Chronology of the 10-Year Reign of Sultan Abdul Aziz, the 31st Sultan of Perak

The late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) was installed as the Sultan of Perak on August 17, 1938. His coronation ceremony took place at Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar, on March 4, 1939. He was the son of the late Raja Musa and the grandson of the late Sultan Jaafar (the 23rd Sultan of Perak).

The late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) was born in Kampung Bandar on November 14, 1887. He received his early education at the Anglo-Chinese School in Teluk Intan. Later, he continued his studies at the Central English School in Taiping and subsequently at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. At the end of 1908, after completing his studies at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar, the late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) began his service at the State Secretary's Office in Taiping and was appointed as an Officer Trainee. In 1909, the late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) served as the Assistant District Officer of Kerian in Parit Buntar, followed by a posting in Lenggong in 1911, and later in 1912, he served in Taiping as the Assistant District Officer of Larut and Matang. In 1914, the late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) was transferred to the Paddy Inspector's Office in Parit Buntar to serve as a Paddy Inspector. In 1915, he passed his law examinations and once again held the position of Assistant District Officer of Hulu Perak in Lenggong.

The late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) was a royal of noble birth who was highly experienced and possessed a broad perspective on state administration. Additionally, he was an accomplished tennis player. Following the First World War, which occurred before 1919 while the late Sultan Iskandar (the 30th Sultan of Perak) occupied the throne, the late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) was appointed as the Raja Muda and resided in Teluk Intan. From 1920 to 1925, he served in the Malayan Volunteer Infantry (Perak branch), eventually attaining the rank of Captain. On December 8, 1941, when the late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) was already the Sultan of Perak, the Second World War broke out on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. The Japanese army began landing in Patani, Senggora (Thailand), and Kota Bharu in Kelantan, before attacking the states across the Malay Peninsula.

Subsequently, the Japanese army advanced into northern Perak and successfully defeated the British forces in the state. The Japanese occupied Perak from 1942 to 1945 under the supervision of a Japanese Governor based in Ipoh. During the Japanese occupation of Perak, the movements of the late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) were constantly monitored by the Japanese military, as they suspected him of communicating and planning resistance movements with the British guerrilla forces, despite his position as the Sultan. These British guerrilla forces were known as Force 136. They began infiltrating Hulu Perak via parachutes, while others landed at the mouth of the Perak River by sea to fight the Japanese army. As is widely known, the Japanese military was extremely brutal in its governance, and the late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) strongly disapproved of their administrative methods in Perak, which caused great hardship to the people.

In November 1945, Sir Harold MacMichael, a British colonial administrator, arrived in Perak to meet the late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) in Kuala Kangsar. During the meeting, Sir Harold MacMichael pressured him to sign an agreement surrendering his governing powers to the British Government. According to the agreement, all the Malay States would be merged into a federal state called the Malayan Union. Under pressure from Sir Harold MacMichael, the late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak) signed the agreement on behalf of the Perak Government on November 22, 1945, witnessed by the late Sultan Yussuff Izzuddin Shah (the 32nd Sultan of Perak), who was then holding the title of Raja Muda, and Temenggung Haji Wan Hamaruddin, the Orang Besar Jajahan of Kuala Kangsar.

When the agreement was signed, it was said that the high-ranking officials and the people of Perak were unaware of it. The Malayan Union was established on April 1, 1946. Since the formation of the Malayan Union, all the Sultans of the affected states boycotted the inauguration ceremony of the Malayan Union Governor as a sign of protest and disagreement with the establishment of the Malayan Union. At the same time, a special political body for the Malays called the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) was established, led by Dato' Onn bin Jaafar from Johor. Its main objective was to reject the British colonizers and strongly oppose the existence of the Malayan Union, which transferred governing and administrative powers to the British Government. The establishment of the Malayan Union was seen as seizing the powers of the Malay rulers and removing the symbols of their sovereignty and the supremacy of the Malay people in their own homeland. Finally, after one year and nine months of the Malayan Union's existence, the British Government invited all the involved Sultans to gather in Kuala Lumpur on January 21, 1948, to sign an agreement known as the Federation Agreement.

The Federation Agreement essentially meant that the British Government would abolish the Malayan Union and create the Federation of Malaya. On the historic date of February 1, 1948, the Federation of Malaya government was formed, and from then on, the powers of the Malay Sultans were restored to all the affected state rulers. Not long after, the late Sultan Abdul Aziz (31st Sultan of Perak), who had reigned over Perak for 10 years, passed away due to heart failure while at a rest house in Lumut on March 26, 1948. His remains were brought back to Kuala Kangsar to be laid to rest at the Bukit Chandan Royal Mausoleum, Kuala Kangsar, Perak. The years of the late Sultan Abdul Aziz's (31st Sultan of Perak) reign were quite challenging. Starting with the Japanese occupation and then the rule of the MPAJA and communists, the British pressure for the Malayan Union, and much more. However, through his wisdom and patience, all these matters were managed well and appropriately, and it is fitting for our society today to remember his contributions during his reign. Sources, references, and images:

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