Syed Nasir Ismail

Syed Nasir bin Syed Ismail (Arabic: سيد ناصر بن سيد إسماعيل‎ Sayyid Nāṣir bin ʼIsmāʻīl; 7 March 1921[1]– 16 March 1982) was a Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. During his lifetime, he was known as a nationalist who sought to fight for the primacy of the national language 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 (UMNO) – the leading party of the governing Barisan Nasional coalition – he served as the 5th Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat from 1978 till his death in 1982.

Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Syed Nasir Syed Ismail SSM PMN PPM SPMJ SSIJ
5th Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat
In office 9 January 1978 – 16 March 1982
Monarch	Yahya Petra Ahmad Shah
Prime Minister	Hussein Onn Mahathir Mohamad
Preceded by	Nik Ahmad Kamil Nik Mahmud
Succeeded by	Mohamed Zahir Ismail
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Pagoh
In office 1974–1978
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Muhyiddin Yassin
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Muar Dalam
In office 1971–1974
Preceded by	Aziz Ishak
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
2nd Director of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
In office 1957–1969
Preceded by	Ungku Abdul Aziz
Succeeded by	Ali Ahmad
Personal details
Born	7 March 1921 Batu Pahat, Johor
Died	16 March 1982 (aged 61) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Resting place	Makam Pahlawan, Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur
Political party	UMNO
Spouse(s)	Sharifah Aishah Syed Mohamad
Children	10

He was born in Batu Pahat,[1] Johor, Malaysia, and is of Hadhrami Arab descent.

Awards and recognitions

Honours of Malaysia

•  Malaya : Companion of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (J.M.N.) (1961)[2]
•  Malaysia : Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (P.M.N.) (1971)[3]
•  Malaysia : Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (S.S.M.) (1982)[4]

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

References

1. John Victor Morais (1969). Who's Who, Malaysia and Singapore. Who's Who Publications. p. 296.
2. "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".
3. "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".
4. "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1982" (PDF).