Kuala Lumpur

Johor

Kedah

Kelantan

Melaka

Negeri Sembilan

Pahang

Penang

Perak

Perlis

Sabah

Sarawak

Selangor

Trengganu

Orang Asli

Pulau Penang

Originally part of the Malay sultanate of Kedah, Penang was ceded to the British East India Company in 1786 by the Sultan of Kedah, in exchange for military protection from Siamese and Burmese armies who were threatening Kedah. On 11 August 1786, Captain Francis Light, known as the founder of Penang, hoisted the Union Jack thereby taking formal possession of Penang and renamed it Prince of Wales Island (name used until after 1867) in honour of the heir to the British throne. Penang was the first British possession in the Malay States and Southeast Asia.

In 1826, Penang, along with Malacca and Singapore, became part of the Straits Settlements under the British administration in India, later coming under direct British rule in 1867 as a Crown Colony.

Penang was captured by Japanese forces invading from the north through Thailand on 19 December 1941 but they had to surrender to British forces on 6 September 1945. Before civilian rule returned to Penang, the state was administered by two successive British military governors from 1945-1946.

In 1946, the Straits Settlements were dissolved, with Sir Shenton Thomas being the last governor, and Penang became part of the Malayan Union, before becoming in 1948 a state of the Federation of Malaya, which gained independence in 1957. In 1963 it became one of the 13 states of Malaysia.

The crest of Penang is an areca nut palm on a hill. It appeared in the second quarter of the arms of the Straits Settlements adopted in 1911

A coat of arms for Penang was adopted  on 11 September 1949. Its original blasoning reads:

Shield: Barry wavy of eight Azure and Argent upon a chief crenellée Or a plume of three ostrich feathers surmounted by a riband of the First on the riband the words Ich Dien in letters of the Third

Crest: On a wreath of the Colours upon a mount a Pinang or Areca-nut palm leaved and fructed Proper. [1]

A motto was adopted by the Settlement Council of Penang in 1950 and reads “BERSATU DAN SETIA” (United and Loyal). [2]

After the construction of the Penang Bridge in 1982-1985, the arms were changed by replacing the chief crenellée by a chief Or, Penang Bridge proper. [3]

ð See illustrtaion in the head of this section.

The badge of the Prince of Wales is to the memory of the former name of the Island.

The waves symbolize the Straits of Malacca which separates Penang from the mainland and the province of Wellesley. [4]

Perak

As with the other Malay states in the north, Perak was constantly under threat from regional powers. During the 16th century, the Achinese and the Dutch was the main cause of concern due to Perak's monopoly of tin. In the 18th Century, Perak was then threatened by the Bugis and Siamese.

In 1874, an agreement by which Raja Abdullah was elected as the Sultan of Perak, was signed on Pangkor Island.  The British also appointed J.W.W Birch as the first British Resident.

Perak became part of the Federated Malay States in 1896 until the Japanese invasion. With the withdrawal of the Japanese forces in 1945, Perak was put under the British Military Administration. Later it became one of the 13 states of Malaysia.

An emblem for Perak occurs in the chief of the arms of the Federated Malay States. A new emblem was probably adopted in 1929 when the arms of the DMS were changed.

The actual emblem of Perak consists of the jewel or sarpech of the royal headdress of Perak and the legend ‘NEGERI PERAK’ in jawi script in base. Around the jewel is a black crescent charged with a yellow garland of rice-flowers.

ð See illustration in the head of this section.

The Royal Jewel dates from the reign of Sultan Abdul Jalil (1916-’18) who was the first to wear it on his headdress. All his successors have worn the jewel after him. In its original form it consists of a sun or multi-pointed star between two ornaments, set with diamonds and crested with a bunch of white ostrich-feathers. [5]

Perlis

Perlis was originally part of the older kingdom of Kedah, which was conquered by Siam in 1821. After the restoration of the Sultan of Kedah to his throne in 1842, the Siamese kept Perlis as a vassal state.

In 1905, Perlis obtained, from Siam, the services of an European advisor to help in the administrative and financial affairs of the state.

The Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 transferred control of Perlis from Siam to Britain, and a British advisor was appointed to administer the state. A formal treaty between Britain and Perlis was only signed in 1930.

In World War II, the Japanese occupation forces handed Perlis back to Siam. After the war, Perlis again came under British protection until Perlis gained independence from Britain with the formation of the Federation of Malaya in 1957.

The arms of Perlis probably date from about 1930. It is:

Arms: Vert, the name ‘Perlis’ in jawi script surrounded by a garland, Or.

