Melaka: the state with no Sultan, a city layered by the Portuguese, Dutch and British

Nine states in Malaysia have a Raja. Melaka is not one of them — even though its name is attached to the most famous Malay sultanate in the region’s history.

That is the paradox most often misunderstood about this state. The name “Melaka” carries the shadow of a palace, but the modern state of Melaka is headed by a Yang di-Pertua Negeri appointed for a limited term, not a ruler who inherits the throne.

Key facts

Capital	Bandaraya Melaka
Head of state	Yang di-Pertua Negeri (appointed, not hereditary)
State Head of Islam	Yang di-Pertuan Agong, under Article 3(3)
Population	1,052.5 thousand people (2025 estimate, DOSM)
Land area	1,712 km² (JUPEM, via My Local Stats)
Administrative districts	Three — Melaka Tengah, Alor Gajah, Jasin
GDP	RM50.3 billion (2025, constant 2015 prices), growing 3.0%
UNESCO World Heritage	Listed 2008, criteria (ii)(iii)(iv)

Why the title is Yang di-Pertua Negeri

Article 160(2) of the Federal Constitution defines the term briefly: Yang di-Pertua Negeri means the Head of State for a state that has no Raja.

Four states fall into that category — Melaka, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak. The core provisions sit in sections 19A to 19D of the Eighth Schedule to the Federal Constitution:

Provision	Effect
19A(1)	Appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong acting in his discretion, but after consulting the Chief Minister
19A(2)	Term of office is four years; may resign; may be removed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong following a motion of the DUN supported by two-thirds of its total membership
19B(1)	A non-citizen, or a citizen by naturalisation or registration, may not be appointed
19B(2)	May not hold any office of profit, and may not actively engage in any commercial enterprise
19C	State law must provide for a Civil List (Senarai Sivil) charged on the Consolidated Fund, which may not be reduced during the term of office

Section 22 of the Eighth Schedule then sets out the mechanics of the substitution: in the application of Parts I and II of that Schedule to Melaka and Penang, references to the Yang di-Pertua Negeri replace references to the Raja.

The state government’s official portal states that the appointment is made by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong after consulting the Chief Minister, and lists Tun Seri Setia Dr. Haji Mohd Ali bin Mohd Rustam as the seventh Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Melaka, holding office since 2020. Check the portal for the current position.

Consequences rarely explained

The difference in title carries three concrete constitutional consequences.

The Head of Islam differs. Article 3(3) provides that the Constitutions of Melaka, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak shall each make provision for conferring on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong the position of Head of the religion of Islam in that state. In states with a Raja, that position is held by the Raja of the state concerned.

Membership of the Conference of Rulers is not full membership. Section 1 of the Fifth Schedule includes the Yang di-Pertua Negeri as members of the Conference of Rulers. But section 7 of the same Schedule excludes them from proceedings relating to the election or removal of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the election of the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and matters concerning solely the privileges, position, honours and dignities of the Rulers or religious acts and ceremonies.

The office has a term. Four years, renewable — compared to a throne held for life. This also distinguishes Melaka from the model in Negeri Sembilan, whose head of state is elected by the Undang Yang Empat but remains a customary ruler.

Four layers of power in one city

The state government’s official portal records the following sequence.

Period	Event
Until 1511	Melaka Malay Sultanate
1511–1641	Portuguese; Afonso de Albuquerque arrived 10 August 1511, the city fell 24 August — 130 years of rule
1641–1795	Dutch, after the Portuguese defeat by the Dutch–Johor alliance — 154 years; Stadthuys built 1650, St. Peter’s Church 1710
1795–1957	British; the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 and the establishment of the Straits Settlements in 1826
1942–1945	Japanese Occupation
1956	Independence proclaimed at Padang Banda Hilir on 20 February

It is that Padang Banda Hilir that makes Melaka a symbolic location in the story of 1957 independence.

Melaka was declared a Historic City on 15 April 1989. The Melaka Historic City Municipal Council was later upgraded to become the Melaka Historic City Council (Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah, MBMB) on 15 April 2003, with a current administrative area of 270.39 km².

What UNESCO actually recognises

The listing is not for Melaka alone. The serial property is named “Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca”, inscribed in 2008 under criteria (ii), (iii) and (iv), with a minor boundary modification inscribed in 2011.

The division of roles between the two cities is stated directly in UNESCO’s description: with its government buildings, churches, squares and forts, Melaka represents the early stage of this history — the 15th-century Malay sultanate together with the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. George Town, in turn, represents the British era from the end of the 18th century.

So the most prominent British layer in the listing sits in Penang, not in Melaka. This is a nuance often lost in popular summaries.

Criterion (iv) specifically cites the extraordinary row of shophouses and townhouses, some of which date from the Dutch or Portuguese periods. The entire serial property covers 154.68 hectares with a buffer zone of 392.8 hectares.

Economy: not tourism alone

This is where the official data cuts against the common assumption. Melaka is indeed a tourism state — but manufacturing contributes more than a third of its economy.

Sector	2025 GDP (RM million)	Share
Services	26,369.9	52.4%
Manufacturing	17,777.4	35.4%
Agriculture	4,686.2	9.3%
Construction	1,258.8	2.5%
Mining and quarrying	72.1	0.1%
GDP at purchasers’ prices	50,286.0	100%

Constant 2015 prices. Overall growth was 3.0 percent in 2025, following 4.2 percent in 2024.

Tourism still has its own signature in the data. In the Domestic Tourism Survey (States) 2024, DOSM found Melaka to be the only state whose primary purpose for domestic overnight travel is holiday, rest and recreation — in every other state, the primary purpose is visiting relatives and friends.

The population is concentrated in Melaka Tengah: 633.3 thousand people out of 1,052.5 thousand in 2025, compared with Alor Gajah’s 261.8 thousand and Jasin’s 157.3 thousand. Yet by land area, Melaka Tengah is the smallest (359 km²) compared with Jasin (679) and Alor Gajah (674).

Common misconceptions

“Melaka still has a Sultan.” No. The head of state is the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a four-year term. The Melaka Malay Sultanate is a historical entity that ended as a ruling power in Melaka in 1511.

“The Yang di-Pertua Negeri is the same as a Raja, just with a different title.” Not the same. The office is for a fixed term, is not hereditary, does not hold the position of the state’s Head of Islam, and does not take part in the election of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“The whole of Bandaraya Melaka is a UNESCO site.” The listing covers a specifically bounded core zone and buffer zone within the serial property shared with George Town — not the entire 270.39 km² administrative area of the city.

“Melaka’s economy depends entirely on tourists.” The state’s GDP data shows manufacturing contributing about 35 percent, and services covering many activities besides tourism.

Note on scope

This article describes constitutional structure, history and official data only. It does not make any political judgement and does not touch on any ongoing interpretive dispute. This article is in draft status and has not yet undergone human review.

What’s next

• For the actual text of sections 19A to 19D and section 22, refer to the Eighth Schedule of the Federal Constitution in the official AGC reprint.
• For the origins of the sultanate institution whose name endures on this state, see Melaka Sultanate.
• To compare two different models of non-hereditary head of state, see Penang and Negeri Sembilan.
• For more up-to-date state-level GDP, population and tourism data, use the OpenDOSM data catalogue and DOSM release pages.