97-709: The Government of Malaysia , officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( Malay : Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia ; Jawi : كراجأن ڤرسكوتوان مليسيا ), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya , with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur . Malaysia is a federation composed of the 11 States of Malaya, the Borneo States of Sabah and Sarawak, and 3 Federal Territories operating within
194-604: A constitutional monarchy under the Westminster system and is categorised as a representative democracy . The federal government of Malaysia adheres to and is created by the Federal Constitution of Malaysia , the supreme law of the land. The federal government adopts the principle of separation of powers under Article 127 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, and has three branches:
291-475: A de facto established rotation order. Minors are automatically disqualified from nomination and holding the office. The Conference of Rulers has met regularly since 1985. The four governors ( Yang di-Pertua Negeri ; the heads of states without hereditary rulers) also attend the Conference, but only rulers are allowed to vote and stand for election for the office of king. The Constitution provides that
388-672: A Special Court to hear cases brought by or against all Royalty. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong ( lit. ' He Who is Made Lord ' , Jawi : يڠ دڤرتوان اݢوڠ ), also known as the Supreme Head or the King, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia . The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gained independence from the United Kingdom . The Yang di-Pertuan Agong
485-422: A candidate) according to the cycle, irrespective of whether they are currently the most senior. Since independence from British colonial rule , this has been the order of elected kings. However, the order is not a precedent and the election to the position and office of the king is at the pleasure of the Conference of Rulers. As an elective monarchy, there is no line of succession to the throne of Malaysia. Four of
582-672: A descendant of the Proto-Austronesian language , began to break up by at least 2000 BCE, possibly as a result of the southward expansion of Austronesian peoples into Maritime Southeast Asia from the island of Taiwan . The history of the Malay language can be divided into five periods: Old Malay, the Transitional Period, the Classical Malay, Late Modern Malay and Modern Malay. Old Malay is believed to be
679-527: A lingua franca derived from Classical Malay as well as Makassar Malay , which appears to be a mixed language . Malay historical linguists agree on the likelihood of the Malayic homeland being in western Borneo . A form known as Proto-Malayic was spoken in Borneo at least by 1000 BCE, it has been argued to be the ancestral language of all subsequent Malayic languages . Its ancestor, Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ,
776-555: A mid vowel [e, o] . Orthographic note : both /e/ and /ə/ are written with ⟨e⟩ . Orthographic /e, o/ are relatively rare, so the letter ⟨e⟩ usually represents /ə/ . There are some homographs; for example, perang is used for both /pəraŋ/ "war" and /peraŋ ~ piraŋ/ "blond". (In Indonesia, "blond" may be written perang or pirang .) Some analyses regard /ai, au, oi/ as diphthongs. However, [ai] and [au] can only occur in open syllables, such as cukai ("tax") and pulau ("island"). Words with
873-434: A phonetic diphthong in a closed syllable, such as baik ("good") and laut ("sea"), are actually two syllables. An alternative analysis therefore treats the phonetic diphthongs [ai] , [au] and [oi] as a sequence of a monophthong plus an approximant: /aj/ , /aw/ and /oj/ respectively. There is a rule of vowel harmony : the non-open vowels /i, e, u, o/ in bisyllabic words must agree in height, so hidung ("nose")
970-431: A root word ( affixation ), formation of a compound word (composition), or repetition of words or portions of words ( reduplication ). Nouns and verbs may be basic roots, but frequently they are derived from other words by means of prefixes , suffixes and circumfixes . Malay does not make use of grammatical gender , and there are only a few words that use natural gender; the same word is used for 'he' and 'she' which
1067-465: A ruler is charged with an offence in the Special Court, he is required to stop exercising the functions of a ruler. In the event of a ruler being sentenced to imprisonment for more than one day, he will be forced to abdicate from his duties as a ruler unless a free pardon is granted. The king or any ruler cannot pardon himself or his immediate family. In such case, they may request clemency from
SECTION 10
#17327723581071164-473: A ruler is not eligible for election as king if: The election is carried out by a secret ballot. The ballot papers used are not numbered, but marked with the same pen and ink, and are inserted into a ballot box. Only the royal rulers of the states participate in the election. A ruler may appoint another ruler as his proxy to vote on his behalf if he is unable to attend the Election Meeting. During
1261-535: A unicameral state legislative chamber (Malay: Dewan Undangan Negeri ) whose members are elected from single-member constituencies . State executive councils (EXCO) of states of Malaya, the Cabinet of Sabah and the Cabinet of Sarawak are led by Menteri Besar or Chief Ministers in states without hereditary rulers, who are state assembly members from the majority party in the state legislative chamber. They advise their respective sultans or governors . In each of
