Sultanah Nur Zahirah

Sultanah Nur Zahirah (Jawi: سلطانه نور ظاهيره; née Rozita binti Adil Bakeri; born 7 December 1973) is the current Sultanah of Terengganu. She was the 13th Raja Permaisuri Agong (High Queen Consort) of Malaysia from 2006 to 2011.

Early life

Born Rozita binti Adil Bakeri on 7 December 1973 in Alor Star, Kedah, Malaysia. She received her primary school education at Sekolah Kebangsaan St. Nicholas' Convent, and her secondary school education at SMK St. Nicholas' Convent, both in Alor Star, Kedah, where she was a student librarian and Girl Guides member.

Royal life

She married Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu on 28 March 1996 in Kuala Terengganu. She was then known as Cik Puan Sri Rozita Adil Bakeri.

She was accorded the title Permaisuri Nur Zahirah on 19 July 1998, after Tuanku Mizan was proclaimed the Sultan of Terengganu. Later, her title was changed to Sultanah Nur Zahirah on 5 June 2006 in accordance with the Sultan's wishes.

She was conferred the dignitary titles of the Bintang Kebesaran Darjah Seri Setia Sultan Mahmud Terengganu Yang Amat Mulia Darjah Yang Pertama (D.K.) known as Order of Royal Family on 16 January 1999 and Darjah Kebesaran Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Terengganu Yang Amat Terpilih (S.S.M.Z.) or Grand Order of Sultan Mizan of Terengganu. The most recent dignitary title awarded to Her Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong was the Darjah Utama Seri Mahkota Negara (D.M.N.) – Grand Order of Nation Crown on 5 April 2007.

Family life

The royal couple have four children:

• Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Nadhirah Zaharah, the Tengku Puteri Utama Raja, (born 18 December 1996).
• Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Tengku Muhammad Ismail, the Yang di-Pertuan Muda (born 1 March 1998).
• Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Muhammad Mua′az, the Tengku Sri Setia Mahkota Raja (born 22 December 2000).
• Yang Amat Mulia Tengku Fatimatuz Zahra, the Tengku Puteri Daulath Raja (born 19 April 2002).

Hobbies and Interests

The Queen loves interior decoration and does much of the interior design at the palace. She loves to cook, especially dishes that are the favourites of her husband and family. Tuanku Nur Zahirah also loves to read books, specially concerning intelligence quotient and emotional quotient. The Sultanah is also interested in martial arts, as the activity keeps a person body fit and trim. She spends her free time by taking part in exercises such as aerobics. She also likes strenuous sports, such as endurance horse riding, which is the favourite of the Sultan. The Sultanah is her husband's number one supporter when he takes part in such races locally or overseas.

Social Contribution

She played a major role during the Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake by collecting donations which were successfully distributed to victims through both the Acheh and Kedah governments. The list of generosity of the Seri Paduka Baginda Tuanku includes involving herself with programmes to assist the poor and those with special needs.

In 2006, the Yayasan DiRaja Sultan Mizan, a local foundation of the Royal Family of Terengganu, represented by the queen distributed milk bottle especially for cleft-lipped babies, breast pumps for mothers and related devices to help people with eyesight problems through Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah.

She is the patron of various organisations, uniformed bodies and educational institutions in the Terengganu State. The organisations under the Sultanah consist of:

• Majlis Kebajikan dan Pembangunan Masyarakat (for social welfare and development).
• Pertubuhan Kebajikan Anak Yatim Terengganu (known as PERKAYA for the welfare of orphans).
• Persatuan Hospis Terengganu.
• Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru SK Pusat Bukit Besar, Terengganu.
• Girl Guide Association of Terengganu.

She is also the Chancellor of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT).

Another important accomplishment is the Tadika An Nur, a well established pre-school in Terengganu pioneered by Seri Paduka Baginda Tuanku. This pre-school prospered when she planned to give an early form of education for her children. She is currently the Patron of Tadika An Nur which has now been opened to the public.

Awards and recognitions

Tuanku Nur Zahirah was conferred with an honorary doctorate in management at a special convocation of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. She received the degree from Tuanku Mizan, who is the university's chancellor. In her speech at the event, she urged the people of Terengganu to take the initiative to emulate the excellent accomplishments of past Muslim scholars in fields of knowledge, especially in science and technology.

She was awarded:

Terengganu honours

Malaysian honours

•  Malaysia :

•  Kedah :

Foreign honours

•  Thailand : Grand Cordon of the Order of Chula Chom Klao
•  Brunei : Sultan of Brunei Golden Jubilee Medal (5 October 2017)

Places named after her

Several places were named after her, including:

• Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu
• Sultanah Nur Zahirah Mosque in Marang, Terengganu
• SK Permaisuri Nur Zahirah, a primary school in Besut, Terengganu
• SMK Permaisuri Nur Zahirah, a secondary school in Besut, Terengganu

Trivia

Sultanah Nur Zahirah is the second Raja Permaisuri Agong after Permaisuri Siti Aishah of Selangor who wears the headscarf (tudong) on a daily basis. She is also the third commoner to become the Raja Permaisuri Agong, after Tuanku Bainun binti Mohamad Ali of Perak and Tuanku Permaisuri Siti Aishah of Selangor.