Malacca Governor’s Birthday in Malaysia Date in the current year: August 24, 2024

The city of Malacca (Melaka) and the Malacca Sultanate were founded by Parameswara, also known as Iskadnar Shah, in the early 15th century. He turned a fishing village into a thriving port to take advantage of its strategical location at the narrowest point of the Strait of Malacca, established trading relations with China and other countries, and laid the foundation for Malacca’s future prosperity.

During its golden age, Malacca was an important center for Islamic learning and dissemination in the region, as well as for the development of the Malay language, literature and arts. It was during this time that Classical Malay became the lingua franca of Nusantara (Maritime Southeast Asia) and Jawi alphabet became the primary medium for religious, intellectual and cultural exchange. As a result, Malacca is often considered to be the cradle of Malay identity.

Unfortunately, the thriving sultanate lasted only about a hundred years; in 1511, the capital of Malacca was conquered by the Portuguese Empire, forcing Mahmud Shah (the last Sultan of Malacca) to flee. This was the end of the Malacca Sultanate, although Mahmud Shah’s descendants subsequently founded the sultanates of Johor and Perak that still exist as Malaysian states.

The Portuguese hoped that the capture of Malacca would allow them to dominate Asian trade, but their incompetent rule only disrupted the existing trade flows. In 1641, Malacca was conquered by the Dutch, who had no interest in developing it as a trading center and eventually ceded it to Britain in the Anglo-Dutch treaty of 1824.

Malacca remained under the British rule until 1946, except for three years of Japanese occupation during World War II. In 1946, Malacca joined the Malayan Union and subsequently became a state in independent Malaysia. Since, unlike most other states, Malacca had no ruling dynasty, a governor (Yang di-Pertua Negeri) appointed by the supreme ruler of Malaysia became head of state.

As state governors in Malaysia change more often than hereditary rulers, even taking into account that most governors remain in office for several successive terms, an official birthday is usually celebrated in lieu of their actual birthday, and its date doesn’t change when a new governor takes office. However, Malacca governor’s official birthday was moved from the second Friday of October to August 24, the actual birthday of the incumbent governor, in 2021.

Mohd Ali Rustam has served as the governor of Malacca since June 4, 2020. His political career began in 1968, when he joined the United Malays National Organization at age 16. He was elected to the Malacca State Legislative Assembly in 1986 and appointed as the Chief Minister of Malacca in 1999. He served as the Chief Minister until 2013 and was appointed as the next governor of Malacca in 2020.