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Lady of the Hour

It was an occasion like no other, as guests arrived at the Royal Lake Club to celebrate the 97th birthday of HRH Tuanku Najihah Tunku Besar Burhanuddin, the beloved matriarch of the Negeri Sembilan royal family. This intimate dinner party attended by immediate family members and close friends was the highlight of the week for Tuanku Najihah’s children, whose frequent travels have often kept them from all being in the same country at any given time. The six siblings comprising Tunku Dara Tunku Tan Sri Naquiah, Tunku Dato’ Seri Utama Naquiyuddin, Tunku Tan Sri Imran, Tunku Puteri Tunku Puan Sri Jawahir, Tunku Dato’ Seri Nadzaruddin and Tunku Dato’ Seri Irinah were happy and grateful to be able to honour this milestone in their mum’s life all together.

“We wanted to make the most of this precious time with her,” says Tunku Dara Naquiah. “I still remember when we were about four or five years old, she would sew our clothes herself and cook for us too—all this as a diplomat’s wife. My father was always working, so she took it upon herself.”

“Ask any of her children, her grandchildren or even her great-grandchildren, and they’ll all say the same thing: she’s kind, loving and caring—everything a mother should be and more,” adds Tunku Datuk Mudzaffar fondly of his mother-in-law.

“When I was still in boarding school in England, I would write letters to her every week,” muses Tunku Dato’ Seri Nadzaruddin. “My fondest memory was coming back from school for the holidays and seeing her.”