Installation 15 November 1984 Successor Tuanku Bainun Name Tunku Zanariah | Predecessor Tunku Puan Nora Predecessor Tengku Afzan Parents Tengku Ahmad | |
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Tenure 26 April 1984 – 25 April 1989 Tenure 11 May 1981 – 22 January 2010 Issue Tunku MariamTunku NoraniTunku Maimunah IsmailiahTunku Abdul Majid IdrisTunku Muna NajiahTunku Aminah Kalsom Spouse Iskandar of Johor (m. 1961) Grandchildren Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim Similar People Iskandar of Johor, Tunku Abdul Majid, Ibrahim Ismail of Johor, Raja Zarith Sofia, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibr | ||
Dimakamkan Selepas Zohor
Tunku Puan Zanariah (Tengku Zanariah binti Almarhum Tengku Ahmad; born 5 July 1940) is the second wife of Sultan Iskandar of Johor from their marriage in 1961 until his death in 2010. She served as Raja Permaisuri Agong between 1984 and 1989.
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Her sister, Tengku Nora, was married to her father-in-law, Sultan Ismail.
Early life
Born on 5 July 1940, in Dusun Green Palace, Pasir Mas, Kelantan, Tengku Zanariah is the seventh child of HRH Tengku Panglima Raja Kelantan from among nine siblings. She comes from the Kelantan royal family. Her father, the late Tengku Panglima Raja Ahmad was a son of HRH Al-Marhum Tengku Temenggong Kelantan Tengku Abdul Ja'far Ibni HM Long Senik Mulut Merah (Sultan Muhammad II).
Tengku Zanariah was enrolled into Sultanah Zainab School, Kelantan an elementary school where she studied from 1946 to 1949. Between 1950 and 1952 she studied at the Convent Bukit Nanas in Kuala Lumpur before returning to Kelantan where she continued her studies at Sultan Ibrahim School, Pasir Mas. With the encouragement of her father and her own desire to equip herself for the future, she left for England in 1954 to further her studies at the Upper Chime School, Isle of Wight.
While studying in England, Tengku Zanariah met Tunku Iskandar (later Sultan Iskandar) who was also studying there. They later married in 1961, and became the mother of Tunku Iskandar's six children.
Sultanah of Johor
Her husband became Sultan of Johor in 1981. Although she was known as Sultanah, she was never formally crowned.
In 1982, Tunku Zanariah sponsored and established the Majlis Wanita Negeri Johor or MAWAR (the Women's Council of Johor), which organises various religious activities such as the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday at its headquarters at Sungai Cat Road in Johor Bahru. MAWAR also collected donations for distribution among flood victims in Johor as well as the less fortunate and the needy.
Her husband died in 2010 and was succeeded by her stepson Tunku Ibrahim Ismail. In 2011, a government circular issued removed the honorific 'Sultanah' from her name, and instructed that she be referred to instead as 'Tunku Puan Zanariah' or simply 'Tunku Zanariah'. The current royal court also does not recognise her as a former holder of the title Sultanah of Johor.
Interests
Tunku Zanariah has a passion for the arts. She also loves cooking and takes great care in her daily chores. She pays special attention to the selection and arrangement of decorations in the palace particularly in preparation for official dinners. Tunku Zanariah also loves reading especially about culture, history and affairs of neighbouring countries.
She was also the winner of the first edition of Miss Malaysia-International 1960 where she was represented Malaysia in Miss International 1960 in United States. Unfortunately, she did not placed in the pageant that time.
In her leisure, Tunku Zanariah engages in a variety of physical activities, including exercising, horseback riding, and playing golf or tennis. She also exhibits proficiency in water skiing. In her youth, she accomplished the feat of climbing Gunung Ledang, the tallest mountain in Johor.