The Yang di-Pertua Negeri (literally the "head of state" in Malay

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

) is the official title of the ceremonial heads of state

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

 of the Malaysian states

States of Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation which consists of thirteen states and three federal territories . Eleven states and two federal territories are located on the Malay Peninsula while the remaining two states and one federal territory are on the island of Borneo.-The states and federal territories:Malaysia...

 without hereditary rulers, namely Penang

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

, Malacca

Malacca

Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...

, Sabah

Sabah

Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

 and Sarawak

Sarawak

Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

. They are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong

Yang di-Pertuan Agong

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957 when the Federation of Malaya gained independence....

 (Paramount Ruler, King) of Malaysia.

Before 1976, the heads of state of Penang, Malacca and Sarawak were titled Governor in English and Yang di-Pertua Negeri in Malay, whereas the head of state of Sabah was titled Yang di-Pertua Negara in both languages. Singapore had a Yang di-Pertuan Negara

Yang di-Pertuan Negara

Yang di-Pertuan Negara, meaning "Head of State" in Malay, was used as an official title at various times in Sabah, Singapore and Brunei.-Singapore:...

 when it gained self-government under British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 sovereignty in 1959. The title was used by the state governor while Singapore was a part of Malaysia between 1963 and 1965, when it left Malaysia to become an independent republic. Since 1976 the heads of state of Penang, Malacca, Sabah and Sarawak have been titled Yang di-Pertua Negeri in both languages.

A Yang di-Pertua Negeri is entitled to the style Tuan Yang Terutama (T.Y.T.), or in English, His Excellency.

Current Yang di-Pertua Negeri

The following is a table of Yang di-Pertua Negeri of each state:

State	Yang di-Pertua Negeri	Took office	Past
Malacca	Mohd Khalil Yaakob Mohd Khalil Yaakob Tun Mohd Khalil bin Yaakob is the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the Malaysian state of Melaka. Khalil is a United Malays National Organisation politician from Pahang, and served as the state's Menteri Besar for more than 10 years...		List
Penang	Abdul Rahman Abbas Abdul Rahman Abbas Tun Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abbas is the current Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the state of Penang, Malaysia. He is a former politician from the United Malays National Organisation...		List
Sabah	Juhar Mahiruddin Juhar Mahiruddin Tun Haji Juhar bin Haji Mahiruddin is a Malaysian politician and the current Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the state of Sabah. He was formerly a member of the Dewan Rakyat and served as deputy speaker from 1990 to 1999...		List
Kingdom of Sarawak	Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Abang Muhammad Salahuddin Tun Datuk Patinggi Abang Haji Muhammad Salahuddin bin Abang Barieng is third and sixth Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the Malaysian state of Sarawak...		List