1358-402: Is dia or for 'his' and 'her' which is dia punya . There is no grammatical plural in Malay either; thus orang may mean either 'person' or 'people'. Verbs are not inflected for person or number, and they are not marked for tense; tense is instead denoted by time adverbs (such as 'yesterday') or by other tense indicators, such as sudah 'already' and belum 'not yet'. On the other hand, there
1455-456: Is a complex system of verb affixes to render nuances of meaning and to denote voice or intentional and accidental moods . Malay does not have a grammatical subject in the sense that English does. In intransitive clauses, the noun comes before the verb. When there is both an agent and an object , these are separated by the verb (OVA or AVO), with the difference encoded in the voice of the verb. OVA, commonly but inaccurately called "passive",
1552-430: Is allowed but * hedung is not. Pronunciation Pronunciation Pronunciation Study by Uri Tadmor which was published in 2003 shows that mutation of ⟨a⟩ in final open syllable is an areal feature. Specifically, it is an areal feature of Western Austronesia. Uri Tadmor classify those types into four groups as below. Malay is an agglutinative language , and new words are formed by three methods: attaching affixes onto
1649-533: Is an official language of Brunei , Indonesia , Malaysia , and Singapore . It is also spoken in East Timor and parts of Thailand . Altogether, it is spoken by 290 million people (around 260 million in Indonesia alone in its own literary standard named " Indonesian ") across Maritime Southeast Asia . The language is pluricentric and a macrolanguage , i.e., several varieties of it are standardized as
1746-403: Is bicolored, yellow at the top and light blue at the bottom, with the coat of arms at the centre (without the paddy) and below that is the office bearer's title in a gold scroll. The Deputy King of Malaysia (Malay: Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong ) is elected by the same process immediately after the king has been elected by the Conference of Rules. The office is usually (but not always) held by
1843-432: Is completed only after a ruler has accepted the offer of the office of King by the presiding ruler. The Conference declares the elected ruler to be the new king to hold office for a term of five years. The ballot papers are destroyed in the presence of the rulers as soon as the result of the election is announced. On taking office as king months after election, he appoints a regent for the duration of his five-year term for
1940-406: Is designated the bahasa persatuan/pemersatu ("unifying language" or lingua franca ) whereas the term "Malay" ( bahasa Melayu ) is domestically restricted to vernacular varieties of Malay indigenous to areas of Central to Southern Sumatra and West Kalimantan . Classical Malay , also called Court Malay, was the literary standard of the pre-colonial Malacca and Johor Sultanates and so
2037-482: Is divided into Bornean and Sumatran Malay; some of the most widely spoken Sumatran Malay dialects are Riau Malay , Langkat , Palembang Malay and Jambi Malay . Minangkabau , Kerinci and Bengkulu are believed to be Sumatran Malay descendants. Meanwhile, the Jakarta dialect (known as Betawi ) also belongs to the western Malay group. The eastern varieties, classified either as dialects or creoles , are spoken in
SECTION 20
#17327723581072134-733: Is elected by the Conference of Rulers , comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states , with the office de facto rotated between them, making Malaysia one of the world's few elective monarchies . In accordance with Article 41 of the Constitution, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is Commander-in-Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces . As such, he is the highest-ranking officer in the military chain of command . The Prime Minister of Malaysia ( Malay : Perdana Menteri Malaysia )
2231-458: Is formally elected to a five-year term by and from the nine rulers of the Malay states (the nine states of Malaysia that have hereditary royal rulers), who form the Conference of Rulers . After a ruler has served his term as king, he may not stand for election until all rulers of the other states have also stood for election to the office and have served their office. In the event of a vacancy of
2328-436: Is made Lord ' Jawi : يڠ دڤرتوان اݢوڠ ), is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia . The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gained independence from the United Kingdom . The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected by the Conference of Rulers , comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states , with the office de facto rotated between them, making Malaysia one of
2425-623: Is not a tonal language . The consonants of Malaysian and also Indonesian are shown below. Non-native consonants that only occur in borrowed words, principally from Arabic, Dutch and English, are shown in brackets. Orthographic note : The sounds are represented orthographically by their symbols as above, except: Loans from Arabic : Malay originally had four vowels, but in many dialects today, including Standard Malay, it has six, with /i/ split into /i, e/ and /u/ split into /u, o/ . Many words are commonly pronounced variably, with either [i, u] or [e, o] , and relatively few words require
