Malaysia: How A Single Country Can Be Ruled By 9 Kings
An interesting look at the only monarchy of its kind.
Since its independence from the British in 1957, Malaysia as we know it today has functioned as a Constitutional Monarchy. This means that the country is run by a Government elected by the people but ruled by a monarch whose powers are limited by the law.
To give you a clearer example, this is exactly the same way things are run in the UK with Boris Johnson as the PM of the elected Government and Queen Elizabeth as the Constitutional Monarch.
However, while the UK has just one queen who is expected to rule for life, Malaysia has nine kings who share the throne. One of only four elective monarchies in the world today, Malaysia’s unique ruling system stands out even among such an exclusive group.
In this article, we will take a look into how nine kings have been able to harmoniously rule a single country for over six decades.
The Role of The Kings
In every constitutional monarchy, one elected leader serves as Head of Government and one monarch serves as Head of State. Malaysia is no different in this sense. Despite having nine kings, only one can serve as the country’s Head of State at a time.
