Tun Syed Nasir bin Syed Ismail ( ar, سيد ناصر بن سيد إسماعيل '; 7 March 1921– 16 March 1982) was a

Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat The Speaker of the House of Representatives ( ms, Yang di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat) is the highest-ranking presiding officer of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. He is responsible for convening sessions of the Dewan Raky ...

, the lower house of the

Parliament of Malaysia The Parliament of Malaysia ( ms, Parlimen Malaysia) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, lit. "People's Assembly") and the D ...

. During his lifetime, he was known as a nationalist who sought to fight for the primacy of the

national language A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...

in Malaysia as a means to create a national identity through the closing down of public-funded Mandarin and Tamil vernacular schools. Tun Syed Nasir sees a common education system for all as a solution to this dilemma. A prominent politician from the

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation ( Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its ...

(UMNO) – the leading party of the governing

Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...

coalition – he served as the 5th Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat from 1978 till his death in 1982. He was born in

Batu Pahat The Batu Pahat District is a district in the state of Johor, Malaysia. It lies southeast of Muar, southwest of Kluang, northwest of Pontian, south of Segamat and Tangkak District. The capital of the district is Bandar Penggaram. Geography ...

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime b ...

, Malaysia, and is of Hadhrami Arab descent.

Awards and recognitions

Honours of Malaysia

* : ** Companion of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...

(JMN) (1961) * : **

Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Silver) (PPM) (1965) ** Commander of the

(PMN) – Tan Sri (1971) **

Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (SSM) – Tun (1982) * : ** My-KEL_Order_of_the_Life_of_the_Crown_of_Kelantan_2006

Recipient of the Star of Sultan Ismail (BSI) ** Sultan_Ibrahim_Coronation_Medal_ribbon

Recipient of the Sultan Ibrahim Medal (PIS) **

Knight Grand Companion of the

Order of Loyalty of Sultan Ismail of Johor The Order of the Loyalty of Sultan Ismail (''Darjah Setia Sultan Ismail Johor Yang Amat di-Berkati'') is a knighthood order of the sultanate of Johor. History The Order has been founded in 1975. Classes The Order has the following classes of ...

(SSIJ) – Dato' ** Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor - ribbon bar

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato' * : ** MY-PAH_Order_of_the_Crown_of_Pahang_-_Grand_Knight_-_SIMP

Grand Knight of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (SIMP) – formerly ''Dato, now Dato' Indera (1980) * : ** MY-PERL Order of the Crown of Perlis - Knight Commander - DPMP

Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Perlis (DPMP) – Dato'

Places named after him

Several places were named after him, including: * Kolej Tun Syed Nasir, a residential college at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor * Kolej Tun Syed Nasir, a residential college at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor * Politeknik Tun Syed Nasir Syed Ismail in Muar, Johor * Taman Tun Syed Nasir, a residential area in Muar, Johor * Kampung Kenangan Tun Syed Nasir in Muar, Johor * Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tun Syed Nasir Ismail , Johor Bahru (SMKTSNI)

References

1921 births 1982 deaths Speakers of the Dewan Rakyat Malaysian people of Yemeni descent People from Batu Pahat Hadhrami people People from Johor Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims United Malays National Organisation politicians Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Companions of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor {{Malaysia-politician-stub