2522-569: Is not readily intelligible with the standard language , and the same is true with some lects on the Malay Peninsula such as Kedah Malay . However, both Brunei and Kedah are quite close. Malay is now written using the Latin script , known as Rumi in Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore or Latin in Indonesia, although an Arabic script called Arab Melayu or Jawi also exists. Latin script
2619-651: Is official in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Malay uses Hindu-Arabic numerals . Rumi (Latin) and Jawi are co-official in Brunei only. Names of institutions and organisations have to use Jawi and Rumi (Latin) scripts. Jawi is used fully in schools, especially the religious school, sekolah agama , which is compulsory during the afternoon for Muslim students aged from around 6–7 up to 12–14. Efforts are currently being undertaken to preserve Jawi in Malaysia, and students taking Malay language examinations in Malaysia have
2716-766: Is responsible to that body. The Executive branch of the Government of Malaysia consists of the Prime Minister as the head of the government, followed by the various ministers of the Cabinet . The highest court in the judicial system is the Federal Court , followed by the Court of Appeal , and two High Courts , one for Peninsular Malaysia , and one for East Malaysia . The subordinate courts in each of these jurisdictions include Sessions Courts , Magistrates' Courts , and Courts for Children . Malaysia also has
2813-521: Is similar to Kelantanese Malay, but the language has no official status or recognition. Owing to earlier contact with the Philippines , Malay words—such as dalam hati (sympathy), luwalhati (glory), tengah hari (midday), sedap (delicious)—have evolved and been integrated into Tagalog and other Philippine languages . By contrast, Indonesian has successfully become the lingua franca for its disparate islands and ethnic groups, in part because
2910-508: Is that of a constitutional monarch. The Federal Constitution of Malaysia and Acts of Parliament made in accordance with it define the extent of his powers as the head of state . These are divided into two categories: powers exercised on the advice of the Cabinet or of a minister acting under the general authority of the Cabinet, the Conference of Rulers, or some other officer or institution, and discretionary powers . The Constitution vests
3007-624: Is the basic and most common word order. The Malay language has many words borrowed from Arabic (in particular religious terms), Sanskrit , Tamil , certain Sinitic languages , Persian (due to historical status of Malay Archipelago as a trading hub), and more recently, Portuguese , Dutch and English (in particular many scientific and technological terms). There is a group of closely related languages spoken by Malays and related peoples across Brunei , Indonesia , Malaysia , Singapore , Southern Thailand , Kampung Alor in East Timor , and
Government of Malaysia - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-477: Is the indirect head of government (executive) of Malaysia. The prime minister is appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, and is someone who in the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's opinion is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives ( Dewan Rakyat ), the elected lower house of Parliament. The prime minister heads the Cabinet , whose members are appointed by
3201-525: Is the lack of possessive pronouns (and suffixes) in eastern dialects. Manado uses the verb pe and Ambon pu (from Malay punya 'to have') to mark possession. So 'my name' and 'our house" are translated in western Malay as namaku and rumah kita but kita pe nama and torang pe rumah in Manado and beta pu nama , katong pu rumah in Ambon dialect. The pronunciation may vary in western dialects, especially
3298-493: The Pakatan Harapan coalition took office. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong renews the appointment of a prime minister after every general election until the minister decides to step down. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong has discretionary powers to choose who he wants as the prime minister if no party has won a majority vote and is not bound by the decision of the outgoing prime minister (Article 40). It, however, does not afford him
3395-624: The Cham alphabet are used by the Chams of Vietnam and Cambodia . Old Malay was written using Pallava and Kawi script, as evident from several inscription stones in the Malay region. Starting from the era of kingdom of Pasai and throughout the golden age of the Malacca Sultanate, Jawi gradually replaced these scripts as the most commonly used script in the Malay region. Starting from the 17th century, under Dutch and British influence, Jawi
3492-476: The Dewan Rakyat , the lower house of Parliament, while state level elections are for membership in the various State Legislative Assemblies. The head of the executive branch, the prime minister, is appointed from among members of the winning coalition. Malay language Malay ( / m ə ˈ l eɪ / mə- LAY ; Malay: Bahasa Melayu , Jawi : بهاس ملايو ) is an Austronesian language that
3589-513: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) on the advice of the Prime Minister. The 222 members of the Dewan Rakyat are elected from single-member districts by universal suffrage . The parliament follows a multi-party system and the governing body is elected through first-past-the-post voting . Parliament has a maximum mandate of five years by law. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may dissolve parliament at any time and usually does so upon
