John Michael Gullick (6 February 1916 – 8 April 2012) was a British Orientalist who is chiefly remembered for his ground-breaking contributions to the study of pre-colonial and early colonial Malay society, Indigenous Political Systems of Western Malaya (1958), Malay Society in the Late Nineteenth Century: The Beginnings of Change (1987) and Rulers and Residents: Influence and Power in the Malay States 1870–1920 (1992).
After graduating, Gullick entered the Colonial Administrative Service and was dispatched to Entebbe as the Second World War was breaking out in 1939.
When civilian government was restored in Malaya in 1946, Gullick was transferred to the Malayan Civil Service and served as state secretary for Negeri Sembilan.
He held various positions in the Defense and Internal Security Department, Rural and Industrial Development Authority, and the Malayanisation Committee, on which he worked closely with Onn Jaafar and Tunku Abdul Rahman.
In addition to the scholarly monographs on which his reputation rests, such as Indigenous Political Systems of Western Malaya (1958) and numerous specialist articles in journals, he also published introductions to Malaysian history intended for a general audience.