Raja Uda


Raja Tun Uda bin Raja Muhammad, KBE, CMG was a Malaysian statesman during the country's struggle for independence and its early years of nationhood. He was a civil servant under the British colonial administration, and eventually rose to important administrative positions within the government. Upon the independence of Malaya in 1957, he became the first Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang, one of the four states in Malaysia without a hereditary ruler.
Raja Uda was also the grandfather of Malaysian political blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin.

Biography

Raja Uda was a member of the Selangor royal family, being a distant cousin of Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah and a direct descendant of the first Sultan of Selangor. He married Sultan Hisamuddin's sister, Tengku Badariah binti Sultan Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah.
Educated at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. Raja Uda joined the colonial government service in 1910 at age 16. In 1939, he was appointed as secretary to the British Resident of Selangor. He was Menteri Besar of Selangor twice, from 1949 to 1953, and again from 1954 to 1955. In between, Raja Uda served as Malayan High Commissioner in the United Kingdom. He was involved in negotiations with the British to establish the Member System in the 1950s.
In 1951, Raja Uda was appointed a CMG and appointed an Honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1953, entitling him to the style "Sir," since the Federation of Malaya was then a realm of the British Empire. Following the first ever general election in 1955, Raja Uda was appointed Speaker of the Federal Legislative Council.
On August 31, 1957, the day of independence, Raja Uda was appointed the first Governor of the state of Penang and served for ten years.
Raja Tun Uda died on October 17, 1976 and he was buried at the Selangor royal mausoleum near Sultan Sulaiman Mosque in Klang, Selangor.

Legacy

Several projects and institutions were named after him, including:
Streets
He has been awarded :

Honour of Penang