Badlishah of Kedah

Sultan Sir Badlishah ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah KCMG KBE (17 March 1894 – 13 July 1958) was the 27th Sultan of Kedah, a present Malaysian state, between 1943 and 1958. He succeeded the throne upon the death of his father, Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah. He was the elder paternal brother of the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Sultan Badlishah also served as regent of Kedah between 1937 and 1943. In 1943, he was deposed by the Imperial Japanese Army, but was reinstated following their surrender and the end of the Japanese occupation of Malaya in 1945.

Sultan Badlishah was married twice. His first marriage was to Tunku Sofiah binti Almarhum Tunku Mahmud (born 1899) in 1924. The marriage produced an heir, who was the fifth and fourteenth King of Malaysia and the Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah. Tunku Sofia died in 1934 caused by an automobile accident.

• Tunku Abdul Hamid (born 1922, died young)
• Tunku Hamidah (22 September 1924 - 4 November 2015)
• Tuanku Abdul Halim (28 November 1927 - 11 September 2017) - Sultan of Kedah from 1958 to 2017 and twice Yang di-Pertuan Agong from 1970 to 1975 and from 2011 to 2016
• Tunku Abdul Malik (24 September 1929 - 29 November 2015), Raja Muda from 1960 to 2015
• Tunku Sakinah (11 November 1932)
• Tunku Mansur (29 December 1934 - 18 August 1935)

Sultan Badlishah's second marriage in 1934 was to Tunku Asma binti Almarhum Sultan Badrul Alam Shah (1911-1994), a Terengganu princess of the Bendahara dynasty. She served as Sultanah of Kedah and gave birth to a number of children:

• Tunku Hosna (born 25 January 1937)
• Tunku Annuar (30 June 1939 - 21 May 2014)
• Tuanku Sallehuddin (born 30 April 1942) - Sultan of Kedah from September 2017 onwards, Raja Muda from 2015 to 2017
• Tunku Bisharah (born 18 October 1944)
• Tunku Kamaliah (born 6 June 1947)
• Tunku Badriatul Jamal (born 1 September 1949)
• Tunku Nafisah (born 20 June 1952)
• Tunku Abdul Hamid Thani (born 18 June 1954)

Sultan Badlishah died on 13 July 1958 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah.

Honours of Kedah

• Founding Grand Master of the State of Kedah Star of Valour (BKK, 30 October 1952 - 13 July 1958)
• Founding Grand Master of the Kedah Supreme Order of Merit (KOM, 30 October 1952 - 13 July 1958)
• Founding Grand Master of the State of Kedah Star of Gallantry (BPK, 30 October 1952 - 13 July 1958)

Foreign Honours

•  Thailand :
  • Companion of the Order of the Crown of Thailand
  • Companion of the Order of the White Elephant
•  United Kingdom :
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)-1941
  • Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG)-1948(CMG-1936)
  • King George V Silver Jubilee Medal-1935
  • King George VI Coronation Medal-1937
  • Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal-1953