Garland: Rice stalks Vert.  [6]

Sabah

History

In the 18th century a few attempts were made to set up a trading post in the North Borneo Region but they all failed. In 1844, James Brooke approached the Sultan of Brunei regarding the cession of Labuan island to be used by the British as a coaling base, to act against piracy and to increase trade.

On 18 December 1846, a treaty was signed in which the Sultan ceded in perpetuity Labuan and its islets to the British Crown. Brooke became the first Govemor of Labuan and her Majesty's Consul-General in Borneo.

Like the other settlements before, Labuan did not live up to expectations as a mini-Singapore or Penang as the founders had hoped.

In 1881, a British North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd. was founded.  On the 1 November, the British Crown officially granted a Royal Charter to the Association. In 1882, the British North Borneo Chartered Company was founded which took over all the rights of the Provisional Association.

In 1888, North Borneo became a British protectorate and a system of indirect rule was established. In 1890, Labuan came to be a part of the protectorate but in 1907 it was placed under the government of the Straits Settlements.

The BNBCC had effectively ruled up to 1942, when the Second World War rudely interrupted on peaceful North Borneo. Japanese forces landed in Labuan on 1 January and occupied Sabah until she was liberated by the Ninth Division Australian Imperial Forces (A.I.F) in 1945. After the Second World War, North Borneo was administered by the British Military Administration. On 15 July 1946, Sabah was placed under the British Crown as the BNBCC could not afford to rebuild Sabah, after the devastation of the War.

North Borneo obtained self-government from the British on 31 August 1963. and on 16 September 1963

Malaysia was formally established.  At the same time North Borneo's name was changed to Sabah.

Heraldry

BRITISH NORTH BORNEO COMPANY

On 20 and 21 July 1882 the North Borneo Company was granted a coat of arms by the College of Arms in London. It is blasoned as follows:

Arms: Azure in base on waves of the sea a native boat of North Borneo with sails manned and oars in action proper, a chief Or, thereon a lion passant guardant Gules.

Crest: Upon a wreath of the colours, two arms embowed that on the dexter side being an arm of a native of North Borneo proper, that on the sinister side being an arm vested Azure cuffed Argent, the hands grasping a staff proper thereon hoisted a flag flowing to the sinister Or charged with a lion guardant Gules.

Supporters: On either side a Dyak of North Borneo that on the dexter supporting with its exterior hand a native shield and that on the sinister supporting in his exterior hand a native sword point downwards all proper.

Motto: pergo et perago.[7]

The achievement was printed on stamps and on coins issued from 1882/1883:

Coloured version from the beginning of the 20th century

Dayak Shields

Drawing by H.L. Roth, 1896.

The supporter on the dexter bears a shield of a common Dayak type illustrated on this picture on the left. About this shield Jean Paul Barbier remarks:

“The ‘Dayak’ of Borneo, comprising the ‘Sea Dayak’and the ‘Land Dayak’ of Sarawak (as the Iban used to be called) and the ‘Land Dayak' on the remainder of the island, possessed many differents sorts of shield. Illustrated here are three kinds appearing among the Iban of Sarawak. The type on the left, which is also found in the centre of Kalimantan, is one of the most widespread....” [8]

On this picture (right) from the thirties of the 20th century, the supporter on the dexter side bears a shield which is of the Kenya-Kayan type found on either side of the Mahakam river in East Borneo, formerly in Kutei Sultanate and today in Kalimantan Timur. It is adorned with hair from human victims.[9]

Needless to say this version is incorrect.

CROWN COLONY OF NORTH BORNEO

The sovereignty of the British North Borneo Company was abolished on 15 July 1946 and British North Borneo became a British Crown Colony. As a result the achievement as well as the badges of Labuan and the British North Borneo Cy. became obsolete.

A coat of arms for the colony was adopted on 13 september 1948 and is an amalgamation of the badges of Labuan and North Borneo. It is:

Badge of Labuan

Badge of the North Borneo Company

Arms: Azure in base on waves of the sea in front of a representation of mount Kinabalu (4094 m.)  a sailing yacht in full sail to the sinsiter on the mizzen the letter “T” Sable all proper, a chief Or thereon a lion passant guardant Gules.

Crest: Upon a wreath Azure and Or, two arms embowed that on the dexter side being an arm of a native of North Bornbeo Proper, that on the sinister side being an arm vested Azure cuffed Argent, the hands grasping a staff proper thereon hoisted a flag flowing to the sinistsre Or charged with a lion passant guardant Gules.

