Queen of Malaysia explained

Post:	Queen of Malaysia
Native Name:	Malay: Raja Permaisuri Agong Malay: {{Script|Arab|راج ڤرمايسوري اݢوڠ
Flag:	Standard of the Raja Permaisuri Agong.svg
Flagcaption:	Royal Standard
Incumbent:	Raja Zarith Sofiah
Incumbentsince:	31 January 2024
Style:	Her Majesty
First:	Tunku Puan Besar Hajah Kurshiah

The Raja Permaisuri Agong, unofficially known as the queen of Malaysia,^[1] is the consort of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the elected, constitutional federal monarch of Malaysia.

Title and precedence

Royal Name:	The Queen of Malaysia
Dipstyle:	Her Majesty
Offstyle:	Your Majesty
Altstyle:	Tuanku

The queen's full style and title in Malay is Malay: Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong.

• Malay: Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia literally means 'Under the dust of the Almighty', referring to how the Raja Permaisuri Agong's power and prestige is dust compared to God's power and the ruler and his consort are always subservient to God.
• Malay: Seri Paduka Baginda refers to Seri as in a person. Paduka means victorious and the term Baginda is the Malay possessive pronoun for a royal in the third person.
• Malay: Raja Permaisuri Agong in literal English is the "Supreme Queen". It is an archaic equivalent to Raja where the female is a Raja Permaisuri and "Agong" (or Malay: Agung in standard Malay) means 'supreme'. The term Agong is not translated, as in the Constitution of Malaysia. The Malay word permaisuri is derived from Sanskrit परमेश्वरी (parameśvarī), 'supreme lady'.

Common English terms used in the media and by the general public include "Supreme Queen" and "Paramount Consort".

In formal English correspondence, for many years the queen was referred to as "Her Majesty The Raja Permaisuri Agong". In January 2024, this was changed to "Her Majesty The Queen of Malaysia".^{[2] [3]}

There are two formal ways of addressing the queen:

• Malay: Tuanku (literally 'My Lady')
• English: Your Majesty

The queen immediately follows her husband, the king, in the Malaysian order of precedence.

Status, functions, and privileges

The king is elected (de facto rotated) every five years from among the nine hereditary rulers of the states of Malaysia by the Conference of Rulers. When a ruler is elected to the office of king, his consort is automatically bestowed the title and dignity of queen and serves the same term of office as her husband. In effect, the holder of the title of Queen of Malaysia changes every five years, though it could happen earlier due to the death or abdication of the king during his term of office.

Like many spouses of heads of state, the queen has no stipulated role in the Constitution of Malaysia. She accompanies the king to official functions and state visits, as well as hosting visiting heads of state and their spouses during their visits to Malaysia. Article 34 of the Malaysian Constitution forbids the queen from holding any appointment, carrying any remuneration, or actively engaging in any commercial enterprise during her tenure. The queen is, however, legally entitled to an annual payment which is included in the Civil List of the king during his term of office.^[4]

Previous holders of the title of Queen of Malaysia whose husbands are deceased receive a pension from the Federal Government's Civil List. They also take precedence immediately after the reigning king, the current queen, the reigning monarchs of royal states, and the (governors) of non-royal states.

List of Raja Permaisuri Agong

The following consorts have served in the office of Queen:

