Lady Meriam Chong Abdullah, also known as Chong Ah Mei or Mariam Abdullah, was the first wife of

Tunku Abdul Rahman Tunku Abdul Rahman (8 February 19036 December 1990), commonly referred to as Tunku, was a Malaysian statesman who served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1957 to 1970. He previously served as the only chief minister of Federation of Malaya ...

, who later became the founding father and the first

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia, federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a membe ...

Early life

Lady Meriam was the daughter of a

tin mining Tin mining began early in the Bronze Age, as bronze is a copper-tin alloy. Tin is a relatively rare element in the Earth's crust, with approximately 2 ppm (parts per million), compared to iron with 50,000 ppm. History Tin extraction and use ca ...

tycoon, Chong Ah Yong, who was also a friend of the Tunku. She was of

Thai Chinese Thai Chinese (also known as Chinese Thais, Sino-Thais) are persons of Chinese people, Chinese descent in Thailand. Thai Chinese are the largest mixed group in the country and the largest overseas Chinese community in the world with a popul ...

heritage but converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

upon marriage to Tunku in 1933.

Marriage

met Meriam in

Kulim The Kulim District is a district and town in the state of Kedah, Malaysia. It is located on the southeast of Kedah, bordering Penang. The town of Kulim, a mere east of Penang's capital city, George Town, also forms part of the George Town Conu ...

, where he had just been transferred as Assistant District Officer. Some historical reports state that Meriam was personally chosen by Tunku's mother, Che Menjalara who was of Thai descent herself. According to reports, Che Menjalara forced Tunku to marry her, despite Tunku's refusal to do so. However, in the end they were married according to royal customs at the Kedah palace. Other reports state that they were married by the local Kadi in Tunku's government quarters. Soon after Meriam's conversion to

she learnt to pray and when the fasting month began, she persuaded Tunku to do so too. Their marriage resulted in two children, Tunku Khadijah and Tunku Ahmad Nerang. In 1935, Tunku was promoted to be District Officer of

Padang Terap The Padang Terap District is a district in Kedah, Malaysia. It is governed by the Padang Terap District Council (). Padang Terap District shares a border with Thailand to the north, and with Sik District and Pendang District to the west. It is ...

. The post of District Officer Padang Terap was an unpopular one.

Kuala Nerang Kuala Nerang is the capital of Padang Terap District, Kedah, Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy ...

was notorious for the prevalence of

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. It was here that Meriam gave birth to their second child, Tunku Ahmad Nerang.

Death

A month after Meriam gave birth to her second child, she contracted a severe attack of malaria. Although Tunku gave her the best remedies that he could obtain from

Penang Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. Th ...

, Meriam made little progress. A visiting English doctor from

Alor Setar Alor Setar ( Kedah Malay: ) is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. It is the second-largest city in the state after Sungai Petani and one of the most-important cities on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It is home to the third-tallest ...

mistakenly gave her an injection of undiluted

quinine Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to ''Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal leg ...

that killed her instantly. As it was a tragic misadventure, Tunku made no attempt to lodge an official report. Instead he wrote to the State Secretariat, asking that funds be made available to drain the swamp and to rid

of the main breeding place of the carriers of

. When he asked before, funds were denied but this time the money was provided and the work was carried out under Tunku's supervision.

References

* Putera Negara, 1987, Firma Publishing, Aziz Azarina Ahmad
50 years of Merdeka: 'Blackmail' forced Tunku's hand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meriam, Lady Spouses of prime ministers of Malaysia Malaysian people of Thai descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent

Lady Meriam Lady Meriam Chong Abdullah, also known as Chong Ah Mei or Mariam Abdullah, was the first wife of Tunku Abdul Rahman, who later became the founding father and the first Prime Minister of Malaysia. Early life Lady Meriam was the daughter of a tin mi ...

Malaysian Muslims Converts to Islam Year of birth missing