The yellow sections refer to royalty, represented by the local monarchy of Selangor, and the Sultan, who is the head of the state.

The official religion of Selangor is Islam, and that is denoted by the white crescent and star on the top left corner of the flag.

The flag's design has been in use by the state government with few changes decades before Malaya's independence, the only noticeable differences of earlier iterations being the use of yellow instead of white for the crescent and star.

The flag was introduced by the 2nd British Resident, J. G. Davidson, and approved by the Colonial Secretary's Office of the Straits Settlements on 16th August 1875.

The emblem of Selangor is a symbol of the state; it cannot properly be called a coat of arms as it does not conform to heraldic traditions.