The “T” commemorates the liberation from Japanese occupation by the 9th Australian Division, which had participated in the siege of Tobruk (1941).The emblem of the 9th Australian Division was a platypus (ornitorynchus anatinus) over a boomerang:

SABAH

The State of North Borneo joined the Malaysian Federation on 16 September 1963. At the same time the name of the country was changed into “Sabah”, meaning ‘morning’ in arab.

The flag of the state became barry of four red, white yellow and green with a green canton at the hoist charged with a picture of Mount Kinabalu proper.

The coat of arms was modified  in that the chief became chevronny Gules, Argent, Vert, Or and Azure.

The crest was changed by replacing the arm on the sinister by another naked arm and both arms upheld the new national flag.

Below is the motto “SABAH MAJU JAYA” meaning “Forward with Prosperity”.[10]

The arms were restyled in 1988 by leaving out the sailing yacht and by changing the colours.

Each of these colours: cobalt-blue, light blue, navy blue, white and red has its own symbolic meaning.

This is officially stated as follows:

The flag upheld by the two arms was changed according to the new flag adopted in 1988.

ð See illustration in the head of this section.

Sarawak

James Brooke

1842-1868

Sarawak was founded in 1842 by a British officer, James Brooke on a territory ceded to him by the Sultan of Brunei as a reward for military aid.

The coat of arms of James Brooke was:

Brooke  (Sir James Brooke K.C.B. Rajah of Sarawak, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Labuan). Or, a cross engrailed per cross inden­ted azure and Sable in the first quarter an estoile of the second. Crest: On an eastern crown a brock proper ducally gorged Or. Motto: DUM SPIRO SPERO (While I Breathe I Hope). [11]

In Sarawak however his flag showed: Or, a cross per pale Azure and Gules.

Charles Johnson Brooke

1868-1917

The Azure and Gules were abandoned two years after the succession of his son  Sir Charles Johnson Brooke (1868-1917). His achievement was:

Arms: Or, a cross engrailed parted per pale Sable and Gules.

Crest: On a wreath of the colours a brock proper

Motto: DUM SPIRO SPERO [12]

Charles Vyner Brooke

1917-1946

By his son Sir Charles Vyner Brooke (1917-1946) a version of the arms was introduced  with the crest replaced by a five-pointed crown, the points symbolizing the five divisions of the kingdom. Shortly before WW II the engrailed was abandoned and replaced by just a cross parted per pale. As a royal badge these arms were circular, the five-pointed crown in the middle. This badge can be seen on the Long Service Medal of Sarawak, renewed 1940. [13]

British Crown Colony

1945.05.17 - 1963.08.31

Because of the disastrous results of Japanese Occupation (1941.12.25 - 1945.09.11) Sir Charles abdicated  1946.07.01.  On the 17th of May 1945 Sarawak became a British Crown Colony. A coat of arms was adopted on 10th of March 1947. It is:

Arms: Or, a cross parted per pale Sable and Gules, charged with a five pinted crown Or. [14]

The flag of the Governor of the Crown Colony of Sarawak was of the usual British design. It consisted of the Union Jack with the former royal badge of the arms, surrounded by a garland in the middle:

The arms were maintained after Sarawak joined the Malaysian Federation on 16th of September 1963.

[15]

State of the Federation of Malaysia

1963-present

A thoroughly new emblem was adopted on the 1st of September 1973. It consists of a Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) with thirteen big feathers in each wing and as many in his tail. Thirteen is the number of states of the Malaysian Federation. The bird is between two hibiscus-flowers, given to welcome guests and being the national flower of Malaysia. On his breast is a shield of the colours of the flag: red over white with a blue triangle in the hoist. Below the shield is a listel with the name SARAWAK.

In his claws the hornbill has another listel with the motto “HIDUP SELALU BERHIDMAT” (Live to Serve).

The Great Hornbill is adopted as an emblem because Sarawak is known as ‘The Land of the Hornbill’.

By resolution of 31 of August 1988 the flag was changed because of its resemblance with the flag of Czechoslovakia. The new flag is yellow with two bends black and red, charged with a nine-pointed yellow star. The shield on the breast of the hornbill was changed accordingly. The motto was replaced by the motto  “BERSATU . BERUSAHA . BERBAKTI”. (United . Industrious . Devout). The colours yellow, black and red symbolize the administration, the minerals and labour respectively, the yellow star the Federation. 

ð See illustration in the head of this section

Selangor  سلاڠور,

سلاڠور دار الإحسان

History

Selangor’s history goes back to the 16th century, when rich tin deposits were found in the region. The area's natural wealth, along with its relative freedom from the presence of the Dutch, attracted miners, immigrants and colonizers. One specially important group of settlers were the Bugis, a Malay people from Macassar (now Ujung Padang) in Celebes/Sulawesi. Bugi emigration from this great port city followed the steady encroachment of the Dutch over territory previously dominated by Portuguese traders, with whom the Bugis had allied themselves. Renowned for their capabilities as sea traders and warriors, the Bugis soon rose to prominence in Selangor. By 1700 they dominated the state both politically and economically and had established the present Sultanate of Selangor.

