 1909. The then Sultan, Ahmad Taj ud-din III al-Mukarram Shah, had already reigned for 27 years and was set to reign for a further 34. Without financial acumen of any kind, a series of Royal Regents ruled in his stead for much of his reign. During the Japanese invasion, the seventy-seven year old Sultan fled into the jungles on the back of one of his eighteen sons. One of these was to become the first Prime Minister of the Malaya and Commonwealth and world-famous statesman, Tunku ‘Abdu’l Rahman. Others were distinguished diplomats, civil servants and military officers. Sultan Ahmad Taj ud-din’s grandson, Sultan al-Mu’tasimu Billah Muhib ud-din Alhaj ‘Abdu’l Halim Mu’azzam Shah, ascended the throne in 1958 and served as King of the Federation from 1970 to 1975.

STYLES & TITLES:
The ruling prince: Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Sultan dan Yang di-Pertuan Negara Kedah Dar ul-Aman, i.e. Sultan and Head of the State of Kedah, with the style of His Royal Highness.
The principal Royal consort of the ruling prince: Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Tuanku Sultanah (personal name) binti (father’s title and name), Sultanah Negeri Kedah, i.e. Sultana of Kedah, with the style of Her Royal Highness.
The Heir Apparent: Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Tuanku Raja Muda Kedah Dar ul-Aman, i.e. the Heir Apparent of Kedah, with the style of His Highness.
The Royal consort of the Heir Apparent: Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Tuanku Raja Puan Muda Kedah Dar ul-Aman, i.e. the Raja Puan Muda of Kedah, with the style of Her Highness.
The non-Royal consort of the Heir Apparent: Yang Amat Berbahagia Toh Puan Muda Kedah Dar ul-Aman.
The Heir Presumptive: Yang Teramat Mulia Tunku Bendahara Kedah Dar ul-Aman.
The Royal consort of Heir Presumptive: Yang Teramat Mulia Tunku Puan Bendahara Kedah Dar ul-Aman.
The non-Royal consort of the Heir Presumptive: Yang Amat Berbahagia Toh Puan Kedah Dar ul-Aman.
The Regent: Duli Yang Maha Mulia Pemangku Raja Negara Kedah Dar ul-Aman, i.e. the Prince Regent of Kedah, with the style of His Highness.
The sons of the ruler: Yang Teramat Mulia Tunku (personal name) bin Sultan (father’s name).
The daughters of the ruler: Yang Teramat Mulia Tunku (personal name) binti Sultan (father’s name).
The grandsons of the ruler, in the male line: Yang Teramat Mulia Tunku (personal name) bin Tunku (father’s name).
The granddaughters of the ruler, in the male line: Yang Teramat Mulia Tunku (personal name) binti Tunku (father’s name).
Other male members of the Royal family, descended in the male line: Yang Mulia Tunku (personal name) bin Tunku (father’s name).
Other female members of the Royal family, descended in the male line: Yang Mulia Tunku (personal name) binti Tunku (father’s name).
The junior wives of the ruling prince, the Heir Apparent and other princes: Yang Mulia Che’ (personal name) binti (father’s title and name).

RULES OF SUCCESSION:
The Laws of the Constitution of Kedah (1950) Article 17 specifies the person to be appointed Sultan must be a Malay male who is a descendent of Kedah rulers. He must be a Muslim of the Ahli Sunnah Waljuaah (Sunni) sect. Succession is hereditary among the descendants Sultan Badlishah, the successor being the eldest male in the male line of descent.

ORDERS & DECORATIONS:
See separate link below.

SOURCES:
Haji Buyong Adil. Sejarah Kedah. Siri Sejarah Nusantara. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 1980.
John Bastin and R. Roolvink (eds.). Malayan and Indonesian Studies, Essays presented to Sir Richard Winstedt on his eighty-fifth brithday. Oxford University Press, London, 1964.
Ensiklopedia Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Melayu, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 1995.
Prof. P.E. de Josselin de Jong, "Who’s Who in the Malay Annals", Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume XXXIV, Part 2, 1961.
Kedah Dari Segi Sejarah, Majallah Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia: Kedah in History. Kedah Branch of the Malaysian Historical Society, 1968-1976. Alor Star, Kedah.
Cyril Skinner and Justin Corfield. Rama III and the Siamese Expedition to Kedah in 1839, The Dispatches of Luang Udomsombat. Monash Papers on Southeast Asiah - No. 30. Centre for South East Asian Studies, Monash University, Clayton, 1993.
Kobkua Suwannathat-Pian., "Phongsawadan Muang Zaibudri (The Chronicle of Negeri Kedah)", Jebat: Jurnal Jabatan Sejarah (Journal of the Department of History), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, No. 18, 1990, pp. 89-118.
The Leaders of Malaya and Who’s Who 1957-1958, J. Victor Morais, Kuala Lumpur, 1958.
Who’s Who in Malaysia and guide to Singapore, J. Victor Morais, Kuala Lumpur, 1967-1978.
Sir Richard Winstedt, KBE, CMG, D.Litt. Notes on the History of Kedah, Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XIV, Part 3, 1936.

KEDAH 2	KEDAH 3	KEDAH 4	KEDAH 5
KEDAH 6	KEDAH 7	KEDAH 8	KEDAH 9
KEDAH 10	KEDAH 11	KEDAH 12	GLOSSARY
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