Conference of Rulers

The Conference of Rulers (also Council of Rulers or Durbar, Majlis Raja-Raja; Jawi: مجليس راج٢) in Malaysia is a council comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states, and the governors or Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the other four states. 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. Its main responsibility is the election of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) and their deputy, the Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong, which occurs every five years or when the positions fall vacant (either through death, resignation, or removal from office). Although its position in the process of elective monarchy is unique, the Conference of Rulers also plays a role in amending the Constitution of Malaysia and some other policies, in particular, those Articles which have been "entrenched", namely those pertaining to the status of the rulers, the special privileges of the indigenous Bumiputra (see Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia), the status of the Malay language as the national language, and the clause governing the entrenchment of such Articles. The Conference of Rulers has its origins in the 1897 Durbar, the Council of Rulers for the Federated Malay States, which were not under the British colonial regime, with the British playing the advisory role on only a very few administrative items and the full authority to govern remaining with the Sultan of those states. Only the four Federated Malay States of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, and Pahang were represented at the Durbar, which first convened in 1897. The purpose of the Durbar, as described by Resident-General Frank Swettenham, was to "bring home to the Malays, in the most striking manner possible, the reality of federation". After World War II, a similar body called the Council of Sultans was constituted under the short-lived Malayan Union. The Council comprised the Governor of the Union, who acted as President, the nine rulers, and the Chief Secretary, Attorney-General and Financial Secretary as ex officio members.