KUALA KANGSAR, July 1 — On June 20 this year, the 159th Meeting of the Dewan Negara (Council of Succession) Perak chaired by Sultan Nazrin Shah, decided that Raja Jaafar who was at that time the Raja Di-Hilir Perak be promoted as Raja Muda of Perak, and Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain who was then the Raja Kechil Besar Perak, as Raja Di-Hilir Perak with immediate effect.

Raja Jaafar, 73, was born on Sep 26, 1941 in Taiping and had his early education at Anderson School, Ipoh and Anglo-Chinese School, Teluk Intan before studying for his bachelor’s degree at Universiti Malaya and then his master’s degree in Public Administration at Cornell University, United States.

Raja Jaafar was sworn in as Raja Di-Hilir Perak on March 10, 1998 after he was appointed to the royal post by the Dewan Negara Perak to replace Raja Ahmad Hisham Raja Abdul Malek who passed away on Sept 21, 1997.

Raja Jaafar is the son of the late Perak Raja Muda, Raja Datuk Musa Sultan Abdul Aziz and Cik Puan Mariam Abdullah.

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He and Raja Puan Besar Perak Raja Nor Mahani have a son, Raja Shah Azman, 40, and a daughter, Raja Nor Azwina, 38.

Raja Jaafar has had wide experience in public administration, including as a management consultant at the Prime Minister’s Department, under-secretary at the Higher Education Division of the Education Ministry, secretary of the Foreign Investment Committee at the Economic Planning Unit and deputy secretary-general (Development and Finance) of the Defence Ministry before retiring from government service in 1996.

Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain, 59, was born on Feb 8, 1955 in Kuala Kangsar and is the son of the 33rd Sultan of Perak, the late Sultan Idris Shah and Raja Perempuan Perak, the late Raja Muzwin Raja Ariff Shah.

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His marriage to Tunku Soraya has been blessed with three sons, Raja Nabil Imran, Raja Idris Shah and Raja Saifuddin, and two daughters, Raja Sarina Intan Bahiyah and Raja Safia Azizah.

Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain received his early education at Clifford School, Kuala Kangsar and continued his studies in London.

In 1984, he was appointed as Raja Kechil Bongsu, the sixth and last in line to the Perak throne, and three years later, he was elevated to the next position as Raja Kechil Tengah.

In 1998, Raja Iskandar Dzulkarnain was made Raja Kechil Sulong and 12 years later, he was appointed as Raja Kechil Besar Perak. — Bernama