| Coat of arms of Malacca | |
| Armiger: | Malacca |
| Year Adopted: | 1963[1] |
| Supporters: | Two mousedeer proper |
| Crest: | A crescent and mullet Or |
| Shield: | Argent, a Malacca tree standing on a base proper; on the dexter a flank Or and on the sinister a flank Gules, all below a chief Azure, five krisses per pale Or. |
| Motto: | Bersatu Teguh ("firmly united" or "united we stand") on left side with romanised Malay and right side with Jawi script (Malay: {{Script|Arab|برساتو تڬوه), Melaka with romanised Malay on centre |
The Coat of arms of Malacca resembles European heraldic designs, and descended from that of Malaysia and the Federated Malay States under British colonial rule.
The four colours on the arms: red, white, yellow and blue indicate that Malacca is part of Malaysia. The star and crescent, which stand on the crest represents Islam, the official religion of the state. The five kerises represent the five legendary warriors of the ancient Malacca Sultanate, who are Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir, and Hang Lekiu.[2] [3]
The two mouse-deer supporting the shield serve to recall the incident involving the mouse-deer: legend has it that a mouse-deer had attacked one of the hunting dogs brought by the entourage of Parameswara, the first ruler of the state, and kicked the dog into the river. Parameswara, who had fleeing the kingdom of Singapura at this point, considered the incident to be a good omen and decided to found a kingdom under it. He decides to name the settlement as Malacca, after the Malacca tree which he leaned against while witnessing the event, hence the tree is depicted in the shield.
A scroll at the bottom denotes the state motto: "Bersatu Teguh" ("firmly united" or "united we stand") on left side with romanised Malay and right side with Jawi script, and the state name written in Romanised Malay – "Melaka" on centre.
The state coat of arms can be blazoned as:
Shield: Argent, a Malacca tree standing on a base proper; on the dexter a flank Or and on the sinister a flank Gules, all below a chief Azure, five krisses per pale Or.
Crest: A crescent and mullet Or.
Supporters: Two mousedeers proper.
| Coat of arms | Duration | Political entity | Description | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1874–1942, 1945–1946 | Straits Settlements | Shield: "Quarterly, the Dexter Chief gules, issuant from the base a tower proper, on the battlements thereof a lion passant guardant Or; the second quarter argent, on a mount an areca nut palm tree proper; the third quarter also argent a sprig of the oil tree keruing proper; the fourth quarter azure in base on waves of the sea in front of a representation of the sun rising behind a mountain, a sailing yacht in full sail to the sinister, all proper." Crest: "A demi-lion rampant guardant supporting in the paws a staff proper, thereon flying to the sinister a banner azure, charged with three imperial crowns." | The "third quarter argent" containing a sprig of the oil tree keruing represented Malacca. | ||
| 1951–1965 | Crown Colony of Malacca (1951–1957) State of Malacca (1957–1965) | Shield: "Argent, on a water barry wavy a two masted Chinese Junk with sails furled proper; a bordure Azure, billette Or; on a canton of the first with a branch of Malacca Tree, all proper."Crest: "On a wreath of Argent and Azure upon a mount the A Famosa proper" Motto: "Ex Unitate Vires" (Unity is Strength, in Latin) | The current state motto – Bersatu Teguh is a rough translation of the motto of this arm, which was granted to the Settlement of Malacca, then in the Federation of Malaya, by a Royal warrant of King George VI dated 14 August 1951.[4] |