Yang di-Pertuan Negara (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

: (he) who is Lord of the State) is a title for 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 ...

in certain Malay-speaking countries, and has been used as an official title at various times in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Sabah

The head of state of

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

was once known as ''Yang Di-Pertua Negara'' and later known as ''Yang Di-Pertua Negeri''.

Singapore

Background

Following revisions to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

in 1959, which granted Singapore self-governance from the United Kingdom, the ceremonial office of ''Yang di-Pertuan Negara'' replaced the colonial office of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

as the representative of the

British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

in Singapore. Although the ''Yang di-Pertuan Negara'' was the title for the

, constitutionally he is only a ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legall ...

'' chief executive, acting as a vice-regal representative in lieu of a typical

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

.The head of state in Singapore: An historical perspective
in ''Managing Political Change in Singapore: The Elected Presidency, Kevin Tan, Peng Er Lam, Routledge, 1997, page 9 Under a transitional arrangement, the last governor of Singapore, Sir William Goode, served as the first ''Yang di-Pertuan Negara'' from 3 June 1959 to 3 December 1959. He was succeeded by Yusof Ishak, who was sworn into office on the same day as the country's state flag,

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, and

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

were adopted. The title was retained when

became the 14th state of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

in 1963 (not to be confused with the ''Yang di-Pertua Negara'' of

). The officeholder then acted as the vice-regal representative of the ''

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 o ...

'' of

. On 9 August 1965, Singapore was separated from the federation to become an independent state within the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...

. On 22 December of that year, the Constitution was amended to make the country a republic, and had changed the title to

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

with retroactive effect from the date of independence.

List of officeholders

* William Goode (3 June 1959 – 3 December 1959) * Yusof Ishak (3 December 1959 – 9 August 1965)

Brunei

, the

Sultan of Brunei The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates ...

is also known as the ''Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam''. The full title for the head of state and head of government of Brunei is ''Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam''.

References