In the 15th century, Selangor was ruled by the Sultanate of Malacca. After the fall of Malacca to the Portuguese in 1511, the area became disputed between the Portuguese, Johor, Aceh and Siam. When the Dutch ousted the Portuguese from Malacca in 1641, they brought in Bugi mercenaries from Sulawesi, who eventually established the present sultanate in 1740.

The Royal House of Selangor descends from the Yang di-Pertuans of Riau, Indonesia. They are Bugis, originating from Luwo in the Halmaheira Sea. Raja Lumu, second son of Raja Chelak, the 2nd Yang di-Pertuan Muda of Riau, conquered Selangor and established his legitimacy by being installed by the Sultan of Perak in 1766. Frequently at odds with the Dutch and native Malay rulers, his son Ibrahim, was expelled from Selangor in 1786. Ibrahim eventually reached an accommodation with the Dutch and was allowed to return, two years later.

In many districts, Bugi settlers displaced the Minangkabau settlers from Sumatra, who had established themselves in Selangor in the middle of the 17th century.

In the 19th century, the economy boomed due to the exploitation of huge tin reserves and the growing importance of rubber. As a result the British forced the Sultan of Selangor, ‘Abdu’l Samad,  to accept a

British Resident in 1874. Under the stability imposed by the British, Selangor again prospered. In 1896, largely through the coordination of the Resident Frank Swettenham, Selangor united with Negri Sembilan, Perak and Pahang to form the Federated Malay States, with its capital in Kuala Lumpur. In 1942 Selangor was occupied by the Japanese and the ruling Sultan Hisham was forced to abdicate. In 1945 he returned and ruled until his death in 1960.  During his rule the Federated Malay States evolved into the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. In 1970, Selangor relinquished the city of Kuala Lumpur to the federal government. Putrajaya also became a federal territory in the mid-1990s.

Under the 1959 constitution, Selangor is a constitutional monarchy.

Heraldry 

Very little is known about the heraldic symbols of the princes of the Malay peninsula and the Indonesian Archipelago of the 17th and 18th centuries. In the first place there are almost no contemporary images of these princes and so we can not be sure how they looked like and what marks of distinction they wore. On the other hand some of them were Siamese vassals and accordingly would have used heraldic emblems from the Siamese heraldic system. Others were vassals of the Johor Empire and of this empire the crossed krisses on the Porta de Santiago in Malacca are the only heraldic emblems known so far.

We may, however be sure that at least some of them used flags in their military expeditions and confrontations with the European invaders. Some of these flags were captured by their victors an some are preserved in European collections.[16] A few others can be found in local collections in Malaysia and Indonesia.

A collection of flags was captured at the Battle of Selangor in 1784, which resulted in the two-years exile of Sultan Ibrahim (1757-1826).

On a punitive expedition of the dutch admiral Van Braam against piracy in the Straits of Malacca, “the blue flag of the sultan of Selangor, hoisted on the stone fort on the roads, was added to the collection (of captured flags)” after the Battle of Selangor of 2 August 1784 . This collection was exposed at first  in the Hall in The Hague and ended eventually in the Museum of the Royal Army “Generaal Hoefer” in Delft. [17] The blue flag, of which we can not be entirely sure that it really is the flag of the Sultan of Selangor, is also to be seen on a contemporary flag-chart of Engel Hoogerheyden, today in the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam. [18]

Flag Chart of Engel Hoogerheyden, showing the flags captured at the battle of Selangor.

 (Maritiem Museum, Amsterdam)

This flag, on the flag-chart numbered 9 (the last of the first row), is blue, with the double-bladed sword of Islam, Dhu´l Fakar  between two bordures chevronny Argent, Sable, Gules and Sable.

Flag of Sultan Ibrahim, 1786.

After Engel Hoogerheyden

An emblem of Selangor dates from the reign of Sultan Abdul Samad (1857-’98), and so probably from after the appointment of a British Resident (1874). It is in the chief of the arms of the Federated Malay States.

The actual emblem, probably dating from about 1930, shows a spear Gules charged with a crescent-and-star Or between two krisses in their sheats Gules intertwined with the motto DIPELIHARA ALLAH in jawi script Or and Gules, and in base an ancient warrior belt. Below is a golden banner with the name of the state: SELANGOR  in black lettering.

