World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseTunku Osman Khalil Shah Tunku Muhammad Jiwa was educated at the Hutchin School in Penang, Malaya, the Sultan Abdul Hamid College (SAHC) in Alor Star, Kedah, Malaya, and from Mar 1935 the Bristol Grammar School in England, United Kingdom. When the European War began, Tunku Osman joined the British Army. Between Apr and Aug 1942, he trained with the Gloucester Regiment, later transferring to the 80th Reconnaissance Regiment. In 1943, he underwent cadet training at the Highland Fieldcraff Centre in Scotland, United Kingdom. In 1944, he entered the Officer Cadet Training Unit at Barmouth, Wales, United Kingdom. In May 1945, he joined Force 136 as a second lieutenant. After being certified in parachute operations in Calcutta, India, he was inserted into Japanese-occupied Malaya, but was captured almost immediately. In captivity, he pretended to cooperate with the Japanese, feeding his captors a mix of true and false intelligence. After WW2, he joined the British Military Administration in Malaya. On 1 Feb 1947, he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion Malay Regiment with the rank of lieutenant. In Feb 1951, he was promoted to the rank of captain, and in 1955 the rank of major. In 1958, he became the assistant commanding officer of the 7th Malay Regiment. In Jul 1958, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and commanded the 2nd Battalion Malay Regiment, the first ethnic Malay commander of that battalion. In May 1960, Tunku Osman was promoted to the rank of colonel while attending the Joint Services Staff College, followed by a promotion to the rank of brigadier general in the following month, becoming the commanding officer of the 2nd Malayan Infantry Brigade. In Jul 1961, he was made Brigadier of the Army by the Ministry of Defense. Major General Tunku Osman became the first Malayan Chief-of-Staff of the newly formed independent nation of Malaysia upon the retirement of British Army General Sir Rodney Moore. He retired from the military on 24 Nov 1969. He passed away in 1994 and now rests in peace at Kedah Royal Mausoleum at Langgar, Kedah, Malaysia.

ww2dbaseTunku Osman was bestowed the Malaysian order of chivalry, thus he held the title "Tan Sri".

Tunku Osman Timeline

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