Author Session with Muhammad Suhail

About the Session

What came before the President of Singapore? Established in 1959, the Yang di-Pertuan Negara is often regarded as a forerunner to the presidency, but the office was much more than that. It not only represented the enduring sovereignty of the British Crown over Singapore, but also symbolised the nationalist aspirations of the island state. Singaporean leaders across all political divides struggled to reinterpret and repurpose the office. They envisioned the Yang di-Pertuan Negara as a means to inspire a national sense of being among Singaporeans, and at the same time, the office served as an instrument to promote merger with Malaya.

He Who is Made Lord recovers the multiple meanings of the Yang di-Pertuan Negara during a highly contested period of Singapore’s history.In this session, Muhammad Suhail Mohamed Yazid, author of He Who is Made Lord, shares his key findings on the Yang di-Pertuan Negara and the historical significance of the office for Singapore.

About the Author

Muhammad Suhail Mohamed Yazid is a PhD candidate in History and the Prince of Wales Student at Trinity College, University of Cambridge. He concurrently serves as Senior Tutor at the Department of Malay Studies in the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Previously, Suhail was a Research Associate at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute) and was the institute’s Tan Cheng-Lock Masters Scholar. He received his Bachelor of Arts with Honours (Highest Distinction) in History and a Master of Arts in Malay Studies from NUS.

A Singaporean historian, Suhail researches the broader history of decolonisation in the Malay World, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Global South.