Early Life
Born in Johor Bahru to Dato' Abdul Rahman bin Yassin, Ismail was part of a well-connected and influential family in Johor. His maternal grandfather was Haji Mohamed Salleh bin Abdullah, an ethnic Chinese convert to Islam and former State Treasurer of Johor. After Zahara binte Abu Bakar, Abdul Rahman's wife and Ismail's mother, died in 1936, Abdul Rahman married Kamariah, the sister of Dato Onn Ja'afar, the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Johor. The remarriage was encouraged by Sultan Ibrahim of Johor, who sought to unite the Johor aristocracy by blood. Abdul Rahman himself almost became Menteri Besar according to Ismail, but failed because he "refused to indulge in intrigues". Abdul Rahman later went on to become the first President of the Dewan Negara (Senate) of the Parliament of Malaysia, and also the first chairman of Malayan Banking.
Read more about this topic: Ismail Abdul Rahman
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