Number	Name	State	Tenure start^[5]	Tenure end	Yang di-Pertuan Agong	Birth	Death
1 (I)			31 August 1957	1 April 1960	Tuanku Abdul Rahman	^[6]	^[7]
2 (II)	Raja Jema'ah		14 April 1960	1 September 1960	Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah	1900^[8]	^[9]
3 (III)	Tengku Budriah		21 September 1960	20 September 1965	Tuanku Syed Putra	^[10]	^[11]
4 (IV)	Tengku Intan Zaharah		21 September 1965	20 September 1970	Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah	^[12]	^[13]
5 (V)	Tuanku Bahiyah		21 September 1970	20 September 1975	Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah	^[14]	^[15]
6 (VI)	Tengku Zainab		21 September 1975	29 March 1979	Sultan Yahya Petra		^[16]
7 (VII)	Tengku Hajah Afzan		26 April 1979	25 April 1984		^[17]	^[18]
8 (VIII)			26 April 1984	25 April 1989	Sultan Iskandar	^[19]	^[20]
9 (IX)	Tuanku Bainun		26 April 1989	25 April 1994	Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah	^[21]	Alive
10 (X)	Tuanku Najihah		26 April 1994	25 April 1999	Tuanku Ja'afar		^[22]
11 (XI)	Tuanku Siti Aishah		26 April 1999	21 November 2001		^[23]	Alive
12 (XII)	Tengku Fauziah		13 December 2001	12 December 2006	Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin	^[24]	Alive
13 (XIII)			13 December 2006	12 December 2011		^[25]	Alive
14 (XIV)	Tuanku Hajah Haminah		13 December 2011	12 December 2016		^[26]	Alive
15 (XV)			colspan="2"		colspan="2"
16 (XVI)	Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah		31 January 2019	30 January 2024		^[27]	Alive
17 (XVII)			31 January 2024	Incumbent		^[28]	Alive

See also

• Yang di-Pertuan Agong — consort's spouse + monarch−ruler of Malaysia.
• Elective monarchy
• Royal Regalia of Malaysia
• Yang di-Pertuan Negara — national Malaysian award for elected monarchs.
• Malay titles — on Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo within Brunei + Malaysia.

