HRH Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah

I recently had the great honour to met up with YM Raja Ihsan through TPR. I have always wanted to see him since I discovered the photography works of the late HRH Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah of Terengganu. He is a very refined gentleman with deep passion in photography befitting his responsibility to be the chosen one, the custodian of the late HRH Sultan's work.

For the past few days I have been communicating with him and we have been exchanging ideas on various matters pertaining to the great work. Seriously, I am overwhelmed. I need a bit of time to really understand his collection. One thing for sure, it a priceless treasure of passion.

The best part about meeting Raja Ihsan is NOT because he is the custodian of the fine collection, but he is still around to tell the stories as he was raised by the late Sultan and he was there when the pictures were taken.

I would like to dedicate this post to YM Raja Ihsan for all his effort to preserve the work of the late HRH Sultan of Terengganu.

HRH Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah was born in Kuala Terengganu on 24th January 1907. He was the 14th Sultan of Terengganu from 1946-79 and the 4th Yang Di Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia from 1965-70. Apart from his official duties, he was also known for his exceptional ability as a photographer and for his enthusiasm and support for the medium in Malaysia.



Sultan Ismail was an honourable member of the Photographic Societies of both Malaya and Singapore in the 1950’s and later, became the patron of the Photographic Society of Malaysia. Sultan Ismail’s consistently powerful and impressive body of photography work had won him medals at various Malayan International Photo Salons in the 1950’s and enabled him to become the first Malay photographer to be an associate of the Royal Photographic Society (United Kingdom) in 1958. In 1965 he was awarded the coveted title of EFIAP (Excellence, Federation Internationale de l’Art Photograhique) Switzerland. This title, which had required a unanimous decision by the Board of Directors of the FIAP, is one of the highest international accolade to be given to any photographer, amateur or professional.




Sultan Ismail was 16 when he was first given a camera, but it was not until 1928 at the age of 21 when a photography shop opened in Terengganu, that the then future King of Malaysia and Sultan of Terengganu seriously took up photography. He had fondly said in an interview with the Straits Times in 1958 “This was a year which will always remain in my memory as that when I entered the world of photography”.




It was therefore unfortunate that some years later, war came to Malaya. The tremendous hardships experienced during these intervening years left Sultan Ismail with no choice but to abandon his photography pursuits altogether. In addition, and according to his own words, was forced to “present” his cameras to the Japanese occupying forces. Fortunately, the war did not last longer than it did. By 1948, Sultan Ismail was able to resume his passion for the art and was from then on able to keep records of his work that exist till today. It is regrettable however that no work of his, prior to the war, exists.




Sultan Ismail was attracted to almost every facet of photography including landscapes, portraits and social documentary. He had experimented with different cameras but eventually settled for a Plaubel Makina, a large format German camera that was versatile enough to suit his interests. He had also printed his own negatives, a skill that allowed him freedom to express his feelings onto his work. To show how much hold his hobby had on him, Sultan Ismail had said that his printing of negatives was done by kerosene lamp and enlarging by the sun’s rays.



Sultan Ismail was most prolific in the late 1940’s and the early 1960’s. This was when, as the Ruler and Sultan of Terengganu, he had mingled freely with his subjects in order to photographically document them for posterity. He also had a passion for cine-film and on many occasions was seen carrying his Bell & Howell 8mm cine-camera together with his still-cameras. This was easily recognizable and respected by his people. And as testament, many works of his were exhibited at the Malaysia Independence Trade Fair that formed part of the independence celebrations of Malaysia in 1957.



From then on, Sultan Ismail’s ascension to the throne of the Yang DiPertuan Agong (The Exalted Ruler or King) of Malaysia in 1965 began to limit his spare time to take photographs. Even so, he was still able to take pictures of what could be considered the most historical and powerfully emotive photographs ever taken of independent Malaysia – the deserted and lifeless streets of Kuala Lumpur following the disturbances of 13 May 1969 or in his own words, “Kuala Lumpur Berkurung”.



He also used whatever time which was available to him to the darkroom, printing and reprinting the thousands of shots that he had taken over the years while remaining forever active as Patron of the Photographic Society of Malaysia. Sultan Ismail resumed his role as the Sultan of Terengganu in 1970 and from then on until his demise in 1979, was able to re-ignite his passion and joy of photographing his home yet again.

HRH Sultan Ismail at work.

Pic: It is 11.33 a.m. and his Majesty is starting another long day in the darkroom. This was the first darkroom of the Almarhum at the Istana Badariah (ThePalace). The later one was much bigger, better equipped and more than rivalledmost professional laboratories.



Raja Ihsan sent me 3 photos, which I think not many people have seen. I have it in my computer. I respect his treasure, hence i do not post it here. I hope one day I will be able to tell the world about these wonderful collections of arts by the 4th Agong of Malaysia.

** credit: The biodata of HRH Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah was written by YM Raja Ihsan. All the images belongs to YM Raja Ihsan too. They were exhibited in Petronas Gallery before