Panca Persada, Seri Menanti, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
Here’s some palace intrigue to bore you…
In Malaysia, there is a state called Negeri Sembilan, which literally translates into the State (Negeri) of Nine (Sembilan). The royal accession system in Negeri Sembilan (or let’s just call it NS) is different from the other Malay Sultanates inside Malaysia. (Oh yes, Malaysia still has multiple kings, nine to be exact, and they rotate among themselves to be the overall king of Malaysia (called the Yang di-Pertuan Agong) every 5 years.) While the other Malay sultanates mostly follow a straightforward succession system whereby the kingdom is passed on from father to son, in NS, the king (or Yamtuan Besar, in this case) is chosen among the male descendants of the original royal lineage from the Minangkabau Pagaruyung Kingdom of West Sumatra, by 4 territorial chieftains (Undang) in NS. These 4 Undangs (originally, there were 9, hence the name of the state, but it dwindled down to 4 powerful chieftains through time) cannot be the Yamtuan Besar themselves, but they hold considerable power because only they, by consensus among the 4 of them, can decide who, among the princes, can be the king!
The Undangs themselves are chosen from a few selected noble families of the respective 4 territories, and would usually be the son of the eldest sister of the said noble families. (It’s a strange matrilineal system… called the Adat Perpatih – ancestral property is passed down from mother to daughter, but the Undangs and the Yamtuan Besar must be male).
With such a complicated system, I would’ve expected a dispute to happen a long time ago, but it’s been largely smooth for as far as I can remember. Until now, that is. Recently, the Yamtuan Besar’s Court dismissed one of the Undangs, for allegedly committing some customary offences. In a tit-for-tat move, the 4 Undangs (including the one who was dismissed) grouped together and issued a declaration that the ruling Yamtuan Besar, Tuanku Muhriz has been removed for improper conduct, while proclaiming a new ruler (who is a cousin of the ruling Yamtuan Besar). The Yamtuan Besar fired back, by installing new Undangs in place of 2 of the dissenting Undangs… What a mess, isn’t it? It’s still not resolved. It’s in the Court now, and has caused the state government to collapse, when state politicians took sides of the 2 competing claimants to the throne. Who knows how it’ll end? For the time being, life goes on for the ordinary Malaysians in NS. And here’re some photos of Negeri Sembilan… A little seen state when it comes to tourism! So, there you go!
Istana Seri Menanti (or Seri Menanti Palace), Seri Menanti, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, Aug 2025 – Nope, nobody resides here. It’s a museum (or was supposed to be a museum). The official palace and residence of the Yamtuan Besar shifted to a brick palace nearby, in the 1930’s…
Mommy and Jayden fooling around in Seri Menanti
The coronation compound of the Negeri Sembilan royalty…
Seri Menanti is the royal town of Negeri Sembilan. Nothing much to see here. If you wanna see a royal town of a Malay Sultanate, try Kuala Kangsar, the royal town of Perak. The old Seri Menanti Istana was supposed to be a museum, but I don’t think it’s opened for some time now, and I don’t see any signs of it being spruced up for reopening…
That’s all for today!