3686-463: The executive , legislature , and judiciary . The state governments in Malaysia also have their respective executive and legislative bodies. The judicial system in Malaysia is a federalised court system operating uniformly throughout the country. The federal or central government is the ultimate authority in Malaysia and located in Putrajaya . It is headed by the Prime Minister of Malaysia as
3783-650: The head of government . The bicameral parliament consists of the lower house , the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (literally the "Chamber of the People") and the upper house , the Senate or Dewan Negara (literally the "Chamber of the Nation"). All seventy Senate members sit for three-year terms (to a maximum of two terms); twenty-six are elected by the thirteen state assemblies, and forty-four are appointed by
3880-493: The prime minister , withholding consent to dissolve Parliament, and calling meetings with the Conference of Rulers "concerned solely with the privileges, position, honours and dignities of Their Royal Highnesses". Under the Westminster system , the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is expected to appoint a prime minister who will command the confidence of a majority of the Dewan Rakyat , the elected lower house of Parliament . Should
3977-426: The 84-year-old major general Ibrahim of Johor , Sultan of Johor since 1895, was first in line, but he declined the office due to old age. The next in line, Abu Bakar of Pahang , Sultan of Pahang since 1932, was rejected five times by his fellow electors and did not secure the necessary votes, in part because his various marriages to celebrities and cabaret dancers were seen as unbecoming of royalty – especially with
Government of Malaysia - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-700: The Conference of Rulers. The king cannot be sued in court for his actions while carrying out his official duties. Any claims can be made against the federal government. The official residence of the King is the Istana Negara (the National Palace) located in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim in the federal capital Kuala Lumpur . It was completed in 2011. It replaced the old Istana Negara in Jalan Istana which had been turned into
4171-535: The Federation" and "Head of State of the Federation". The very common term "King" has also been conveniently used by the media and the public, although incorrectly as it is not an official or legal title of the federal ruler. In Malaysian passports before 2010, the title "The Supreme Head of Malaysia" was used in the English version of the passport note. Since the issuance of ICAO -compliant e-passports in 2010,
4268-404: The Malay world of Southeast Asia, and was one of the oldest testimonies to the advent of Islam as a state religion in the region. It contains the proclamation issued by a ruler of Terengganu known as Seri Paduka Tuan, urging his subjects to extend and uphold Islam and providing 10 basic Sharia laws for their guidance. The classical Malay language came into widespread use as the lingua franca of
4365-1057: The Malayic languages spoken by the Orang Asli ( Proto-Malay ) in Malaya . They are Jakun , Orang Kanaq , Orang Seletar , and Temuan . The other Malayic languages, included in neither of these groups, are associated with the expansion of the Malays across the archipelago. They include Riau-Johor Malay ( Malaysian and Indonesian ), Kedah Malay , Kedayan/Brunei Malay , Berau Malay , Bangka Malay , Jambi Malay , Kutai Malay , Natuna Malay, Riau Malay , Loncong , Pattani Malay , and Banjarese . Menterap may belong here. There are also several Malay-based creole languages , such as Betawi , Cocos Malay , Makassar Malay , Ambonese Malay , Dili Malay , Kupang Malay , Manado Malay , Papuan Malay , Pattani Malay , Satun Malay , Songkhla Malay , Bangkok Malay , and Sabah Malay , which may be more or less distinct from standard (Malaccan) Malay. Due to
4462-612: The Malaysian Armed Forces , he appoints the Chief of Defence Forces , on the advice of the Armed Forces Council . He also appoints the service heads of each of the three branches of the armed forces. On 31 August 1957, having rejected the suggested title of Yang di-Pertuan Besar in favour of Yang di-Pertuan Agong , the Conference of Rulers elected the first occupant of the federal throne. By seniority,
4559-531: The Royal Museum in 2013. Other residences include the royal retreat, Istana Melawati in the federal administrative capital Putrajaya . The two palaces alternate as a venue of meetings of the Conference of Rulers. The King's official full style and title in Malay is Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong . Common English terms used in the media and by the general public include "Paramount Ruler", "Head of State", "Head of
4656-606: The State List (such as land, local government, sharia law and sharia courts, state holidays and state public works). Parliament and state legislatures share the power to make laws over matters under the Concurrent List (such as water supplies and housing) but Article 75 provides that in the event of conflict, federal law will prevail over state law. Elections in Malaysia exist at two levels: national level and state level. National level elections are those for membership in
4753-422: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, on the advice of the prime minister. The prime minister and his Cabinet are collectively responsible to Parliament. The Prime Minister's Department (sometimes referred to as the Prime Minister's Office) is the body and ministry in which the prime minister exercises their functions and powers. Each state government in Malaysia is created by its respective state constitution. Each state has
