Malaysian order of precedence

Relative preeminence of officials for ceremonial purposes

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The Malaysian order of precedence is a hierarchy of important positions within the Government of Malaysia. It has no legal standing but is used by ceremonial protocol. The order of precedence is determined by the Federal Order of Precedence issued by the Prime Minister's Department. The latest one was issued on 13 November 2014.[1] Unless otherwise noted, precedence among persons of equal rank is determined by seniority. As a general rule, spouses share the same rank with another and a person with two positions will take the highest one.

## Details

[edit]

The following lists precedence of offices and their holders since 20 June 2025[update].

Colour legend

Heads and deputy heads of states
Members of the Federal and State Administrations
Members of the Federal and State Legislatures
Members of the Judiciary
Diplomats
Civil service, military and police members
Others
Rank  | Position  | Incumbent (as of 22 June 2025[update])

|
|

| King | Sultan Ibrahim

| Queen | Raja Zarith Sofiah

| Rulers and Regents of royal States |

1. Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu (15 May 1998)
2. Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail of Perlis (17 April 2000)
3. Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor (22 November 2001)
4. Tuanku Muhriz of Negeri Sembilan (29 December 2008)
5. Sultan Ibrahim of Johor (23 January 2010) (appears above as the King)
6. Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan (13 September 2010)
7. Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah of Perak (29 May 2014)
8. Sultan Sallehuddin of Kedah (12 September 2017)
9. Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Pahang (11 January 2019)

| Governors of non-royal States |

1. Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Melaka, Dr. Mohd. Ali Mohd. Rustam (4 June 2020)
2. Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak, Dr. Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (26 January 2024)
3. Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah, Musa Aman (1 January 2025)
4. Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang, Ramli Ngah Talib (1 May 2025)

| Former Raja Permaisuri Agong receiving Royal pension from the Federal Government[N 1] | Permaisuri Siti Aishah of Selangor

| Prime Minister | Anwar Ibrahim MP

| Deputy Prime Minister |

1. Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi MP
2. Fadillah Yusof MP

| Heirs to the Thrones of royal States |

1. Raja Muda of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail (1 August 2000) (appears after the Crown Prince and Regent of Johor)
2. Raja Muda of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah (3 May 2002)
3. Yang di-Pertuan Muda of Terengganu, Tengku Muhammad Ismail (12 January 2006)
4. Tunku Mahkota of Johor, Tunku Ismail (28 January 2010) (appears right after the Sultan of Pahang as the Regent of Johor)
5. Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Jaafar (20 June 2014)
6. Raja Muda of Kedah, Tunku Sarafuddin Badlishah (26 November 2017)
7. Tengku Mahkota of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah (22 January 2019)
8. Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra (4 January 2024)

| Members of the Most Exalted Order of the Crown of the Realm (DMN)[N 2] | Refer here

| Grand Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (SMN)[N 2] | Refer here

| Former Prime Ministers | By departure from office:

1. Mohd. Najib Abdul Razak (10 May 2018)
2. Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (29 February 2020) (appears above Najib as he received SMN on 31 October 2003)
3. Muhyiddin Yassin MP (16 August 2021)
4. Ismail Sabri Yaakob MP (24 November 2022)

| Former Deputy Prime Ministers | By departure from office:

1. Musa Hitam (10 May 1986)
2. Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail MP (24 February 2020) (appears above as Anwar's wife)

| Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (SSM)[N 2] | Refer here

12A

| Ruling Chiefs of Negeri Sembilan | According to the State Constitution:

1. Undang Luak of Sungai Ujong, Mubarak Dohak
2. Undang Luak of Jelebu, Maarof Mohd. Rashad
3. Undang Luak of Johol, Muhammed Abdullah
4. Undang Luak of Rembau, Abdul Rahim Yassin
5. Tunku Besar of Tampin, Tunku Syed Razman

| Chief Justice of the Federal Court | Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat

| President of the Senate | Senator Awang Bemee Awang Ali Basah

| Speaker of the House of Representatives | Johari Abdul

| Ministers[N 3] | Refer here

| Chief Secretary to the Government | Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar

17A

| Heads of State Governments[N 4] | Refer here

| President of the Court of Appeal | Justice Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim

| Chief Judge of Malaya | Justice Mohamed Zabidin Mohd Diah

| Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak | Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli

| Attorney-General | Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar

| Chief of Defence Forces | General Mohammad Ab. Rahman

| Inspector-General of Police | Mohd Khalid Ismail

| Director-General of Public Service | Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz

| Auditor General | Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi

| Chief Justice of the Syariah Court | Justice Mohd. Amran Mat Zain

| Deputy President of the Senate  | Senator Nur Jazlan Mohamed

| Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives  |

1. Ramli Mohd. Nor MP
2. Alice Lau Kiong Yeng MP

| Leader of the Opposition | Hamzah Zainudin MP

| Deputy Ministers[N 3] | Refer here

| Heads of Diplomatic Missions[N 5] | Refer here

| Justices of the Federal Court | Refer here

| Judges of the Court of Appeal | Refer here

| Parliamentary Secretaries[N 3] | None

| Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (PMN)[N 2] | Refer here

| Premier Grade 1 and 2 officers[N 6] | Refer here

| Chairman of Government Official Ceremonies[N 7] | Awang Alik Jeman

| Secretaries-General of Federal Ministries and Directors-General of Federal Agencies[N 6][N 8][2] | Refer here

| Premier Grade 3 officers[N 6] | Refer here

| Chairpersons of Commissions established under the Federal Constitution[N 9] |

* Chairman of Election Commission, Abdul Ghani Salleh
* Chairman of Public Services Commission, Dr. Ahmad Jailani Muhamed Yunus[N 10]
* Chairman of Armed Forces Council, Mohamad Hasan MP[N 11] (appears above as Minister of Defence)
* Chairman of Police Service Commission, Senator Saifuddin Nasution Ismail MP[N 12] (appears above as Minister of Home Affairs)
* Chairman of Education Service Commission, Dr. Mazlan Yusoff

| Justices of the High Courts and Judicial Commissioners  | Refer here for Justices of the High Courts or here for Judicial Commissioners

| Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM)[N 2] | Refer here

| Governor of the Central Bank | Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abdul Ghaffour

| Keeper of the Rulers' Seal | Syed Danial Syed Ahmad

| Grand Chamberlain  | Azuan Effendy Zairakithnaini

| Royal Professor  | None

46A

| Deputy Heads of State Governments  | By seniority of Heads of State Governments:

1. Douglas Uggah Embas MLA (Sarawak)
2. Awang Tengah Ali Hasan MLA (Sarawak)
3. Dr. Sim Kui Hian MLA (Sarawak)
4. Dr. Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan MP MLA (Sabah)
5. Dr. Joachim Gunsalam MLA (Sabah)
6. Shahelmey Yahya MP MLA (Sabah)
7. Dr. Mohamad Abdul Hamid MLA (Penang)
8. Jagdeep Singh Deo MLA (Penang)
9. Dr. Mohamed Fadzli Hassan MLA (Kelantan)

46B

| Speakers of the State Legislative Assemblies | By seniority of Heads of State Governments:

1. Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar (Sarawak)
2. Kadzim M. Yahya (Sabah)
3. Mohd. Nor Hamzah (Terengganu)
4. MK Ibrahim Abdul Rahman (Negeri Sembilan)
5. Law Choo Kiang (Penang)
6. Mohd. Sharkar Shamsudin (Pahang)
7. Law Weng San MLA (Selangor)
8. Zubir Ahmad (Kedah)
9. Mohammad Zahir Abdul Khalid (Perak)
10. Dr. Mohd. Puad Zarkashi MLA (Johor)
11. Rus’sele Eizan (Perlis)
12. Ibrahim Durum (Melaka)
13. Nik Mohd. Amar Nik Abdullah MLA (Kelantan)

| Senators[N 13] | Refer to the Parliament

| Members of the House of Representatives[N 13] | Refer to the Parliament

| Judges of the Syariah Court of Appeal | Refer to the Federal Syariah Judiciary Department (for national level) or the respective State Syariah Judiciary Department (for state level)

