Negeri Sembilan

Negeri Sembilan, state in the south-western part of West Malaysia, bordered by the states of Melaka, Johor, Selangor, and Pahang. The state capital is Seremban. The area of Negeri Sembilan is 6,643 sq km (2,565 sq mi).

The tribal chiefs of the state are descended from leaders who arrived from Minangkabau in 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 Negeri Sembilan joined the Federation of Malaya, now Malaysia. The original nine states were reorganized into just five: Kuak Sungai Ujong, Luak Jelebu, Luak Johol, Luak Rembau, and Luak Tampin. The state's ruler, the Yang di Pertuan Besar, is still elected from among the clan chiefs, a procedure peculiar to the state.

Negeri Sembilan is unusual in Malaysia in being almost wholly inland and having only 48 km (30 mi) of coastline, which includes Port Dickson. Its main crop cultivation is of rice, fruit, and rubber, and the state is linked to the national east-west road route. Population 810,500 (1997 estimate).