Negeri Sembilan
(2002 est. pop. 874,700). Negeri Sembilan is a state on the west coast of Malaysia. The term "Negeri Sembilan," which means "Nine States" in Malay, historically refers to nine districts or small chieftaincies under the suzerainty of the sultan of Johor from around 1640 to 1760. Negeri Sembilan covers an area of 6,643 square kilometers and has a population approaching 880,000: 53 percent Malay, 30 percent Chinese, 16 percent Indian, and 1 percent other. Its capital is Seremban. Port Dickson, which lies in the district of Pantai Laut, is well known for its beaches and resorts. The features that distinguish Negeri Sembilan from the other states in Malaysia are its architecture—the buffalo horn–shaped roof peaks—and its matrilineal system (adat perpateh), both being legacies of the Minangkabau people.
Historically, the Minangkabau people were from Sumatra. In the eighteenth century, they were attracted to the gold districts of Pahang State and the valleys of what was later known as Negeri Sembilan. When they came, they brought their unique matrilineal system. The coming of the Bugis, a seafaring race, in the early eighteenth century contributed to a decline of Malay power, and the control of the Johor sultanate became less and less effective. The Minangkabau population was reluctant to offer allegiance to the Bugis. The Negeri Sembilan chiefs asked the sultan of Johor to let them have a prince to govern the country and drive out the enemy, but the sultan would not give them a prince. With permission from the sultan of Johor, the chiefs referred to the Minangkabaus in Sumatra. The sultan in Minangkabau gave them one of his sons, Raja Melewar, who became the first yang di-pertuan besar, or yamtuan besar (ruler), in 1773.
In the 1820s, there were five claimants to the Negeri Sembilan throne. Civil wars led to British intervention in 1874. Before the 1870s, Britain had a policy of noninvolvement in the affairs of the Malay states, although it had extensive trading interests there. In 1895, a British resident, Martin Lister, was appointed for the whole of Negeri Sembilan. The role of the resident was to advise the sultan on how to improve the administration of his state. Although the resident was to have no executive powers, his advice had to be sought and acted upon in all matters other than those relating to Malay religion and customs. It was a system used to exercise British influence over the Malay states. The three general aims were the establishment of law and order, the centralized collection of revenue, and the development of the resources of the states. Lister died in 1897 and was succeeded by E. W. Birch, who effected the union of the Negeri Sembilan states and ended the civil war by the election of Tengku Muhammad as the yang di-pertuan besar of the whole state.
In 1896, Negeri Sembilan, together with the states of Selangor, Perak, and Pahang, formed the Federated Malay States. In 1948, the Federated Malay States became part of the Federation of Malaya. The federation gained independence from British colonial rule in 1957. Together with Sabah and Sarawak, the federation formed Malaysia in 1963.
Further Reading
Andaya, Barbara Watson, and Leonard Y. Andaya. (1982) A History of Malaysia. London: Macmillan.
Eliot, Joshua, and Jane Bickersteth, eds. (1995) Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore Handbook. Bath, U.K: Trade and Travel Publications.
Khoo, Kay Kim. (1975) The Western Malay States 1850–1973. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Oxford University Press.
Ryan, N. J. (1969) The Making of Modern Malaysia and Singapore: A History from Earliest Times to 1966. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Oxford University Press.
Wilkinson, R. J., ed. (1971) Papers on Malay Subjects. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Oxford University Press.
Winstedt, Richard O. (1966) Malaya and Its History. London: Hutchinson & Co.
——. (1982) A History of Malaya. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Marican & Sons.
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