| Chief of Army | General Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan

| Chief of Navy | Admiral Zulhelmy Ithnain

| Chief of Air Force | General Mohd. Asghar Khan Goriman Khan

| Deputy Inspector-General of Police | Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay

| Commanders of the Order of Meritorious Service (PJN)[N 2] | Refer here

| Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia (PSD)[N 2] | Refer here

| Super Grade A officers[N 6] | Refer here

| Vice Chancellors of Public Universities | Refer here

57A

| Ministers of State (of Sabah and Sarawak) and Members of the State Executive Councils (of other states)  | Refer to the respective State Government

| Super Grade B officers[N 6] | Refer here

58A

| Recipient of National Fellowship Award[N 14] | None

| United Nations Resident Representative | Karima El Korri

| Super Grade C officers[N 6] | Refer here

60A

| Members of State Legislative Assemblies[N 15] | Refer to the respective State Government

| Companions of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (JMN)[N 2] | Refer here

| Companions of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (JSM)[N 2] | Refer here

| Companions of the Order of Loyalty to the Royal Family of Malaysia (JSD)[N 2] | Refer here

| Grade 54 officers[N 6] |

| Political Secretaries[N 16] | Refer here

| Grade 52 officers[N 6] |

| Consul-general of countries without diplomatic representation in Malaysia[N 5] | Refer here

## See also

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* Orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia
* List of post-nominal letters#Malaysia

## Footnotes

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1. ^ Only the former Raja Permaisuri Agong whose husband died during his term of office as Yang di-Pertuan Agong deserves this position and receives Royal Pension from the Federal Government. Those whose husbands died after being the Yang di-Pertuan Agong do not deserve this position and will therefore receive Royal Pension from their respective State Government.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Precedence is determined by date of investiture. Substantive members take precedence over honorary members.
3. ^ a b c Precedence is determined by the Prime Minister's Department.
4. ^ In the presence of heads of states, their precedence is determined by heads of states' seniority. Otherwise, their precedence is determined as follows: the Premier of Sarawak, the Chief Minister of Sabah and other Menteris Besar and Chief Ministers according to the date of assumption of office.
5. ^ a b Precedence is determined by diplomatic rank and assumption of office. Substantive heads of missions take precedence over acting heads of missions.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Equivalent military and police officers as well as equivalent chairpersons, chief executives and general managers of federal statutory bodies are included. Precedence is determined by date of appointment. Substantive officers takes precedence over acting officers. Permanent officers takes precedence over contractual and temporary officers.
7. ^ By tradition, Chairman of Government Official Ceremonies is the Senior Deputy Secretary-General of the Prime Minister's Department.
8. ^ Directors-General of Federal Agencies refer to those of Economic Planning Unit (of Ministry of Economic Affairs), Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (of Ministry of Communication and Multimedia) and Implementation Coordination Unit (of Prime Minister's Department).
9. ^ Commissions established under the Federal Constitution are Election Commission, Judicial and Legal Service Commission, Public Services Commission, Police Force Commission and Education Service Commission. Armed Forces Council, although being a council under law, is considered a service commission according to the Federal Constitution and is, therefore, included.
10. ^ Chairman of Judicial and Legal Service Commission is that of Public Services Commission.
11. ^ Chairman of Armed Forces Council is the Minister of Defence.
12. ^ Chairman of Police Force Commission is the Minister of Home Affairs.
13. ^ a b Precedence is determined by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
14. ^ National Fellowship Awards ceased to exist.
15. ^ In Sabah and Sarawak, Assistant Ministers of State take precedence over all other members of the State Legislative Assembly whose precedence is determined by the respective State Government. In other states, precedence is determined by the State Government.
16. ^ Precedence is determined by Ministers' seniority.

## References

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1. ^ "Federal Order of Precedence" (PDF). Attorney-General's Chamber of Malaysia. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
2. ^ "Susunan Keutamaan Persekutuan" (PDF). Bahagian Istiadat dan Urusetia Persidangan Antarabangsa, Jabatan Perdana Menteri (in Malay). 16 March 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2018.

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