Sardon Jubir

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Jubir is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Sardon. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Sardon bin Jubir (Jawi: سعدون بن زبير, Malay pronunciation: [sardon]; 19 March 1917 – 14 December 1985) was a Malaysian politician who had served as the 4th Governor of Penang from 1975 to 1981. Prior to his governorship, he had served as Minister of Health, Minister of Works and Communications and was the 3rd UMNO Youth Chief.

Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Dato' Seri Utama Sardon Jubir SMN PMN SPMK SPMJ DUPN
سعدون زبير‎
4th Governor of Penang
In office 2 February 1975 – 30 April 1981
Chief Minister	Lim Chong Eu
Preceded by	Syed Sheh Barakbah
Succeeded by	Awang Hassan
3rd Youth Chief of the United Malays National Organisation
In office 1951–1964
President	Tunku Abdul Rahman
Preceded by	Abdul Razak Hussein
Succeeded by	Senu Abdul Rahman
Minister of Communications
In office 1 January 1972 – 24 August 1974
Monarch	Abdul Halim
Prime Minister	Abdul Razak Hussein
Deputy	Wong Seng Chow
Preceded by	V. T. Sambanthan as Minister of Works, Posts and Telecommunications
Succeeded by	V. Manickavasagam
Constituency	Pontian Utara
Minister of Health
In office 4 June 1969 – 1 January 1972
Monarchs	Ismail Nasiruddin (1969–1970) Abdul Halim (1970–1972)
Prime Minister	Tunku Abdul Rahman (1969–1970) Abdul Razak Hussein (1970–1972)
Preceded by	Ng Kam Poh
Succeeded by	Lee Siok Yew
Constituency	Pontian Utara
Minister of Transport
In office 22 August 1959 – 3 June 1969
Monarchs	Abdul Rahman (1959–1960) Hisamuddin (1960) Putra (1960–1965) Ismail Nasiruddin (1965–1969)
Prime Minister	Tunku Abdul Rahman
Preceded by	Abdul Rahman Talib
Succeeded by	V. Manickavasagam
Constituency	Pontian Utara
Minister of Works, Posts and Telecommunications
In office 31 August 1957 – 21 August 1959
Monarch	Abdul Rahman
Prime Minister	Tunku Abdul Rahman
Preceded by	Himself as Minister of Works
Succeeded by	V. T. Sambanthan
Constituency	Segamat
Minister of Works
In office 9 August 1955 – 31 August 1957
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Chief Minister	Tunku Abdul Rahman
Assistant Minister	Abdul Khalid Awang Osman
Preceded by	Position Established
Succeeded by	Himself as Minister of Works, Posts and Telecommunications
Constituency	Segamat
Personal details
Born	(1917-03-19)19 March 1917 Rengit, Batu Pahat, Johor, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	14 December 1985(1985-12-14) (aged 68) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Resting place	Makam Pahlawan, Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur
Political party	United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Spouse	Saadiah Abdullah ​ (m. 1944)​
Education	Victoria School Raffles Institution
Alma mater	Inns of Court School of Law (LLB) Inner Temple
Occupation	Politician

Early life and education

Sardon was born in Rengit, Batu Pahat, Johor on 19 March 1917. His father, Haji Jubir bin Haji Mohd Amin was a plantation owner and a kathi in Singapore.^[1]

Sardon was educated at Victoria Bridge School and Raffles Institution in Singapore.^[2] At Raffles, he formed a Malay literary association with friends including Aziz Ishak, Abdul Hamid Jumat, and Ahmad Ibrahim and contributed articles on the Malays and their plight to Warta Malaya, a leading Malay newspaper in Singapore. This was done through Aziz's brother, Yusof Ishak who was already working as a journalist. Yusof later became the first President of Singapore.

After passing his Senior Cambridge examination, Tun Sardon pursued a career in law in London and qualified as a barrister from Lincoln's Inner Temple. He returned to Singapore in 1941 and had his practice in Singapore and later in Johor Bahru. He was called to the English Bar in 1938 at the same time as Tun Suffian Hashim who later retired as the Lord President of the Supreme Court.

Political career

Tun Sardon held the post of Minister of Health until 1972. He retired from politics in 1974 and was made Ambassador to the United Nations–a post then normally associated with retired politicians. In 1975, he was appointed as Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang.

Personal life

Sardon married Toh Puan Hajjah Saadiah Abdullah in 1944. They had three sons and two adopted daughters.

Death

Sardon died on 14 December 1985 and was buried at Makam Pahlawan near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur.

Legacy

With the support from business and community leaders from Penang, the Tun Sardon Foundation was incorporated on 13 June 1978 as a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital under the Companies Act 1965 to carry out charitable objects, including giving relief to the poor and needy, in particular the widows and orphans, victims of fire, floods, famine or other calamity and to those in need of moral or social rehabilitation or welfare.

Several projects and institutions were named after him, including:

• Taman Tun Sardon in Gelugor, Penang
• Jalan Tun Sardon a major road from Balik Pulau to Paya Terubong
• SMK Tun Sardon in Rengit, Johor
• Bilik Mesyuarat Tun Sardon Jubir, a conference room at Pos Malaysia National Mail Centre in Shah Alam, Selangor
• Laluan Makmal Sains Tun Sardon Jubir, a science laboratory hallway in a MARA institutional boarding school, MRSM Baling, Kedah

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

• Malaya :
  • Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN) – Tan Sri (1961)^[3]
• Malaysia :
  • Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (SMN) – Tun (1976)^[4]
  • Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Gold) (PPM) (1965)^[5]
• Johor :
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato' (1972)^[6]
• Kelantan :
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Kelantan (SPMK) – Dato' (1972)^[7]
• Penang :
  • Knight Grand Commander (DUPN) with title Dato' Seri Utama
  • Grand Master of the Order of the Defender of State

Foreign Honours

• Belgium :
  • Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II (1967)^[8]