Negeri Sembilan

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Johor Malacca Negeri Sembilan Selangor Perak Kedah Perlis
Pahang Terengganu Kelantan Penang Sabah Sarawak
Kuala Lumpur Labuan Putrajaya

Negeri Sembilan is state in the southwestern part of Malaysia, bordered by the states of Melaka, Johor, Selangor, and Pahang. Negeri Sembilan is in the region called West Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia) and covers an area of about 6500 sq km (2510 sq mi). Negeri Sembilan lies almost completely inland and has only 48 km (30 mi) of coastline, which includes Port Dickson. Its main crops are rice, fruit, and rubber, and the state is linked to the national east-west road. Seramban is the capital.

The tribal chiefs of the state are descended from Minangkabau leaders who came from Sumatra in the 14th century, bringing a matrilineal social system embodied in the adat perpateh laws. This means that property is inherited through the female line. Negeri Sembilan also has the distinction of being a federation within a federation. Its name means “nine states,” referring to a loose federation formed in 1773 which came under British protection in 1874, before becoming one of the Federated Malay States in 1895. In 1957 Britain granted independence to the Federation of Malaya (the forerunner of Malaysia), which included Negeri Sembilan and the rest of Peninsular Malaysia. The nine states have now become just five: Kuak Sungai Ujong, Luak Jelebu, Luak Johol, Luak Rembau, and Luak Tampin. The state's ruler, the yang dipertuan besar, is still elected from among the clan chiefs, a procedure unique to the state. The present yang dipertuan besar, Ja’afar ibni Abdul Rahman, was named the supreme head of Malaysia in 1994, in an election among the country's nine heriditary rulers. Population (1991 census) 691,150.

By the mid-nineteenth century, there was a loose coalition of nine states inhabited mostly by Minangkabau. Each state had its own leader and a system was created whereby the head of the coalition will rotate among the nine chiefs. This rotation system has been adopted by present-day Malaysia for the appointment of the country's Agong, or King. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century Negeri Sembilan experienced an immigration of the Minangkabau people from Sumatera. They settled in areas such as Naning, Sungai Ujong and Rembau which were areas were initially under the influence of the Johor-Riau Empire, to the extent that a Datuk was installed to oversee Johor conquests in Negeri Sembilan.

The disintegration of the Johor-Riau Empire and the onset of the Bugis Sultanate in Melaka precipitated insurrections in Rembau, Sungai Ujong, Johol and Ulu Muar in 1770. The Minangkabaus then turned to the Pagar Ruyong royal house in their Sumateran homeland for a ruler who could protect them. Consequently, Raja Melewar was proclaimed the first Yang Dipertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan in 1773. The tumult in Negeri Sembilan threatened the tin trade with the Straits Settlements. This led to British intervention, and the subsequent installation of a British Resident. Martin Lister was the first British Resident in Negeri Sembilan.

Sir Frank Swettenham in 1893 proposed the formation of a federation to Sir Cecil Clementi Smith. This was to unite the states of Selangor, Perak, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan under a central administration, since the Resident system was found to be somewhat ineffectual. The British government concurred with this proposal and mandated Swettenham to obtain the agreements of the Malay Sultans. With the Sultans' agreement, the Federation of Malaya Agreement was successfully ratified in 1896. These states became the Federated Malay States under the rule of a Resident-General, becoming British protectorates in the process. Swettenham was appointed as the first Resident-General.

The Japanese invasion in 1941 led to the dismantling of the structure of the Federated Malay States. With the Japanese surrender, Negeri Sembilan was placed under the British Military Administration from September 1945 to early 1946. The British in London formed the Malayan Peninsula Planning Unit in 1943, and on 10 October 1945, the Malayan Union scheme was laid out before the British Parliament. A day later, Sir Harold MacMichael was sent to the Malayan Peninsula to obtain the agreement of the Malay Rulers. According to this agreement, Pulau Pinang, Melaka and 9 other Malay states were united under the Malayan Union. Malay opposition derailed the Malayan Union plan, and the Malays under Dato' Onn Jaafar's leadership formed the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) on 11 May 1946. The Malay Federation was founded on 1 February 1948, the first step towards independence, and on 31 August 1957, independence was achieved.

Places of Interest

Towns & Infrastructure

• Seremban
• State Secretariat Building
• Seremban Lake Gardens
• Handicrafts and Cultural Complex
• State Museum
• State Library
• State Mosque
• Rumah Contoh Minangkabau
• Istana Sri Menanti
• Culture and Art Museum, Seremban
• Port Dickson
• Fort Lukut
• Tanjung Tuan
• Pengkalan Kempas
• Ulu Serting

Nature

• Pedas Hot Springs
• Ulu Bendul Recreational Park

Islands & Beaches

• Port Dickson Beach

Area
6,643 square km

State Capital
Seremban

Royal Town
Sri Menanti

Administrative Divisions
7 (Jelebu, Jempol, Kuala Pilah, Port Dickson, Rembau, Seremban, Tampin)

Sub-Administrative Divisions
62

Population
830,080 (2000)

Breakdown of Races (1994)

• Malays: 391,500
• Chinese: 220,000
• Indians: 123,200
• Others: 10,800
• Other Bumiputeras: 7,900

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