Malaysian queen discusses her Chinese roots and lending money to Robert Kuok
- Tunka Azizah was speaking days before July 30 installation ceremony of her husband as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong
- She discussed her Chinese heritage, which she can trace back to Guangdong, and her ability to speak Cantonese and well as some Hokkien
Tunka Azizah, the Malaysian Raja Permaisuri Agong, spoke to Chinese media days before the July 30 installation ceremony of her husband, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong and took the opportunity to explain her Chinese heritage.
“I am Cantonese. I can speak a bit of the dialect and also some Hokkien. I am a Raja Permaisuri Agong with Chinese parentage,” she said told the Sin Chew daily, adding that her roots go back to Guangdong.
Tunka Azizah is the daughter of the late Johor Ruler Sultan Iskandar and the sister of current Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar. Recounting her family history going back to 1885, she said the late Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor married the daughter of a Chinese merchant, Wong Ah Gew and added that this daughter became Sultanah Fatimah.
“That’s where I got my Chinese lineage from,” she said, adding that Sultanah Fatimah was from a very rich merchant family in Singapore.
Tunku Azizah said that although Sultanah Fatimah had no sons, she ensured her Chinese heritage remained in the Johor royal family by arranging for her two daughters to be married to members of the royal family in the state.
She also revealed that Malaysian tycoon Robert Kuok, whom she met six years ago, had borrowed US$3,000 from the Johor royal family to start his business when he was young. She said the Johor royal family was close to Kuok, whose parents supplied daily necessities to the army at that time.
“I don’t remember the details, but I know my grandmother took my father’s – Sultan Iskandar’s – savings and gave it to him,” she said. “I believed he has already returned the money. At that time, US$3,000 dollars was a large amount.”