4850-681: The actual ancestor of Classical Malay. Old Malay was influenced by Sanskrit, the classical language of India . Sanskrit loan words can be found in Old Malay vocabulary. The earliest known stone inscription in the Old Malay language was found in Sumatra , Indonesia, written in the Pallava variety of the Grantha alphabet and is dated 1 May 683. Known as the Kedukan Bukit inscription , it
4947-515: The advice of the Prime Minister. While the monarch is the head of state , real executive power is vested in the Cabinet, led by the prime minister as the head of government ; the Malaysian constitution stipulates that the prime minister must be a member of the lower house of parliament who, in the opinion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commands a majority in parliament. The Cabinet is chosen from among members of both houses of Parliament and
SECTION 50
#17327723581075044-441: The area under its jurisdiction. Local authorities in Malaysia are generally under the exclusive purview of the state governments and headed by a civil servant with the title Yang Di-Pertua (President). Local government areas and the boundaries are usually consistent with district boundaries but there are some places where the boundaries are not consistent and may overlap with adjoining districts especially in urbanised areas. Unlike
5141-555: The colonial language, Dutch, is no longer commonly spoken. (In East Timor , which was governed as a province of Indonesia from 1976 to 1999, Indonesian is widely spoken and recognized under its Constitution as a 'working language'.) Besides Indonesian , which developed from the Riau Malay dialect, there are many Malay varieties spoken in Indonesia; they are divided into western and eastern groups. Western Malay dialects are predominantly spoken in Sumatra and Borneo , which itself
5238-747: The constitution as one of two working languages (the other being English ), alongside the official languages of Tetum and Portuguese . The extent to which Malay is used in these countries varies depending on historical and cultural circumstances. Malay is the national language in Malaysia by Article 152 of the Constitution of Malaysia , and became the sole official language in Peninsular Malaysia in 1968 and in East Malaysia gradually from 1974. English continues, however, to be widely used in professional and commercial fields and in
5335-516: The court moved to establish the Johor Sultanate, it continued using the classical language; it has become so associated with Dutch Riau and British Johor that it is often assumed that the Malay of Riau is close to the classical language. However, there is no closer connection between Malaccan Malay as used on Riau and the Riau vernacular. Among the oldest surviving letters written in Malay are
5432-486: The early settlement of a Cape Malay community in Cape Town , who are now known as Coloureds , numerous Classical Malay words were brought into Afrikaans . The extent to which Malay and related Malayan languages are used in the countries where it is spoken varies depending on historical and cultural circumstances. Malay is the national language in Malaysia by Article 152 of the Constitution of Malaysia , and became
5529-474: The eastern part of the Malay or Nusantara archipelago and include Makassar Malay , Manado Malay , Ambonese Malay , North Moluccan Malay , Kupang Malay , Dili Malay , and Papuan Malay . The differences among both groups are quite observable. For example, the word kita means 'we, us' in western, but means 'I, me' in Manado, whereas 'we, us" in Manado is torang and Ambon katong (originally abbreviated from Malay kita orang 'we people'). Another difference
5626-539: The election process, the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal distributes the ballot with only one candidate. Each ruler is requested to indicate whether the candidate is suitable or not to be elected King. The most junior ruler, who is not listed as nominee for the office of king, or the outgoing King is appointed to count the ballot papers together with the Keeper of the Rulers' Seal. The nominee must have obtained five votes before
5723-495: The executive power of the federal government in the monarch. However, with few exceptions, the king is bound to exercise this power on the advice of the Cabinet or of a minister acting under the Cabinet's general authority. In practice, most of the actual day-to-day work of governing is performed by the Federal Cabinet. The discretionary powers of the king as stated by the Constitution and laws pertain chiefly to appointing
5820-590: The far southern parts of the Philippines . They have traditionally been classified as Malay, Para-Malay, and Aboriginal Malay, but this reflects geography and ethnicity rather than a proper linguistic classification. The Malayic languages are mutually intelligible to varying extents, though the distinction between language and dialect is unclear in many cases. Para-Malay includes the Malayic languages of Sumatra . They are: Minangkabau , Central Malay (Bengkulu), Pekal , Talang Mamak , Musi (Palembang), Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia), and Duano’ . Aboriginal Malay are
5917-488: The federal and state governments, the local governments in Malaysia are not elected but appointed by the state government after local council elections were suspended by the federal government in 1965. The Malaysian Armed Forces are the military body of Malaysia while the Royal Malaysia Police are in charge of law enforcement . The law of Malaysia is mainly based on the common law legal system . This
