PEKAN: Tengku Puan Pahang Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah who will be proclaimed the fifth Tengku Ampuan of Pahang on Jan 29 at Istana Abu Bakar, is a princess who is very much loved by many.
Born in Istana Stulang, Johor Bahru on Aug 5, 1960, as the third princess of the late Sultan of Johor, Sultan Iskandar Almarhum Sultan Ismail with Enche’ Hajah Kalsom Abdullah, and raised by Tunku Zanariah Tengku Ahmad, she never let her royal blood be the wall between her and the people.
The younger sister of the current Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, received her early childhood education at Sekolah Taman Kanak-Kanak Tunku Ampuan Mariam before entering primary school at Sekolah Perempuan Rendah Sultan Ibrahim, Johor Baru, and secondary school at Sekolah Tun Fatimah, also in Johor Baru.
She married the Tengku Mahkota (Crown Prince) of Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah on March 6, 1986.
The royal couple have four sons and five daughters; Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah, Tengku Puteri Iman Afzan, Tengku Puteri Ilisha Ameera, Tengku Panglima Besar Pahang Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, Tengku Puteri Ilyana, Tengku Muhammad Iskandar Ri’ayatuddin Shah, Tengku Ahmad Ismail Muadzam Shah, Tengku Puteri Afzan Aminah Hafizatullah and Tengku Puteri Jihan Azizah ‘Athiyatullah.
Tunku Azizah is also well-known for her culinary skills and has produced three cookbooks, namely ‘Air Tangan Tengku Puan Pahang’ published in 2007; ‘Air Tangan Tengku Puan Pahang: Manisan Tradisional Pahang’ and ‘Masakan Tradisional Pahang’ (2018).
In an interview with the media, Tunku Azizah had said her interest in cooking, among others, stemmed from the encouragement of her late father, Sultan Iskandar.
She said she began entering the kitchen at the age of five under the close supervision of the royal nanny and her love for cooking had even prompted her to attend informal culinary classes at the Teachers Education Institute Temenggong Ibrahim Campus (IPGKTI).
The proceeds from the sale of her books are mostly channelled to the Tunku Azizah Fertility Foundation (TAFF) established on Aug 11, 2004, to help long-married couples to conceive a child through in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
Apart from that, Tunku Azizah is also skilled in crafts and textile, with her passion for weaving being translated into the establishment of Institut Kemahiran Tenun Pahang Diraja Tengku Ampuan Besar Meriam in 2006.
She is also the Royal Patron of the Friends of Asia Pacific World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and the Vice-President of the Girl Guides Association of Malaysia.
Among other posts she holds are as chairman of the KDYTM Tengku Ampuan Pahang Badminton Association (PERTAP), chairman of the Pahang Women’s Institute, trustee of Yayasan Istana Abdulaziz and Royal Patron of AP in Hong Kong. — Bernama
