KUALA LUMPUR: Following is the official biodata of Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia as released by the Royal Press Office.
Born on Aug 14, 1959, at Batu Gajah Hospital in Perak, Her Majesty is the second daughter and the third child of the late Sultan of Perak, Paduka Seri Sultan Idris Shah II, and the late Raja Perempuan Perak, Muzwin Almarhum Raja Dato' Sri Ariff Shah.
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EDUCATION
Raja Zarith Sofiah received her early education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Datin Khadijah and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Raja Perempuan Kalsom, both in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, before continuing her studies at Cheltenham Ladies' College in England.
She attended Somerville College, University of Oxford, and obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Studies from the University of Oxford in 1983.
BESTOWED QUEEN OF JOHOR
Her Majesty was bestowed with the title Permaisuri of Johor in conjunction with the Coronation Ceremony of Sultan Ibrahim on March 23, 2015.
CHILDREN
Raja Zarith Sofiah married Sultan Ibrahim on Sept 22, 1982, when His Majesty was the Tunku Mahkota of Johor, and the royal wedding was held the following year.
The royal couple is blessed with six children -- The Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sultan Ibrahim; Tunku Tun Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah; Tunku Temenggong of Johor Tunku Idris Iskandar; the late Tunku Laksamana of Johor Tunku Abdul Jalil; Tunku Panglima of Johor Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tunku Putera of Johor Tunku Abu Bakar.
PASSION AND INTEREST
Her Majesty inherited her father's passion and talent for arts, particularly painting, and has participated in many art exhibitions, including the Yayasan Warisan Johor Art Gallery Exhibition in 2003 and an art exhibition by Maybank in Kuala Lumpur that paid tribute to three generations of Johor artists in 2004
Raja Zarith Sofiah is also a prolific writer and she once had dedicated columns called "On Common Ground" for the New Straits Times and "Mind Matters" for The Star, and in 1995, authored four children's books.
POSITION HELD
She is currently the Royal Advisor to the Malaysian Red Crescent Society and the Chairperson of a foundation named after her, Yayasan Raja Zarith Sofiah Negeri Johor (YRZSNJ).
The purpose of YRZSNJ, launched on Nov 28, 2012, is to generate funds for various educational programmes.
Her Majesty is also Universiti Teknologi Malaysia chancellor and chairperson of the Tunku Laksamana Johor Cancer Foundation.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Raja Zarith Sofiah is a royalty who is deeply involved in charitable work, especially through non-governmental organisations, and her continued and varied efforts to enhance the quality of life within the community were internationally acknowledged when she was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Nottingham in 2017.
On March 17, 2016, Her Majesty launched the "Because We Care" Chancellor's Fund to ensure the welfare of B40 students at UTM, and also the "Bangsa Johor Bahagia" Programme, specifically to assist the B40 group, on March 17, 2019.
Occasionally, Raja Zarith Sofiah is invited to deliver a keynote address or speeches at domestic and international academic conferences, where in May last year, Her Majesty delivered a keynote address at the OCIS-UTM Roundtable Conference themed "Imagining the Future: Climate Change, Health, and Food Security in Muslim Societies".
The conference was organised by UTM and the Oxford Centre of Islamic Studies (OCIS). -- BERNAMA