SECTION 60
#17327723581076014-471: The formation of Malaysia in 1963, only the rulers of the nine royal states of Peninsular Malaysia have been made eligible for election for the throne. Had it been admitted as a royal state the Sultan of Brunei would have been granted the right to stand for election as king by the Conference of Rulers . This cycle was originally established based on seniority. However, the current rulers are named (and stand as
6111-521: The highlands of Sumatra , Indonesia . Terengganu Inscription Stone (Malay: Batu Bersurat Terengganu ; Jawi: باتو برسورت ترڠݢانو) is a granite stele carrying inscription in Jawi script that was found in Terengganu, Malaysia is the earliest evidence of classical Malay inscription. The inscription, dated possibly to 702 AH (corresponds to 1303 CE), constituted the earliest evidence of Jawi writing in
6208-541: The initial submission to him (Article 66). The king appoints numerous high-ranking office holders in the federation under the terms of the Constitution and various legislative acts passed by Parliament. The constitution established procedures for such appointments. The king appoints 44 at-large senators to the Dewan Negara , the upper house of Parliament. The king appoints the Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governors), of
6305-522: The king and the state rulers in their personal capacity, due to public outrage over their behaviour. A Special Court ( Mahkamah Khas Raja-raja ) is established where civil and criminal proceedings can be made against a ruler with the approval of the Attorney General. The right to sue a ruler is limited to Malaysian citizens following a precedent. The Special Court also have jurisdiction where a ruler initiates legal actions against any party. When
6402-644: The king is royal yellow with the Coat of arms of Malaysia in the centre, surrounded by a rice paddy wreath coloured gold – both are traditional royal colours in the peninsula. The same goes for the Royal Standards of the Queen and the Deputy King, but the designs are different. The queen's standard is green in colour, with the coat of arms at the centre surrounded by the paddy wreath. The deputy king's standard
6499-560: The language is sometimes called Malacca, Johor or Riau Malay (or various combinations of those names) to distinguish it from the various other Malayic languages . According to Ethnologue 16, several of the Malayic varieties they currently list as separate languages, including the Orang Asli varieties of Peninsular Malay , are so closely related to standard Malay that they may prove to be dialects. There are also several Malay trade and creole languages (e.g. Ambonese Malay ) based on
6596-763: The languages' words for kinship, health, body parts and common animals. Numbers, especially, show remarkable similarities. Within Austronesian, Malay is part of a cluster of numerous closely related forms of speech known as the Malayic languages , which were spread across Malaya and the Indonesian archipelago by Malay traders from Sumatra. There is disagreement as to which varieties of speech popularly called "Malay" should be considered dialects of this language, and which should be classified as distinct Malay languages. The vernacular of Brunei— Brunei Malay —for example,
6693-401: The letters from Sultan Abu Hayat of Ternate , Maluku Islands in present-day Indonesia , dated around 1521–1522. The text is addressed to the king of Portugal , following contact with Portuguese explorer Francisco Serrão . The letters show sign of non-native usage; the Ternateans used (and still use) the unrelated Ternate language , a West Papuan language , as their first language . Malay
6790-426: The national language ( bahasa kebangsaan or bahasa nasional ) of several nation states with various official names: in Malaysia, it is designated as either Bahasa Malaysia (" Malaysian ") or also Bahasa Melayu ("Malay language"); in Singapore and Brunei, it is called Bahasa Melayu ("Malay language"); in Indonesia, an autonomous normative variety called Bahasa Indonesia (" Indonesian language ")
6887-423: The nine state rulers. The selection of the candidate for the kingship initially followed an order based on the seniority (calculated by length of reign) of each ruler in 1957, at the Federation of Malaya 's independence from the United Kingdom. The Conference of Rulers, which has the power to disqualify a candidate, has sometimes varied the original seniority order, as noted above. Since then, the states have followed
6984-399: The office (by death, abdication, or deposition by a majority vote of the rulers), the Conference of Rulers elects a new office holder as king as if the previous term had expired. The new king is elected for a full five-year term by the Conference. After his term expires, it holds a new election, in which the incumbent would not be re-elected to the office. The position de facto rotates among
7081-431: The option of answering questions using Jawi. The Latin script, however, is the most commonly used in Brunei and Malaysia, both for official and informal purposes. Historically, Malay has been written using various scripts. Before the introduction of Arabic script in the Malay region, Malay was written using the Pallava , Kawi and Rencong scripts; these scripts are no longer frequently used, but similar scripts such as
