Syed Nasir Ismail

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

Tun 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 Ismail SSM PMN SPMJ SSIJ SIMP DPMP JMN PIS BSI
سيد ناصر إسماعيل‎
5th Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat
In office 9 January 1978 – 16 March 1982
Monarchs	Yahya Petra Ahmad Shah
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	(1921-03-07)7 March 1921 Batu Pahat, Johor, Unfederated Malay States, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died	16 March 1982(1982-03-16) (aged 61) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Resting place	Makam Pahlawan, Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur
Political party	United Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Spouse	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 (JMN) (1961)^[2]
• Malaysia :
  • Recipient of the Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Silver) (PPM) (1965)^[2]
  • Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN) – Tan Sri (1971)^[2]
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (SSM) – Tun (1982)^[2][3]
• Johor :
  • Recipient of the Star of Sultan Ismail (BSI)
  • Recipient of the Sultan Ibrahim Medal (PIS)
  • Knight Grand Companion of the Order of Loyalty of Sultan Ismail of Johor (SSIJ) – Dato'
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ) – Dato'
• Pahang :
  • Grand Knight of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (SIMP) – formerly Dato', now Dato' Indera (1980)^[4]
• Perlis :
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown of Perlis (DPMP) – Dato'

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
• Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tun Syed Nasir Ismail, Johor Bahru (SMKTSNI)