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Ungku Abdul Aziz facts for kids

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Yang Mulia Royal Professor Dr.
Ungku Abdul Aziz Ungku Abdul Hamid
Ungku Abdul Aziz.jpg
3rd Vice-Chancellor of University of Malaya
In office
October 1968 – February 1988
Preceded by J. H. E. Griffiths
Succeeded by Syed Hussein Alatas
1st Director of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
In office
1956–1957
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Syed Nasir Ismail
Personal details
Born
Ungku Abdul Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid

(1922-01-28)28 January 1922
London, England
Died 15 December 2020(2020-12-15) (aged 98)
Prince Court Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Resting place Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nationality British, Malaysian
Spouses
Sharifah Azah Mohamed Alsagoff
(m. 1946; died 2012)
Rahaiah Baheran
(m. 2014)
Children Zeti Akhtar Aziz
Education English College Johore Bahru
Alma mater University of Malaya (DipArts, BA in Economics)
Waseda University (PhD)
Occupation Economist, lecturer
Known for The only person that hold the title of Royal Professor in Malaysia

Ungku Abdul Aziz bin Ungku Abdul Hamid (28 January 1922 – 15 December 2020) was a Malaysian economist and lecturer. He was the 3rd Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malaya from 1968 to 1988 and the 1st General Director of the Council on Language and Literature of Malaysia from 1956 until 1957. He was awarded the title of Royal Professor (Profesor Diraja) in 1978.

Early life, family and education

He was born into the Johor Royal Family. His father, Ungku Abdul Hamid Ungku Abdul Majid was a Malayan prince and military officer. He was a cousin of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas and Syed Hussein Alatas as well as Sultan Ibrahim of Johor on his father's side. His father was of Malay and Turkish-(Circassian) descent, while his mother was English.

He graduated from the English college at Johore Bahru and the Malay school in Batu Pahat. He received Diploma in Arts from Raffles College, Singapore (now University of Malaya) and Bachelor of Arts in economics at University of Malaya, Singapore (now University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur) in 1951. He then defended his doctoral dissertation in Waseda University (Tokyo, Japan) in 1964.

His daughter, Zeti Akhtar Aziz, was the former governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, Malaysia's central bank.

Academic career

He worked in the state administration of Johore, in 1952–1961 as a lecturer at the University of Malaya (Singapore), with a one-year break, when he headed the Council on Language and Literature of Malaysia.

In the years 1962–1965, he was a professor and dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Malaya (Kuala Lumpur), while in 1968–1988, he was promoted to vice-chancellor of this university. He was the first Malaysian to become the vice-chancellor of University of Malaya. On his initiative, the university created the Botanical Garden, the Museum of Asian Art, the cooperative bookstore. He is the author of the economic justification of a number of industrial projects, more than 50 books and monographs on social and economic problems of Malaysia, consultant to UN specialized organizations (ILO, UNESCO, UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East).

On 17 June 1978, he was awarded the rank and title of Royal Professor (Profesor Diraja) by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia and he was the only person in Malaysia to hold that rank.

Awards

  • Rank of the Royal Professor (1978) (awarded by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia) (only in Malaysia)
  • Japan Foundation Award (1981)
  • The Fukuoka Prize (1993)
  • The title of "Outstanding Figure of the Islamic era" (Malay: Tokoh Maal Hijrah) (1997) (awarded by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia)
  • The title of "Outstanding Figure of the National Cooperative Movement" (Malay: Tokoh Koperasi Negara) (2002)
  • The Outstanding Malay Figure Award (Malay: Anugerah Melayu Terbilang) (2005)
  • National Academic Award (Malay: Anugerah Akademik Negara) (2006)
  • National Merdeka Award (2008)
  • Rochdale Award (2009)

Death

Ungku Aziz died in Prince Court Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur at 4:30 in the evening due to old age. He was 98 and is survived by his wife, Rahaiah Baheran and his only daughter, Zeti Akhtar Aziz. He was laid to rest at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur.

Namesakes

Several places were named after him, including:

  • Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Ungku Aziz (SMKUA), Sabak Bernam, Selangor
  • Balai Ungku Aziz, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya
  • Kolej Kediaman Ungku Aziz, 11th residential college at the University of Malaya
  • Jalan Prof Diraja Ungku Aziz, formerly known as Jalan Universiti and named in his honour in late 2020

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ungku Abdul Aziz para niños

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