7178-674: The particular state. The constitution of Malaysia also provides for a unique dual justice system—the secular laws (criminal and civil) and sharia laws . Articles 73 to 79 of the Federal Constitution specifies the subject in which the federal and state government may legislate. Parliament has the exclusive power to make laws over matters falling under the Federal List (such as citizenship, defence, internal security, civil and criminal law, finance, trade, commerce and industry, education, labour, and tourism) whereas each state, through its Legislative Assembly, has legislative power over matters under
7275-526: The prime minister be or become unacceptable, he may be forced out by a vote of no confidence , which would require the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to appoint someone else as prime minister or dissolve Parliament for an election. Conventionally, the prime minister is the head of the party with a majority in Parliament. This was the Barisan Nasional coalition from independence in 1957 until 2018, when
7372-788: The pronunciation of words ending in the vowel 'a'. For example, in some parts of Malaysia and in Singapore, kita (inclusive 'we, us, our') is pronounced as /kitə/ , in Kelantan and Southern Thailand as /kitɔ/ , in Riau as /kita/ , in Palembang as /kito/ , in Betawi and Perak as /kitɛ/ and in Kedah and Perlis as /kitɑ/. Yang di-Pertuan Agong [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Race and politics The King of Malaysia , officially Yang di-Pertuan Agong ( lit. ' He who
7469-541: The region during the Malacca Sultanate era (1402–1511). It was the period the Malay language developed rapidly under the influence of Islamic literature. The development changed the nature of the language with massive infusion of Arabic , Sanskrit , and Tamil vocabularies, called Classical Malay . Under the Sultanate of Malacca the language evolved into a form recognisable to speakers of modern Malay. When
7566-429: The revelation (according to an oral interview with Tunku Abdul Rahman) of a surprise wedding to a ronggeng dancer and their honeymoon to Hong Kong . Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan , who had been elected to his state throne ( Yamtuan Besar ) in 1933, was elected king by eight votes to one. The first Conference of Rulers after the formation of Malaysia comprised: The holder of the office and title of King of Malaysia
7663-448: The right and authority to dismiss the prime minister. He also can dismiss or withhold consent to a request for the dissolution of parliament (Article 40). He may discontinue or dissolve parliament (Article 55) but he can only dissolve parliament at the request of the prime minister (Article 43). He can reject any new laws or amendments to existing laws but if he still withholds permission, it will automatically become law after 30 days from
7760-437: The ruler next in line to rule after the current king. The deputy king exercises the functions of the head of state during the king's absence, or inability to exercise the functions of his office due to illness or infirmity (similar to a regent or viceroy / vizier in other countries). The deputy king does not automatically succeed as King of Malaysia when a vacancy occurs in that office. The deputy king acts as head of state in
7857-447: The ruler presiding over the Election Meeting informs him of his election to the office of King and asks him to accept the title. If the successful nominee declines the offer or the nominated ruler fails to secure the required majority votes for the office, the voting process is repeated with the nomination of the second most senior ruler based on the list of Seniority of States . Rulers are named and stand for election in turn. The process
7954-590: The sole official language in West Malaysia in 1968, and in East Malaysia gradually from 1974. English continues, however, to be widely used in professional and commercial fields and in the superior courts. Other minority languages are also commonly used by the country's large ethnic minorities. The situation in Brunei is similar to that of Malaysia. In Singapore, Malay was historically the lingua franca among people of different nationalities. Although this has largely given way to English, Malay still retains
8051-421: The state which he rules. Usually, but not always, the prince regent is a close relative. The regent acts as head of state in that state for every purpose except for the role of head of Islam, which is retained by the king. Since the first cycle of nine kings (1957–1994), the order among the eligible state rulers has followed the order established by that cycle, namely: With Brunei's decision not to participate in
8148-502: The states of Penang , Malacca , Sabah and Sarawak , at his discretion, after considering the advice of the state's Chief Minister/Premier, for four year terms. The governor's term of office can be renewed also at his disrection. He also appoints the Mayor and City Council of Kuala Lumpur . In addition, the king is the Head of Islam in the four states ruled by appointed governors, in
8245-542: The states of Malaysia do not have hereditary rulers. These are Malacca , Penang , Sarawak and Sabah . Sarawak previously had three hereditary rulers (the White Rajahs ) until it became a Crown colony of the British Empire in 1946. These four states, along with Malaysia's three Federal Territories , do not supply the king. In 1993, amendments to the Malaysian constitution removed the legal immunity of