Notes and References

1. Web site: MyGOV - the Government of Malaysia's Official Portal .
2. 1752538943097327911 . amerhadiazmi . According to Istana Negara, the Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong are to be officially referred to as King and Queen of Malaysia. Foreign press has often referred to the positions as such for the benefit of our foreign audience, but I think this is first time it's made official? . Hadi . Azmi . 31 January 2024 . 31 January 2024.
3. Web site: Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah Queen of Malaysia . 11 July 2024 . myGOV.
4. Web site: Act 269 - Civil List Act 1982 . Attorney-General Chamber . AGC Malaysia . 23 January 2019.
5. Web site: Senarai Raja Permaisuri Agong . majlisraja-raja.gov.my . Pejabat Penyimpan Mohor Besar Raja-Raja . 4 June 2019 . 7 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190607172751/http://www.majlisraja-raja.gov.my/index.php/bm/sejarah/senarai-raja-permaisuri-agong . live .
6. Web site: Yang di-Pertuan Agong I . Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia. malaysianmonarchy.org.my. 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071007071309/http://www.malaysianmonarchy.org.my/portal_bi/rk3/rk3a.php?id=rk3_1. 7 October 2007 .
7. Web site: Tunku Puan Besar Kurshiah Permaisuri Penuh Bakti . Farahi Kamaruddin . The Patriots Asia . 4 December 2018. 17 June 2019 . 17 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190617091709/https://www.thepatriots.asia/tunku-puan-besar-kurshiah-permaisuri-penuh-bakti/ . live .
8. Web site: Yang di-Pertuan Agong II . Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia. malaysianmonarchy.org.my. 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071007071215/http://www.malaysianmonarchy.org.my/portal_bi/rk3/rk3a.php?id=rk3_2. 7 October 2007 .
9. Web site: Penerima Darjah Kebesaran 1973 DK . awards.selangor.gov.my . . 19 June 2019 . 4 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200104034851/http://awards.selangor.gov.my/awards/sublinkyear.php?cat=38&subcat=D.K. . live .
10. Web site: Yang di-Pertuan Agong III. Malaysian Monarchy. Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia. 2003. 10 December 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928121506/http://www.malaysianmonarchy.org.my/portal_bi/rk3/rk3a.php?id=rk3_3 . 28 September 2007.
11. News: Raja Perempuan Besar Perlis dies . . 28 November 2008 . 24 April 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121017222056/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F11%2F28%2Fnation%2F20081128130133&sec=nation . 17 October 2012 . dmy-all .
12. Web site: Yang di-Pertuan Agong IV. Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia. malaysianmonarchy.org.my. 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071007071343/http://www.malaysianmonarchy.org.my/portal_bi/rk3/rk3a.php?id=rk3_4. 7 October 2007 .
13. News: Tengku Ampuan Intan Zaharah mangkat, Terengganu berkabung 40 hari . . . 24 January 2015 . 19 June 2019 . 15 May 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200515155908/http://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/tengku-ampuan-intan-zaharah-mangkat-terengganu-berkabung-40-hari-52751?amp=1 . live .
14. Web site: Yang di-Pertuan Agong V . Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia. malaysianmonarchy.org.my. 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928121542/http://www.malaysianmonarchy.org.my/portal_bi/rk3/rk3a.php?id=rk3_5. 28 September 2007 .
15. News: Sultanah of Kedah dies . . 26 August 2003 . 25 February 2024 . dmy-all .
16. Web site: Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia. 2003. Yang di-Pertuan Agong VI. https://web.archive.org/web/20071007071534/http://www.malaysianmonarchy.org.my/portal_bi/rk3/rk3a.php?id=rk3_6. 7 October 2007. malaysianmonarchy.org.my.
17. Web site: Yang di-Pertuan Agong VII . Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia. malaysianmonarchy.org.my. 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928121336/http://www.malaysianmonarchy.org.my/portal_bi/rk3/rk3a.php?id=rk3_7. 28 September 2007 .
18. News: Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Shah selamat disemadikan . . . 23 May 2019 . 14 June 2019 . 27 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190527180425/http://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/almarhum-sultan-ahmad-shah-selamat-disemadikan-208385?amp=1 . live .
19. News: Mengenang Almarhum Tengku Puan Zanariah . Ain Najhan . . 18 March 2019 . 4 June 2019 . 3 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190603183120/http://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/mengenang-almarhum-tengku-puan-zanariah-201459 . live .
20. News: Bonda Tiri Sultan Johor mangkat . . 18 March 2019 . 5 June 2019 . 24 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200224041424/https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/nasional/2019/03/542266/bonda-tiri-sultan-johor-mangkat . live .
21. Web site: Tuanku Bainun dari guru ke Raja Permaisuri Perak . Iskandar Zulqarnain . Orang Perak . 18 April 2019 . 19 June 2019 . 12 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190712195418/https://www.orangperak.com/ymm-tuanku-bainun-dari-guru-ke-raja-permaisuri-perak.html . live .
22. Web site: Tunku Ampuan Najihah dies . www.nst.com.my . 8 September 2023 . 2023-09-11 .
23. Web site: Yang di-Pertuan Agong XI . Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia . malaysianmonarchy.org.my . 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071007000953/http://www.malaysianmonarchy.org.my/portal_bi/rk3/rk3a.php?id=rk3_11 . 7 October 2007.
24. Web site: DYMM Tengku Fauziah — Simbol kemesraan rakyat Perlis . perlisroyalty.perlis.gov.my . Perlis State Government . 3 June 2019 . 8 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200208131221/https://perlisroyalty.perlis.gov.my/index.php/ms/raja-kita/dymm-tuanku-syed-sirajuddin/tengku-fauziah . live .
25. News: Kind, gentle Queen . K. Suthakar . . 26 April 2007 . 3 June 2019 . 2 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190602173518/https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2007/04/26/kind-gentle-queen/ . live .
26. News: Kedah's new Sultanah crowned . . 10 January 2004 . 3 June 2019 . 2 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190602172538/https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2004/01/10/kedahs-new-sultanah-crowned/ . live .
27. News: Biodata Tengku Ampuan Pahang kelima . Bernama . . 29 January 2019 . 2 June 2019 . 2 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190602144452/https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/wilayah/2019/01/525252/biodata-tengku-ampuan-pahang-kelima . live .
28. News: Biodata of Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Malaysia . The Star . . 31 January 2024 . 31 January 2024 . 31 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240131120532/https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/01/31/biodata-of-her-majesty-raja-zarith-sofiah-queen-of-malaysia . live .