Sharifah Rodziah Syed Alwi Barakbah

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First Lady of Malaysia
Tun Sharifah Rodziah Syed Alwi Barakbah
In office August 31, 1957 – September 22, 1970
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Tun Rahah Tan Sri Noah

Born	1920
Died	March 12, 2000 (aged 80) Penang, Malaysia
Spouse	Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj
Children	Sulaiman, Mariam, Sharifah Hanizah and Faridah
Religion	Islam

Tun Sharifah Rodziah Syed Alwi Barakbah was the third wife of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the founding father and first Prime Minister of Malaysia. She served as First Lady of Malaysia.

Born in 1920, Sharifah Rodziah is of Arab-Malay descent (See Arab Singaporean). She was actually the younger sister of Tunku's university mate in England, Syed Omar Barakbah.

Tunku and Sharifah Rodziah got married in 1939 when he returned to Kedah from England upon hearing news that war was about to erupt in Europe. She became Tunku's third wife after the death of Meriam Chong and his divorce from Violet Coulson. However, the marriage did not result in any offspring. Sharifah Rodziah became a loving stepmother to Tunku's children from his first marriage to Meriam Chong. They later adopted four children, Sulaiman, Mariam, Sharifah Hanizah (who was also his granddaughter) and Faridah.

Tunku Abdul Rahman's eldest daughter, Tunku Khadijah said in an interview to the The Star that Sharifah Rodziah “loved my father dearly to a fault. She did not want to share him with anyone else".

Sharifah Rodziah played an important role in rallying political support for her husband during Malaysia's tumultuous formative years. She later served as First Lady of Malaysia when he became Prime Minister.

She passed away due to pneumonia, in Penang, on March 12, 2000 at the age of 80 years old.