 In 1904 he was appointed by the Sultan as regent.Jaafar was married five times with five wives, Esah bte Ibrahim, Emon bte Abu Talib, Datin Selamah Ambak and Rogayah Hanim.Three of his sons were also "Menteri Besar" after him, including the father of modern Malay nationalism, Dato Onn Jaafar.