The historical foundations of Malaysia's unique monarchy

By Ffion Bright

Unlike the hereditary monarchies of Europe or other Asian countries, the Malaysian system is distinct, with nine royal families elected on rotation. The recent publicity around this organisation, due to Sultan Ahmad Shah’s rule ending on January 30th, 2024 and his replacement by Sultan Ibrahim, often lacks the historical justification for such rotation—a topic that will be the theme for this issue brief.

As a major trading centre for spices in the 13th century, Malacca became a destination for merchants globally, this economic strength also earned the port the attention of the colonial powers of the time. This time has been seen as a golden age in Malaysian history, during which the Malacca Sultanate ruled the Malay Peninsula. The territory was divided into nine sub-sultanates, each ruled by a single sultan and his descendants.

This system and the golden age of Malaysia were interrupted by a long period of continuous colonial control that saw the Portuguese in 1511, the Dutch in 1641 and the British in 1786 take control of modern-day Malaysia’s most critical ports and towns. Most notable when speaking about the monarchy is the British colonial presence, which started in Penang in 1786 when the Sultan of Kedah leased the Island to the British East India Company with the implicit request for protection from Thailand. When the British promised no such protection, the Sultan attempted to recapture the territory. His efforts were unsuccessful, solidifying British dominance and securing their interests in Penang (Yamada, 1971); soon, the British also took Malacca in 1795 in the race for control of the region between imperial France and imperial British.

The 1874 Pangkor Treaty and consequent treaties in other states saw varying degrees of power retained or attributed to the British. Notably, in the states of Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Pahang, the British became the de facto chief executive despite de jure retention of sovereignty, whereas in the five remaining peninsular states, the sultanates had a greater level of influence (Fernando, 2014). Ultimately, however, in all states, the British maintained sultanates as “a means of ensuring the acceptance of de facto British rule” (Harding, 1986).

The evolution of the role of the sultanates, first as absolute sovereigns and then as figureheads for British rule, met a new juncture when a now more united and nationalistic Malaysia got its independence post WWII and the Japanese invasion, as during the drafting of the independence constitution (1956-1957) much controversy surrounded the level of power to be accorded to the sultans. Ultimately, however, Part 4 of the 1957 Federal Constitution vested executive power in each Sultan. The role of elections is underlined with the Conference of Rulers electing a Sultan to rule as monarch for five years, as stated in Chapter 1.3. The elective nature of the monarchy is further reflected in the semantics used by Malay nationals and the Malaysian constitution to refer to royalty, notably the monarch is referred to as ‘Yang di-Pertuan Agong’ in Malay which translates directly as ‘he who is made lord’.

In the early years after colonialism, the rotational election of the monarch was based on seniority (Ananthalakshmi et al., 2023), with those who had been ruling their sultanate the longest being chosen to rule on the federal level first. Since the original round of elections, the order has just followed that of the original, and whilst the secret ballot continues, there is only one name on it. The vote gauges whether the other sultans think that the sultan, whose turn it is to reign next, is competent for the position and a simple majority carries.

This unique rotational election of monarchs, therefore, enables unity in the federal state whilst continuing both the traditional sultanate division of powers and allowing for a state organisation whose roots date back to pre-colonial times. By nature, Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, meaning the powers of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong are limited. Still, with political unease, the monarchy has recently been having more and more influence through, for example, the selection of prime ministers or the pardoning of convicts. It seems progressively likely that the power structure of Malaysia’s past will shape its future.

References

Ananthalakshmi, A., Azhar, D., & Latiff, R. (2023, October 27). Explainer: Malaysia’s unique rotational monarchy. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysias-unique-rotational-monarchy-2023-10-26/

Fernando, J. M. (2014). Defending the monarchy: The Malay rulers and the making of the Malayan constitution, 1956-1957. Archipel, 88, 149–167. https://doi.org/10.4000/archipel.528

Harding, A. J. (1986). Monarchy and the Prerogative in Malaysia. Malaya Law Review, 28(2), 345–365. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24864581

Yamada, H. (1971). The Origins of British Colonization of Malaya with special reference to its tin.