I grew up in a world where history was never distant.
Like many children, I had fairytale books and comics to read. Yet within the walls of our home and in the company of my parents and their many friends from every walk of life, I was raised on stories far greater than fiction.
Some stories belonged, others remained quietly as guarded whispers within palace walls. They spoke not of imaginary kingdoms, but of real rulers, real struggles and real greatness.
Figures such as Sultans Abu Bakar and Ibrahim of Johor and the many rulers from whom I descended were brought to life through stories shared across dining tables, palace halls and private conversations.
It was through these stories that I came to understand memory, inheritance, duty and the transmission of civilisation through storytelling. Deeply Malay, deeply royal and deeply human, history was never merely preserved in archives, but narrated from parent to child, from palace hall to the next generation. It was intellectual memory written from the heart.
I listened with wonder to tales of wisdom, courage, diplomacy, sacrifice, vision and statecraft. These were not merely stories glorifying royalty, but lessons on leadership, dignity, responsibility and consequence. Through them, I learned to admire the greatness of my forefathers, while also understanding that even rulers were human, capable of both wisdom and error. The past was never presented to me as mythology, but as guidance.
Perhaps it was this upbringing that later inspired me to do the same with my own children.
I wanted them to know not only the history of Pahang, but also that of Johor, for within them flows both the blood of the Bendahara and the Temenggong dynasties.
Through my marriage to Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, ancient bonds once connecting Johor, Pahang, Riau-Lingga and the wider Malay world found symbolic life once again in the next generation. In them, the old dynastic legacy lives on, not as empire in the political sense, but as continuity of heritage, memory, responsibility and bloodline. Through dynastic union, the bloodline of Sultan Abdul Jalil Shah Ri’ayat Shah IV converged once again within the House of Pahang, rekindling the bonds of the Johor–Pahang–Riau-Lingga world in a new generation, where the currents of the Bendahara and Temenggong houses meet once more.
I would tell my children stories of their "tok nenek", of rulers, warriors, scholars, consorts and statesmen whose sacrifices shaped the world they inherited. But I would also speak honestly of the mistakes of the past, for history is not meant merely to glorify, but to teach. There are examples to emulate and there are lessons warning us what must never be repeated.
These informal lessons became my way of preserving memory. I wanted my children to understand who they are, why they were born into such a family and the responsibilities that accompany privilege.
History, after all, maketh what we are today, for a people without memory are a people who will eventually lose themselves. History is a lifelong lesson and a never-ending journey of discovery. Each day, it reveals something new, deepening our understanding not only of the past, but of ourselves. Through history, we learn to reflect, to question and to form our own views with wisdom and humility. More importantly, history has the power to transform us, shaping our character, refining our judgment and guiding us to become better human beings.
Through Sultan Abdul Jalil Ri’ayat Shah IV, Pahang is closely connected to Johor, Terengganu, Selangor and Riau-Lingga. Through later dynastic marriages, the Royal Family of Pahang today shares bonds with Perak, Johor, Terengganu, Selangor, Perlis, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan and Brunei. This was how the great rulers of the past strengthened the Malay world, not merely through conquest, but through kinship, alliance, diplomacy, and marriage.
I wanted my children to recognise these historical families, to honour them and to take pride in the great Malay Sultanates from which they descend. From pre-Melaka Pahang, to Melaka itself, to modern Pahang and Malaysia, they are heirs to more than six centuries of living history.
And within that long continuity, the Hukum Kanun Melaka and the Hukum Kanun Pahang played a vital role in ensuring the endurance and survival of the Malay-Islamic polity until today. They were not merely legal texts, but part of a living civilisation that shaped the conduct of rulers and subjects alike.
I have always reminded my children that being born royal is not simply a privilege, it is also a limitation and a burden. There are freedoms others may enjoy which they cannot. There are expectations, restrictions and responsibilities that accompany their birth. As anak raja, they must uphold a certain image, dignity and immaculate reputation, for they do not represent only themselves, but an institution older than any one individual.
To be respected and truly loved, they must strive to be exemplary in every sense.
I count myself fortunate to have grown up hearing the stories of great leaders and meeting remarkable individuals from around the world. From presidents and prime ministers, to royal families and rulers, I was exposed from a young age to people whose lives shaped nations and history itself. Even today, I remain humbled and grateful for the privilege of witnessing kingdoms, leadership, diplomacy, and history from within circles few ever see.
Some stories belonged to public history. Others remained quietly within palace walls.
But all of them taught me one thing: memory must be preserved.
These stories must be passed on to the next generation, so they will remember who they are, where they came from and whose sacrifices allowed them to stand where they stand today. I want them to be inspired by their ancestors, humbled by them and grateful to them, for without the generations before us, we would not be standing tall today.
The past was never presented to me as mythology, but as guidance. In many ways, it was history itself that gave me identity and purpose, teaching me who I was long before I fully understood the responsibilities I would one day carry.
The Hukum Kanun Pahang was never merely a historical manuscript to me, but a living guide for governance, ethics, kingship, conduct and responsibility. Yet I have always believed that I am not only my children’s history teacher, but also their ustazah. From the day they were born until today, my duty has never ceased: to teach, remind and guide them in Islam.
For to be born both Muslim and royal carries an even greater responsibility. I have always reminded them that knowledge, Islam and good character must remain the foundation of their lives and that they must strive to become exemplary Muslims in character, conduct, humility and leadership, because one day my son will inherit not merely a throne, but the amanah of a Muslim monarch. Royalty in our tradition was never meant to be separated from faith. Islam was not merely a private belief, but a way of life, governance, justice and responsibility.
In many ways, the lessons embodied within the Hukum Kanun Pahang remain relevant even today, reminding us that our "tok nenek" understood rulership not as privilege alone, but as accountability before Allah. What was upheld by the generations before us, faith, justice, dignity, service and devotion to Allah, must continue through the generations that follow.
To be born royal is not a licence for privilege, but a greater test of responsibility and humility. They must always remain grateful for the blessings Allah has bestowed upon them, for true nobility is not found in titles or lineage alone, but in knowledge, character, service and devotion to Allah. In the end, my thesis is not merely about the Hukum Kanun Pahang as a legal manuscript, but about a living civilisation in which Islam, kingship, governance, ethics, family, memory and responsibility were never separated, but formed part of a continuous Malay-Islamic civilisational framework that has endured through the centuries.
Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah is a master’s candidate at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).