PETALING JAYA: The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, 86, who passed away yesterday, was the only ruler who had held the top post of Lord President in the country’s judiciary.
Remembered as a stern and firm Lord President (1982-1984) before he became sultan, he was also known as a compassionate, concerned and forgiving ruler, Bernama reported.
Sultan Azlan Shah who was born on April 19, 1928 in Kampung Manggis, Batu Gajah, Perak was also known to place importance on discipline, cleanliness and punctuality.
He was a child of Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah (reigned 1948-1963) and his commoner wife, Toh Puan Dewangsa Khadijah Ahmad.
Sultan Azlan Shah studied law at the University of Nottingham, UK. In 1965, he became the youngest High Court judge in the Commonwealth at the age of 37. In 1973, he was made a Federal Court judge and in 1979, was appointed Chief Justice of Malaya.
He reached the pinnacle of his career in the judiciary when he was appointed Lord President of the Federal Court of Malaysia on Nov 12, 1982, the youngest ever.
Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria said during his tenure as Judge and Chief Justice, Sultan Azlan had written many landmark rulings especially on constitutional and administrative law.
Among landmark cases handed down by Sultan Azlan Shah while he was Chief Justice was on judicial control of administrative action in a case, Pengarah Tanah dan Galian Wilayah Persekutuan vs Sri Lempah Enterprise Sdn Bhd in 1979.
In the judgment, Sultan Azlan Shah had held that “The courts are the only defence of the liberty of the subject against departmental aggression … that public bodies must be compelled to observe the law and it is essential that bureaucracy should be kept in its place”.
Sultan Azlan Shah resigned in 1984 after being in the judicial and legal service for 30 years when he was elevated to the Perak royal throne.
The then Raja Azlan Shah was installed as the Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of Perak on July 1, 1983 but within six months on Feb 3, 1984, he succeeded Sultan Idris Shah II following the latter’s demise.
On April 26, 1989, Sultan Azlan Shah was installed as the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia. He served the full five-year term and returned as Sultan of Perak in 1994.
He was active in sports in his young days and competed in hockey, football, athletics and cricket, and was later involved in sports bodies. He was the chef de mission of the Malaysian contingent to the Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada in 1976.
The late Perak Sultan was particularly active in hockey and he was president of the Malaysian Hockey Federation until 2005, and was once vice-president of the International Hockey Federation and president of the Asian Hockey Federation until his demise.
The Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament, named after him, is an annual hockey tournament held in Ipoh.
In the field of education, Sultan Azlan Shah had been the chancellor of Universiti Malaya (UM) since 1986, was pro-chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) from October 1971 until February 1984 and chairman of the Higher Education Advisory Council from November 1974 to October 1976.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature by UM in 1979 and Honorary Doctorate in Law by USM in 1980.
Sultan Azlan Shah was also recognised by several foreign universities including University of Nottingham (Hon Doctor of Law, 1986), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Hon Doctor of Law, 1990), Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (Hon Fellow, 1991) and Royal College of Surgeons of England (Hon Fellow, 1999).
He was the royal patron of several student, graduate, professional and charitable associations and clubs including the Malaysian Law Society in Great Britain and Eire, British Graduates Association, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, WWF-Malaysia and Ipoh Royal Club.
Sultan Azlan Shah leaves his consort, Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Bainun. They had five children — the Regent of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, the late Raja Ashman Shah, Raja Azureen, Raja Eleena and Raja Yong Sofia. — Bernama
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 29, 2014.