Tunku Abdul Rahman

After retiring from politics in 1971, Tunku remained active in sports and religious affairs, serving as the president of the [[Asian Football Confederation]] from 1958 to 1977, and as the first secretary-general of the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] from 1970 to 1973. He briefly returned to politics in the 1980s and opposed [[Mahathir Mohamad]] during the [[1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis]], publicly endorsing [[Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah]] and [[Parti Melayu Semangat 46]] in the [[1990 Malaysian general election|1990 general elections]]. In 1990, he died in [[Kuala Lumpur]] at the age of 87.

After retiring from politics in 1971, Tunku remained active in sports and religious affairs, serving as the president of the [[Asian Football Confederation]] from 1958 to 1977, and as the first secretary-general of the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] from 1970 to 1973. He briefly returned to politics in the 1980s and opposed [[Mahathir Mohamad]] during the [[1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis]], publicly endorsing [[Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah]] and [[Parti Melayu Semangat 46]] in the [[1990 Malaysian general election|1990 general elections]]. In 1990, he died in [[Kuala Lumpur]] at the age of 87.

==Early life==

==Early life and education==

===Childhood===

Tunku Abdul Rahman was born on 8 February 1903, in [[Alor Setar]], [[Kedah]],<ref name=EB>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-first=Dale H. |editor-last=Hoiberg |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj, Tunku |edition=15th |year=2010 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. |volume=I: A-ak Bayes |location=Chicago, Illinois |isbn=978-1-59339-837-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/21 21] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/21 }}</ref> the seventh son and one of 45 children of [[Abdul Hamid Halim of Kedah|Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah]], the 26th ruler of the Kedah Sultanate. Tunku's mother was Cik Menyelara (Nueang Nandanagara), a Thai, and the sixth wife of Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah; she was the daughter of Luang Naraborirak (Kleb Nandanagara), a district officer in Thailand.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Michael Leifer|first1=Joseph Liow|title=Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia|date=20 November 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-62233-8|page=59|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G5KLBQAAQBAJ&q=tunku+abdul+rahman+born+1903&pg=PA59|edition=Revised}}</ref> [[Cholera]] and [[malaria]] were very common in Kedah at the time and at least two of Tunku's brothers and his older sister died from cholera while Tunku himself suffered from intermittent attacks of malaria until he left for London in 1920.

Tunku Abdul Rahman was born on 8 February 1903, in [[Alor Setar]], [[Kedah]],<ref name=EB>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-first=Dale H. |editor-last=Hoiberg |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title=Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj, Tunku |edition=15th |year=2010 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. |volume=I: A-ak Bayes |location=Chicago, Illinois |isbn=978-1-59339-837-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/21 21] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/21 }}</ref> the seventh son and one of 45 children of [[Abdul Hamid Halim of Kedah|Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah]], the 26th ruler of the Kedah Sultanate. Tunku's mother was Cik Menyelara (Nueang Nandanagara), a Thai, and the sixth wife of Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah; she was the daughter of Luang Naraborirak (Kleb Nandanagara), a district officer in Thailand.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Michael Leifer|first1=Joseph Liow|title=Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia|date=20 November 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-62233-8|page=59|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G5KLBQAAQBAJ&q=tunku+abdul+rahman+born+1903&pg=PA59|edition=Revised}}</ref> [[Cholera]] and [[malaria]] were very common in Kedah at the time and at least two of Tunku's brothers and his older sister died from cholera while Tunku himself suffered from intermittent attacks of malaria until he left for London in 1920.

He received early education at the [[Alor Setar Malay Primary School]] before furthering his studies at the government English school, [[Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid|Sultan Abdul Hamid College]]. He and his siblings were later sent by his parents to [[Debsirin School]] in Bangkok. He returned home in 1915 to continue his education at the [[Penang Free School]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Cuisine of the Premiers|date=2009|publisher=ITBM|isbn=978-9-830-68395-9|pages=19–20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QkW5Ng_axaYC&q=tunku+abdul+rahman+born+1903&pg=PA19}}</ref>

He received early education at the [[Alor Setar Malay Primary School]] before furthering his studies at the government English school, [[Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid|Sultan Abdul Hamid College]]. He and his siblings were later sent by his parents to [[Debsirin School]] in Bangkok. He returned home in 1915 to continue his education at the [[Penang Free School]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Cuisine of the Premiers|date=2009|publisher=ITBM|isbn=978-9-830-68395-9|pages=19–20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QkW5Ng_axaYC&q=tunku+abdul+rahman+born+1903&pg=PA19}}</ref>

===University===

{{More citations needed section|date=August 2020}}

When the Tunku was 17, he won the Kedah State Government scholarship to further his studies at [[Cambridge University]].<ref name="biography1">{{cite web|url= http://www.biography.com/people/tunku-abdul-rahman-9174103|title= Tunku Abdul Rahman biography|author= Biography.com|access-date= 5 May 2012|archive-date= 10 July 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150710130131/http://www.biography.com/people/tunku-abdul-rahman-9174103|url-status= live}}</ref>

When the Tunku was 17, he won the Kedah State Government scholarship to further his studies at [[Cambridge University]].<ref name="biography1">{{cite web|url= http://www.biography.com/people/tunku-abdul-rahman-9174103|title= Tunku Abdul Rahman biography|author= Biography.com|access-date= 5 May 2012|archive-date= 10 July 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150710130131/http://www.biography.com/people/tunku-abdul-rahman-9174103|url-status= live}}</ref>