Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

, Yang di-Pertuan Besar, literally ''"He Who Is Made Chief Ruler"'', is a title given to the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

in segments of the

Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago (Indonesian/Malay: , tgl, Kapuluang Malay) is the archipelago between mainland Indochina and Australia. It has also been called the " Malay world," "Nusantara", "East Indies", Indo-Australian Archipelago, Spices Archipe ...

In Malaysia

# Also known as

Yamtuan Besar Yamtuan, also known officially as Yang di-Pertuan Besar and unofficially as Grand Ruler, is the royal title of the ruler of the states and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan. The Grand Ruler of Negeri Sembilan is ...

, it is the title of the elected monarch of the state of

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. The monarch is himself one of the nine Malay rulers and electors of the federal

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...

(High King). # It is a subsidiary title of the Sultan of Kedah, the

Sultan of Kelantan The Sultan of Kelantan () is the constitutional head of Kelantan state in Malaysia. The executive power of the state is vested in him as the monarch of the state. The current sultan, Muhammad V, is the 29th Sultan of Kelantan. He is the Head o ...

, the

Sultan of Perak The Sultan of Perak (سلطان ڤيراق) is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states. When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra, and died there in ...

and the Sultan of Terengganu # Other historical figures, especially the monarchs of the ancient

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...

Empire (circa. 17th-19th century), had the title used to differentiate from the ''"Yang di-Pertuan Muda"'' ("Under King") - who is usually not

but

Bugis The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...

. However, this was a secondary title, the primary title being

sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

. # A peculiar occurrence in

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...

history was that, after Sultan Zainal Abidin I died, his youngest son, Sultan Mansur Riayat Shah I was enthroned as Sultan with the title ''Yang di-Pertuan Kecil'' (during his minority), while his oldest son, Ku Tanang Wangsa held the Yang di-Pertuan Besar title equivalent to

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

In Indonesia

*In colonial Indonesia, the

Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...

was styled: Yang Mulia Sri Paduka Yang Dipertuan Besar. * Secondary title of the Sultans of Asahan (in Sumatra), Sultan of

Riau-Lingga Riau-Lingga Sultanate ( Malay/ Indonesian: کسلطانن رياوليڠݢ, ''Kesultanan Riau-Lingga''), also known as the Lingga-Riau Sultanate, Riau Sultanate or Lingga Sultanate was a Malay sultanate that existed from 1824 to 1911, befor ...

and Sultan of

Siak Sri Indrapura Siak Sri Indrapura ( Jawi: سياق سري ايندراڤورا ) is a town in Riau province of Indonesia and it is the capital (seat) of Siak Regency. It was the place of the Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura. Climate Siak Sri Indrapura has a ...

(the latter two are located

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

, which broke away from the

Empire) * The original title of the

Tuan Besar Tuan may refer to: * Brush-tailed phascogale, an Australian marsupial animal also known as tuan *Zaiyi (1856–1923), Prince Duan (or Prince Tuan), a Qing Dynasty prince and statesman *Duan (surname), a Chinese surname spelled as Tuan in the older ...

of (in the Indonesian province of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

)

References

Noble titles of Indonesia Noble titles of Malaysia Malaysian monarchy Malaysian nobility Royal titles {{Politics-stub