Sultanah Maliha

Sultanah Maliha binti Almarhum Tengku Ariff (Jawi: سلطانة مليحة بنت المرحوم تڠكو عارف; born 13 April 1949) is the current Sultanah of Malaysian State of Kedah, replacing her sister-in-law, Sultanah Haminah. She was proclaimed as the Sultanah of Kedah on 30 April 2018 in a royal ceremony after her husband, Sultan Sallehuddin was made Sultan of Kedah. She is the mother to Tengku Sarafudin Badlishah and Tunku Shazuddin Ariff.

Biography
Born as Tengku Maliha, she is the third children of seven siblings to Tengku Sri Jaya Raja Tengku Ariff bin Tengku Long Abdul Rahman and Cik Puan Sri Jaya Raja Cik Puan Rokiah binti Sulaiman. She was a member of Kelantanese Royal Family with Sultan Yahya Petra as her grand uncle.

She obtained her early education at St. Mary Primary School, Kuala Lumpur and then at Assunta Satu Primary School before she went to Assunta Secondary School, Petaling Jaya. At that time, her father was a pilot in KLM which is a flag carrier airline company of the Netherlands. In 1960, she with her family returned to Kota Bharu, Kelantan after her father served as the aide-de-camp to Almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim, the then Sultan of Kelantan.

After returned to Kota Bharu, she continued her study at Raja Perempuan Zainab (I) Secondary School and she was very active in her school sport activities especially in hockey. She also took part in school debate club and once presenting her school in a state's English debate competition.

Interest
Sultanah Maliha cares and is involved in the education development of the people especially in Kedah and is keen the development of the English Language. As such, she was appointed as the royal patron of English Literacy and Computer Programme (COMEL), managed by State Government Education Department and National University of Malaysia. Sultanah Maliha is also a cat lover and passionate in cooking, especially Malaysian East Coast cuisines.

Raja Puan Muda of Kedah
She proclaimed as the Raja Puan Muda of Kedah (literally the Crown Princess) replaced Tengku Raudzah after her husband was proclaimed as the Raja Muda of Kedah (Crown Prince of Kedah) on 15 December 2016. Her husband replaced Tunku Abdul Malik, who died of natural causes on 29 November 2015 at Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar.

Sultanah of Kedah
Maliha is made the Sultanah of Kedah after her husband proclaimed as the new Sultan of Kedah following the death of her brother-in-law, Sultan Abdul Halim in September 2017. Her official proclamation as Sultanah held on 30 April 2018 with full of royal ceremony at Anak Bukit Palace, Alor Setar. The ceremony was attended by members of Kedah Royal Family, Kedahan statesmen, the then Chief Minister of Kedah and wife, some members of Kedah State Executive Council with their spouses. The ceremony began at 11 morning upon the arrival of Sultan Sallehuddin accompanied by Sultanah Maliha to the throne hall(known as the Bailarong Seri). After the arrival, the sultanah proclamation letter read by the Chief Minister of Kedah, Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah in front of the Sultan following by Sultanah Maliha stood and kissed her husband's hand as symbol of the junjung duli ceremony. Then, the ceremony continued by 21 shots of canon accompanied by royal nobat(traditional music). The ceremony end with the Sultan and Sultanah along with royal family members left the throne hall.

Like many spouses of heads of state, as the Sultanah of Kedah, she has no stipulated role or duties in the Kedah State Constitution. However, she accompanies the Sultan of kedah to official functions and state visits, as well as hosting visiting heads of state and their spouses. For example, she accompanied her husband to the Installation of the 16th Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Ceremony at the National Palace on 30 July 2019.

Awards and Recognitions

 * MY-KED Royal Family Order of Kedah (DK).svg Recipient of the Royal Family Order of Kedah (DK) (21.1.2018)
 * MY-KED Order of Loyalty to Sultan Sallehuddin - Grand Commander (SSSK).svg Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Loyalty to Sultan Sallehuddin (SSSK) – Dato' Seri Diraja (30.4.2018)
 * MY-KED Order of Sultan Abdul Halim Muazzam Shah - Grand Commander (SHMS).svg Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah (SHMS) – Dato' Seri Diraja (15.1.2017)
 * [[File:MY-KED Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah - Knight Grand Companion (SSDK).svg|50px]] Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah (SSDK) – Dato' Seri (12.12.2011)
 * [[File:MY-KED Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah - Knight Companion (DSDK).svg|50px]] Knight Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah (DSDK) – Dato' (2001)
 * MY-KED Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah - Companion (SDK).svg Companion of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal House of Kedah (SDK)
 * Sultan Abdul Halim Shah Silver Jubilee Medal (1983)
 * Sultan Abdul halim Shah Golden Jubilee Medal (2008)

Places named after her

 * Sultanah Maliha Hospital, Langkawi, Kedah