Monarchies of Malaysia
State constitutions limit eligibility for the thrones to male Malay Muslims of royal descent.
Seven are hereditary monarchies based on agnatic primogeniture: Kedah, Kelantan, Johor, Perlis, Pahang, Selangor and Terengganu.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is required to delegate all his state powers to a regent, except for the role of head of Islam.
Similar to other rulers, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, and has discretionary powers in appointing the Prime Minister that commands a majority in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament,[5] and refusing a dissolution of the Parliament.
The most important role of the Conference is to elect the Yang di-Pertuan Agong every five years or when a vacancy occurs.
The Malacca Sultanate was the first Malay Muslim state based on the peninsula that was also a real regional maritime power.
After the fall of Malacca in 1511, several local rulers emerged in the northern part of the peninsula which later fell under Siamese influence, while two princes of the Malaccan royal family founded Johor and Perak respectively.
The vast territory of Johor led to some areas gaining autonomy, which gradually developed into independent states.
In 1895, the governance of Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and Selangor were combined as the Federated Malay States, headed by a Resident General based in Kuala Lumpur.
Under the terms of the Union, the Malay rulers conceded all their powers to the British Crown except in religious matters.
Widespread opposition by Malay nationalists led to the reform of Malayan Union to become the Federation of Malaya in 1948, in which the rulers were restored to their symbolic role as heads of state.
[citation needed] The present form of constitutional monarchy in Malaysia dates from 1957, when the Federation of Malaya gained independence.
[citation needed] According to the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, the Kingdom of Kedah was founded around 630 CE by Maharaja Derbar Raja, who arrived from Gameroon, Persia.
[citation needed] The state capital is Kota Bharu, while Kubang Kerian serves as the royal city.
[citation needed] Negeri Sembilan's monarchy incorporates a form of federalism, whereby the state is divided into smaller luak (chiefdoms), each with a ruling undang (chieftain).
[citation needed] The first Yam Tuan Besar was Raja Melewar, who united the nine small states of Negeri Sembilan, each of which were ruled by a local chieftain.
[9] He was sent from the Pagaruyung Kingdom at the request of the Minangkabau nobility in the nine small states in the Malay Peninsula in the 18th century.
[citation needed] Chieftains are selected among the nobility in each Luak, following matrilineal inheritance, part of the state's Adat perpatih customs.
In 1853, the Bendahara, Tun Muhammad Tahir, broke away from the Johor sultan and declared the state of Pahang independent.
[citation needed] Syed Hussein Jamalullail, the sons of Syed Abu Bakar Jamalullail, the chief of Arau, and a daughter of Sultan Dziaddin of Kedah, was recognised as Raja of Perlis by the Siamese after helping them suppress a rebellion by the Raja of Ligor, a microstate in the Pattani region.
[citation needed] The state of Terengganu is situated in north-eastern Peninsular Malaysia, and is bordered in the northwest by Kelantan, the southwest by Pahang, and the east by the South China Sea.
[citation needed] In seven of the Malay states, succession order is generally determined roughly by agnatic primogeniture.
The system originated in the 19th century during the reign of the 18th Sultan of Perak, when it was decided that the throne would rotate among his three sons and their descendants.
When the office was established in 1957, the order of seniority of the rulers was based on the length of their reigns on the state thrones.
[18] The royal capitals (Malay: Bandar diraja) are the cities and towns where the official residences of the rulers are situated.
