Monarchies of Malaysia in the context of "King of Malaysia"

Malaysia is a federation of thirteen states and three federal territories, which form the primary administrative divisions of the country. Eleven states and two territories are part of Peninsular Malaysia, while two states and one territory make up East Malaysia. Nine of the Peninsular states have monarchies, with the other four having appointed governors. State governments are led by chief ministers, who are appointed by the monarch or governor, provided they have the support of a majority in the state legislative assembly. The federal territories are governed directly by the national government.

Malaysia was formed through the union of various territories ruled by the United Kingdom in British Malaya and British Borneo. The federal system was created to maintain the status of the Malay sultans, who were the rulers of British protectorates in the Malay Peninsula. The Federation of Malaya was created in 1948, uniting these protectorates with two directly ruled British colonies. Malaya became independent in 1957. In 1963, Sabah and Sarawak, along with Singapore, joined with Malaya to form Malaysia. Singapore was expelled in 1965. The three federal territories–Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya–were created later, from land separated from existing states.

Heads of government in Malaysia's many states take on various titles. Nine of the states in the Peninsular who each have historical monarchs are known as the Menteri Besar (Jawi: منتري بسر‎, literally Grand Minister or First Minister; abbreviated as MB), while the rest in the federation are titled Chief Minister (abbreviated as CM; in Malay: Ketua Menteri; abbreviated as KM). Until 2022, the head of government of Sarawak was also styled as the Chief Minister, thereafter it was changed to Premier (Premier).

The nine hereditary rulers of the Malay states and the appointed governors of the other four states serve as constitutional and ceremonial heads of their states, while the state executive authority rests with the Menteris Besar, chief ministers and premier. Following elections to the state legislative assembly, the ruler or governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the state government. The ruler or governor appoints and swears in the Menteri Besar, chief ministers and premier, whose executive council (or Cabinet in Sabah and Sarawak) are collectively responsible to the assembly. Based on the Westminster system, given that he retains the confidence of the assembly, the terms of Menteris Besar, chief ministers and premier can last for the length of the assembly's life—a maximum of five years. There are no limits to the number of terms that the Menteri Besar, chief minister and premier can serve.

The Conference of Rulers (also known as Council of Rulers or Durbar, Malay: Majlis Raja-Raja; Jawi: مجليس راج٢) is a council comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states, and the governors of the other four states in Malaysia. It was officially established by Article 38 of the Constitution of Malaysia, and is the only such institution in the world, according to the Malaysian National Library.

Its main responsibility is the election of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) and Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Deputy King of Malaysia), which occurs every five years or when the positions fall vacant (either through death, resignation, or removal from office). Although its position in the process of elective monarchy is unique, the Conference of Rulers also plays a role in amending the Constitution of Malaysia and some other policies, in particular, those Articles which have been "entrenched", namely those pertaining to the status of the rulers, the special privileges of the indigenous Bumiputra (see Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia), the status of the Malay language as the national language, and the clause governing the entrenchment of such Articles.