A member of the Malaysian Royal family has been conferred with an honorary degree from the University of Nottingham.
His Royal Highness Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj Ibni Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj was presented with the honour by Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West during one of three ceremonies involving 250 new graduates.
The honour was made to His Royal Highness in celebration of his contributions to Malaysian administration and sports.
University of Nottingham Malaysia Provost and CEO Professor Graham Kendall said: “An honorary degree is the highest honour awarded by the University and today we are delighted to present this award to the Sultan of Selangor who is a worthy recipient.
“He has made significant contributions in Malaysian public administration. He is an active sportsman and has undertaken a number of car rallies, including twice completing the Peking to Paris rally, as well as completing significant sailing and mountain climbing challenges. We are extremely proud, and honoured, to welcome His Royal Highness to our family."
HRH is the eldest child of His Royal Highness Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj and Her Highness Paduka Bonda Raja Selangor, Raja Saidatul Ihsan binti Tengku Badar Shah.
On September 1960, when he was 15 years old, he was proclaimed as the Raja Muda (Crown Prince) of Selangor and was officially installed in an oath-taking ceremony at Alam Shah Palace in Klang in 1970.
His Royal Highness was proclaimed as the ninth Sultan of Selangor on 22 November 2001 upon the death of his father. He was then officially installed at a Coronation ceremony steeped in tradition in the Balairung Seri in Alam Shah Palace in Klang on 8 March 2003.
He gained his early education at the Jalan Raja Muda Malay Primary School and at St John’s Institution in Kuala Lumpur and continued his secondary education at Hale School in Perth, Australia and at Langhurst College in Surrey, England.
In 1968, His Royal Highness returned home and served in the Government Administration where his first role was in the State Secretariat of Selangor. He also served in the Kuala Lumpur District Office and the Royal Police Department in Kuala Lumpur which allowed him to gain experience and knowledge of government administration.
As the Raja Muda of Selangor, His Royal Highness has also been appointed the Regent of Selangor and has represented his father on numerous occasions at the Conference of Rulers. On 24 April 1999, he was appointed as the Regent of Selangor again when his father was appointed as the 11th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
In academia, His Royal Highness was appointed as Pro-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi MARA in 2000, and he was awarded the Honorary Doctorate of Public Administration the following year. On 1 April 2002, he was appointed as Chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and still holds this post.
In the military field, His Royal Highness was Commissioned by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and gazetted as an Honorary Major in the Territorial Army in 1974. In 1998, he was also appointed as The Honorary Commander of The Royal Malaysian Navy Volunteer Reserve and eventually as the Captain-In-Chief of The Royal Malaysian Navy with the rank of Captain in 2002. In 2012, he was conferred the "Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur" decoration by the President of France.
As an avid sportsman, in 1987 HRH was appointed as the Honorary Life President of the Football Association of Selangor (FAS). He has also taken part in numerous adventures including trans-continental vintage car rallies. This includes successfully completing the Peking to Paris Vintage Car Rally in 1997 in a 1932 Ford Model B and again in 2007 in a 1940 Chevrolet Fangio Coupe. In 2015, he also participated in the Road to Mandalay Rally from Singapore to Burma in a 1956 Jaguar XK140. In 1995 and 1996, His Royal Highness circumnavigated the globe in his 68-foot sailing yacht, S.Y. Jugra for 22 months for a total distance of 27,940 nautical miles.
He has been recognised in the Malaysia Book of Records as The First Member of the Malaysian Royal Family To Sail Around The World and The First Member of the Malaysian Royal Family To Complete The Peking-Paris Motor Challenge.
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