Monarchies of Malaysia. The Most Unique System in the World

The Royals of Malaysia gained global attention over the weekend when Their Majesties, Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah, attended King Charles III's Coronation.

As Their Majesties joined foreign royals  attending the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, the public took notice on Asian royals and were surprised that Malaysia has royal families! 

Their Majesties, Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah, at King Charles III's Coronation ©Istana Negara

Malaysia is one of the four remaining monarchies in Southeast Asia, the others are Brunei (absolute monarchy), Thailand (constitutional monarchy), and Cambodia (elective/constitutional). Bhutan is not part of Southeast Asia, it's in the Himalayas near China and India. However, Malaysia has a unique system of constitutional monarchy. 

Monarchies in Malaysia:

Here's a brief explanation about Malaysia's monarchy and some strange terms you might have never heard before. 

Their Majesties, Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah, at King Charles III's Coronation ©Istana Negara

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which has a literal translation of "He Who is Made Chief Lord" , is also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation in Malaysia, or simply the Agong meaning, King.

The Istana Negara or National Palace is the official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia. It is located near Taman Duta in northwestern Kuala Lumpur. 

Their Majesties at King Charles's Coronation ©Istana Negara 

©Istana Negara 

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the constitutional monarch and Malaysia's Head of State. The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya  gained independence from the United Kingdom. They also renamed their country to Malaysia.

Their Majesties, Sultan Abdullah and Tunku Azizah, at King Charles III's Coronation ©Istana Negara

But despite gaining independence from Britain, they retained their monarchy, albeit elective and constitutional, and patterned their constitutional monarchy system to Westminster Parliamentary System in the UK. 

The monarch or the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected by the Conference of Rulers, which is composed of the nine rulers of the Malay states, with the office de facto rotated between them every five years, making Malaysia one of the world's fewest elective monarchies.

From left: Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia, Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Queen Tunku Azizah, and Tsarina Margarita of Bulgaria ©Istana Negara 

The political system of Malaysia is based on the Westminster Parliamentary System in the United Kingdom, in combination with features of a federation. 

The 16th and current Yang di-Pertuan Agong is Sultan Abdullah of Pahang. He became Sultan of Pahang in January 2019 when his older brother, Sultan Haji Ahmad, abdicated. 

Following his installation as the new Sultan of Pahang, he also became monarch of Malaysia after he was elected in January 2019 following the sudden abdication of Muhammad V of Kelantan.

No official statement released by Muhammad V on why he abdicated but weeks leading to his decision to abdicate, he was embroiled in a controversy over his Russian wife who he divorced after giving birth to a  son he refused to recognize.

Asian Sovereigns from left: King Jigme of Bhutan, Sultan Abdullah of Malaysia, King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain © Istana Negara 

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and Sultan Abdullah of Pahang and Malaysia ©Istana Negara 

Sultan Abdullah was elected on 24 January 2019, at a special meeting of the Conference of Rulers. He took the oath of office and was sworn in on January 31, 2019. 

His wife, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, is known as Raja Permaisuri Agong or Her Majesty the Queen Consort. They are styled in English as "His Majesty" and "Her Majesty". 

Queen Tunku Azizah and Queen Anne Marie of the former Kingdom of Greece

From left Queen Rania and King Abdullah II of Jordan with Malaysian Sultan Abdullah and Queen Tunku Azizah ©Istana Negara 

Their eldest son, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim, is the Crown Prince of Pahang. Tengku has an equivalent term in English of Prince. 

From left: Tengku Arif Temenggong and his cousin, Crown Prince Hassanal of Pahang, and Prince Abdul Mateen of Brunei at the wedding of Princess Azemah of Brunei 

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong's role is that of a constitutional monarch. The Constitution vests the executive power of the federal government in the monarch. 

However, with few exceptions, he is bound to exercise this power on the advice of the Cabinet or a minister acting under the Cabinet's general authority. Thus, in practice, most of the actual day-to-day work of governing is performed by the Cabinet.

Tengku Arif Temenggong, son of the former Sultan of Pahang. He is the nephew of Sultan Abdullah 

The discretionary powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is purely ceremonial: appointing the Prime Minister, withholding consent to dissolve Parliament, and calling meetings with the Conference of Rulers, and "concerned solely with the privileges, position, honours and dignities of Their Royal Highnesses".

The Conference of Rulers (also Council of Rulers or Durbar) in Malaysia is a council comprising the nine rulers of the Malay States and the governors of the other four states. 

Sultan Abdullah of the Federation States of Malaysia and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain ©Istana Negara

It was officially established by Article 38 of the Constitution of Malaysia, and is the only such institution in the world, according to the Malaysian National Library.

The nine states in Malaysia are constitutionally headed by traditional Malay rulers.  Among these nine states, seven are hereditary monarchies based on agnatic primogeniture (male descent): Kedah, Kelantan, Johor, Perlis, Pahang, Selangor, and Terengganu. 

The two other states: Perak, where the throne rotates among three branches of the royal family loosely based on agnatic seniority, Negeri Sembilan, an elective monarchy where the state ruler is elected from male members of the royal family by hereditary chiefs. 

From left Crown Prince Fumihito of Japan, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, and Sultan Abdullah of Pahang © Istana Negara 

All rulers of the Malay states, except those of Perlis and Negeri Sembilan, use the title of Sultan. The ruler of Perlis is styled as the Raja, while the ruler of Negeri Sembilan is known as the Yang di-Pertuan Besar (Grand Ruler).

At King Charles's Coronation, Queen Tunku Azizah wore the traditional Malay dress, a bright yellow ensemble she designed in 2019 for her husband's accession ceremony. See other Asian Royals who wore traditional costumes at King Charles's Coronation. 

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