In this emblem red (Gules) symbolizes blood and yellow (Or) symbolizes flesh. The red spear in the centre between a short kris on the right and a long kris on the left, are parts of the State regalia. The crescent and star represent Islam, the State religion. The motto Dipelihara Allah in jawi script means “Under the protection of Allah”. Below the motto is the broad belt or sash worn by warriors in the past.

Trengganu

Trengganu (nowadays spelled ‘Terengganu’) emerged as an independent sultanate in 1724. The first Sultan was Tun Zainal Abidin, the younger brother of a former sultan of Johor, and Johor strongly influenced Trengganu politics through the 18th century. However, in the book Tuhfat al-Nafis written by Raja Ali Haji, in the year 1708, Tun Zainal Abidin was installed as the Sultan of Trengganu by Daeng Menampuk also known as Raja Tua under the rule of Sultan Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah. In the 19th century, Trengganu became a vassal state of Siam, and sent tribute every year to the King of Siam called bunga mas. Under Siamese rule, Trengganu prospered, and was largely left alone by the authorities in Bangkok. The terms of the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 saw power over Trengganu transferred from Siam to Great Britain. A British advisor was appointed to the sultan in 1919, and Trengganu became one of the Unfederated Malay States. The move was highly unpopular locally, and in 1928 the British used military force to suppress a popular uprising. During World War II, Japan occupied Trengganu and transferred sovereignty over the state back to Siam on 18 October 1943, along with Kelantan, Kedah, and Perlis. After the defeat of Japan, British control over these Malay states was reestablished. Trengganu became a member of the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and a state of independent Malaya in 1957.

The Royal Emblem

Shield of the Purveyors to the Court of the Sultan of Trengganu.

The oldest known emblem of the Sultan of Trengganu is on the shield granted to the purveyors to the court of the Sultan. It shows on a green shield a sword and a kris in saltire together with a scarf, its ends crossed, and between two books. Over the emblem is the royal crown of Trengganu. This emblem was designed by several state officials during the reign of Sultan Zain al Abidin III (1881-1918) and is supposed to have been drawn by Mohamad b. Abdul Rahim. [19]

Photo Panoramico

Royal emblem above the gate of the Istana Maziah (Royal Palace) in Kuala Trengganu.

The actual emblem of the Sultan goes back to the early years of the reign of  Sultan Ismail (1945-’79). It consists of the usual crown, scarf, kris, sword and books but two maces are added.

Below is a banner with the words ‘Sultan Trengganu’ and the emblem is surrounded by a garland of ears of paddy.

Probably the change was made to make a difference with the Royal emblem of Sultan Ali, who was deposed when British Military Administration arrived (29 September 1945).

The Emblem of State

A state emblem was approved for official use by the State Ministers Committee in 1932. This closely follows the design of the royal emblem. It consists of a white oval shield charged with the sword, kris, scarf, books and crown surrounded by a dotted oval line flattened at the top. In chief is a crescent-and star and around the dotted line is the legend “Jawatan Kerajaan Terengganu” (Terengganu Government Post) in Jawi script.

Emblem of State of Trengganu, 1932.

The actual version of the Emblem of State follows the changes of the Royal Emblem made after WW II by Sultan Ismael. Two maces are added. The legendwas reduced then to the name of the country: TRENGGANU in jawi script.

ð See illustration in the head of this section.

In the emblems

The sword, the long kris, the pair of ceremonial maces and the scarf (wali or selampai) are part of the regalia of Trengganu.

The two books represent the Book of Law and the Quran.

The crown symbolizes the sovereignty of the Sultan.

The Crescent-and-star symbolizes the Islamic State.

On paper money issued in 1941, one year before the Japanes occupation of British Malaya, the emblem of Trengganu is somewhat different from the Royal emblem of Sultan Zain al Ibidin but also from the emblem of State of 1932.

It shows the crown, the sword, the kris, the scarf and the books surrounded by an oval dotted line, which could be the Royal emblem, but it is surrounded by the legend of the emblem of State: Jawatan Kerajaan Trengganu. Also, the crescent-and-star is omitted.

It is not clear what the status of this emblem was.

Orang Asli

The people living in the jungle have their own department to look after their interests, the Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli (Department for Indigenious Affairs).

The emblem of this department shows two blowing-pipes in saltire and a drum. It is crested with a tigers’ head and surrounded by a garland. Below is the name of the service on a banner.

A standard of the service is preserved in the National Museum in Kuala Lumpur. This shows the emblem on a blue cloth with golden fringes.

Actually the department uses a logo consisting of the initials of the department and its name.

Present logo of the Department