Tunku Abdul Rahman
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Died when: 87 years 301 days (1053 months)Star Sign: Aquarius
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah (Jawi: تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه; 8 February 1903 – 6 December 1990) was a Malaysian statesman and lawyer who served as the 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia and the head of government of its predecessor states from 1955 to 1970.
He was the first chief minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955 to 1957.He supervised the independence process that culminated on 31 August 1957.
As Malaya's first prime minister he dominated politics there for the next 13 years.In 1963, he successfully incorporated the Federation of Malaya, British North Borneo (renamed Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore into the state of Malaysia.
However, tensions between the Malay and Chinese communities resulted in in 1965.His poor performance during race riots in Kuala Lumpur in 1969 led to his resignation in 1970.
Commonly known simply as "Tunku" (a Malay royal title), Tunku Abdul Rahman is widely regarded, even by his critics, as Malaysia's "founding father", the architect of Malayan independence and of the formation of Malaysia.
As such, he is often referred to as Father of Independence (Bapa Kemerdekaan) or Father of Malaysia (Bapa Malaysia).