8342-736: The states with a hereditary ruler, the Menteri Besar is required to be a Malay , appointed by the sultan. The local government or local authority (Malay: kerajaan tempatan or pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT)) is the lowest level in the system of government in Malaysia—after federal and state. It has the power to collect taxes (in the form of assessment tax ), to create laws and rules (in the form of by-laws) and to grant licenses and permits for any trade in its area of jurisdiction, in addition to providing basic amenities , collecting and managing waste and garbage as well as planning and developing
8439-435: The status of national language and the national anthem , Majulah Singapura , is entirely in Malay. In addition, parade commands in the military, police and civil defence are given only in Malay. Most residents of the five southernmost provinces of Thailand —a region that, for the most part, used to be part of an ancient Malay kingdom called Pattani —speak a dialect of Malay called Yawi (not to be confused with Jawi), which
8536-608: The superior courts. Other minority languages are also commonly used by the country's large ethnic minorities. The situation in Brunei is similar to that in Malaysia. In the Philippines , Indonesian is spoken by the overseas Indonesian community concentrated in Davao City . Functional phrases are taught to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as well as local students. Malay, like most Austronesian languages,
8633-611: The three Federal Territories (The cities of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya and Labuan Island), as well as in his own home state. In this role, he is advised by the State Islamic Affairs Council in each of the States. The king appoints the chairman and members of each state council. He also appoints the State Mufti (head) in each of these states. There is a single Islamic Affairs Council with jurisdiction for
8730-543: The three Federal Territories. Its members and chairman are appointed by the king, who also appoints the mufti of the Federal Territories. In accordance with Article 41 of the Constitution, the king is Commander-in-Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces . As such, he is the highest-ranking officer in the military chain of command, holding five star rank in its branches. As the Supreme Commander of
8827-489: The untranslated title "His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia" has been used. In formal English correspondence, for many years the King was referred to as "His Majesty The Yang di-Pertuan Agong". In January 2024, this was changed to "His Majesty The King of Malaysia". Formal address to the King is taken seriously in Malaysia. There are two ways of addressing the King: The Royal Standard of
8924-654: The world's few elective monarchies . The 17th and current Yang di-Pertuan Agong is Ibrahim Iskandar of Johor . He was elected on 26 October 2023, at a special meeting of the Conference of Rulers ; he took the oath of office and was sworn in at the Istana Negara on 31 January 2024. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong's queen consort is known as the Raja Permaisuri Agong , currently Raja Zarith Sofiah . The royal couple are styled in English as "His Majesty" and "Her Majesty". The Yang di-Pertuan Agong' s role
9021-507: Was a direct result of the colonisation of Malaya, Sarawak , and North Borneo by Britain between the early 19th century to 1960s. The supreme law of the land—the Constitution of Malaysia—sets out the legal framework and rights of Malaysian citizens. Federal laws enacted by the Parliament of Malaysia apply throughout the country. There are also state laws enacted by the State Legislative Assemblies which applies in
9118-635: Was discovered by the Dutchman M. Batenburg on 29 November 1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra , on the banks of the Tatang, a tributary of the Musi River . It is a small stone of 45 by 80 centimetres (18 by 31 in). For centuries, Srivijaya , through its expansion, economic power and military prowess, was responsible for the widespread of Old Malay throughout the Malay Archipelago . It
9215-456: Was gradually replaced by the Rumi script. Malay is spoken in Brunei , Indonesia , Malaysia , East Timor , Singapore and southern Thailand . Indonesia regulates its own normative variety of Malay, while Malaysia and Singapore use a common standard. Brunei, in addition to Standard Malay, uses a distinct vernacular dialect called Brunei Malay . In East Timor , Indonesian is recognised by
9312-621: Was the working language of traders and it was used in various ports, and marketplaces in the region. Other evidence is the Tanjung Tanah Law in post-Pallava letters. This 14th-century pre-Islamic legal text was produced in the Adityawarman era (1345–1377) of Dharmasraya , a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that arose after the end of Srivijayan rule in Sumatra . The laws were for the Minangkabau people , who today still live in
9409-928: Was used solely as a lingua franca for inter-ethnic communications. Malay is a member of the Austronesian family of languages, which includes languages from Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean , with a smaller number in continental Asia . Malagasy , a geographic outlier spoken in Madagascar in the Indian Ocean , is also a member of this language family. Although these languages are not necessarily mutually intelligible to any extent, their similarities are often quite apparent. In more conservative languages like Malay, many roots have come with relatively little change from their common ancestor, Proto-Austronesian language . There are many cognates found in
#106893