Yang Amat Mulia Raja Tun Uda Raja Muhammad |
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1st Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang | |
In office 31 August 1957 – 30 August 1967 |
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Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Syed Sheh Shahabudin |
2nd Menteri Besar of Selangor | |
In office July 1949 – March 1953 |
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Preceded by | Hamzah Abdullah |
Succeeded by | Othman Muhammad |
4th Menteri Besar of Selangor | |
In office September 1954 – August 1955 |
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Preceded by | Othman Muhammad |
Succeeded by | Abdul Aziz Abdul Majid |
Personal details | |
Born |
Raja Uda bin Raja Muhammad 1894 Kuala Langat, Selangor |
Died | 17 October 1976 | (aged 81–82)
Spouse(s) | Raja Maslamah Raja Busu Tengku Badariah Tengku Puan Nor Saadah |
Residence | Seri Mutiara |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Raja Tun Sir 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 (Governor) of Penang, one of the two states in the federation without a hereditary ruler.
Raja Uda was also the grandfather of Malaysian political blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin.
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.
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.