The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The order's motto is ().
The order was instituted on 6 August 1958 and initially had the five highest ranks. The medal was added on 19 August 1960.
Order ranks Grand Commander CommanderCompanionOfficer MemberMedalCollar, Star and MedalSuffixesS.M.N.P.M.N.J.M.N.K.M.N.A.M.N.P.P.N.TitlesTunTan SriNoneNoneNoneNoneRibbons
The order has six ranks:
Grand Commander
Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (S.M.N.) ().Official Malay monarchy website , Seri Maharaja Mangku Negara (S.M.N.), photo of the decoration
This rank is limited to 25 living recipients at any time, except foreign citizens who are conferred honorary awards. The recipient of this award receives the title Tun and his wife Toh Puan.
The collar comprises the crests of the states in Malaysia with an eleven-pointed star made of gold-plated silver. The ribbon is of dark blue silk and has yellow stripes on both the edges. It has a central white stripe, charged with a smaller red stripe in its middle.
Commander
Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (P.M.N.) (), Panglima Mangku Negara (P.M.N.), photo of the decoration
It is limited to 75 living recipients at any time, excluding foreign citizens who are conferred honorary awards. The recipient of this award receives the title Tan Sri and the recipient's wife takes the title of Puan Sri.
The Star is made of gold-plated silver and so is the badge but smaller in size. The ribbon has white stripes on both the edges and red stripes in the centre. The red stripes lie on the yellow stripes. The end of the ribbon is tied with a ribbon and the badge suspends from below the ribbon.
Companion
Companion of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (J.M.N.) ()Official Malay monarchy website, Johan Mangku Negara (J.M.N.), photo of the decoration
Living recipients are limited to 700 only at any time, excluding foreign citizens who receive it as an honorary award. It does not carry any title.
The badge of the Johan Mangku Negara is an eleven-pointed star made of gold-plated silver. Each point is white and in between are a star and crescent moon. They are made of gold-plated silver. In the centre of the star is a white circle decorated with carvings of the Malaysian Royal Crown. The badge has a radius of 2¼ inches. It suspends from a ribbon which is of the same colour as that of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm but has narrower stripes. The badge is worn around the neck. The badge for women has a ribbon which is tied in a bow. The badge suspends from the bow and is pinned to the chest.
Officer
Officer of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (K.M.N.) ()Official Malay monarchy website, Kesatria Mangku Negara (K.M.N.), photo of the decoration
There is no limit to the number of persons to be awarded this honour. It can also be conferred on foreign citizens as an honorary award. It does not carry any title.
The badge of the Kesatria Mangku Negara is similar in shape as that of the Johan Mangku Negara. It has a radius of 2 inches. The badge suspends from a riband measuring 1½ inches. The ribbon is of the same colour as that of the Johan Setia Negara. There is a kris on the ribbon, upright with its blade pointing downward. The kris is enclosed in a circle. The badge is pinned on the chest. For the women, the ribbon is tied in a bow and the badge suspends from below the knot of the bow. The kris in the circle is pinned on the bow of the ribbon.
Member
Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (A.M.N.) ()Official Malay monarchy website, Ahli Mangku Negara (A.M.N.), photo of the decoration
There is no limit to the number to be awarded this honour. It can also be conferred on foreign citizens as an honorary award.
The design the badge is the same as that of the Darjah Kesatria Mangku Negara but the kris lies in the centre. The badge has a radius of 1¾ inches. It is pinned to the chest. It suspends from a riband which is of the same colour as that of the Kesatria Mangku Negara. For women, the riband is tied in a bow and the badge suspends from below the centre of the bow.
Medal
Medal of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (P.P.N.) ()Official Malay monarchy website, Pingat Pangkuan Negara (P.P.N.), photo of the decoration
There is no limit to the number to be honored with this award. It can also be conferred on foreign citizens as an honorary award. It does not carry any title.
The Pangkuan Negara medal is round and made of silver. On the surface is a carving of the Malaysian Royal Crown. The slogan DIPELIHARAKAN ALLAH is surmounted on the Crown. The alphabets are in Roman and Jawi. Under the Malaysian Royal Crown is another inscription, PANGKUAN NEGARA, also in Roman and Jawi alphabets. At the back of the badge is the Federal Crest with the inscription JASA CEMERLANG in Roman and Jawi. The badge suspends from a ribbon, which is of the same shape and colour as that of the Ahli Mangku Negara and is about 1½ inches wide.
Recipients Official source
Grand Commanders (S.M.N.) The grand commander receives the title Tun and his wife Toh Puan.
1958: Tunku Kurshiah 1958: Tunku Ismail 1958: Tunku Munawir 1958: Tengku Yahya Petra 1958: Leong Yew Koh 1958: Raja Uda 1958: Tan Cheng Lock 1959: Abdul Razak Hussein 1959: Henry Lee Hau Shik 1959: Tengku Budriah 1961: Abdul Malek Yusuf 1963: Yusof Ishak 1964: Abang Openg 1964: Mustapha Harun 1967: Pengiran Ahmad Raffae 1968: Syed Sheh Shahabudin 1970: Syed Sheh Barakbah 1970: Tuanku Bujang 1970: Sharifah Rodziah Barakbah 1972: Abdul Aziz Abdul Majid 1975: Fuad Stephens 1976: Sardon Jubir 1976: Syed Zahiruddin 1977: Mohd Hamdan Abdullah 1978: Abang Muhammad Salahuddin 1978: Ahmad Koroh 1979: Mohamad Adnan Robert 1981: Hussein Onn 1982: Abdul Rahman Ya'kub 1982: Awang Hassan 1987: Tunku Ibrahim Ismail 1989: Ahmad Zaidi Adruce 1989: Hamdan Sheikh Tahir 1989: Mohammad Said Keruak 1989: Syed Ahmad Shahabuddin 1996: Sakaran Dandai 2001: Abdul Rahman Abbas 2003: Ahmadshah Abdullah 2003: Mahathir Mohamad 2004: Mohd Khalil Yaakob, 6th Yang di-Pertuan Negeri of Malacca 2009: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi 2011: Juhar Mahiruddin, 10th Yang di-Pertuan Negeri of Sabah 2014: Abdul Taib Mahmud, 7th Yang di-Pertuan Negeri of Sarawak 2020: Mohd Ali Mohd Rustam, 7th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Malacca 2021: Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, 8th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang 2024: Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, 8th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak 2024: Musa Aman, 11th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah 2025: Ramli Ngah Talib 9th Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang
Commanders (P.M.N.) The commander receives the title Tan Sri and his wife Puan Sri.
Honorary recipients
Honorary Grand Commanders (S.M.N. (K))
1958: Lim Yew Hock, Chief Minister of Singapore 1959: Djuanda Kartawidjaja, Prime Minister of Indonesia 1960: Gerald Templer, British High Commissioner in Malaya 1962: Thanat Khoman, Foreign Minister of Thailand 1962: Thanom Kittikachorn, Prime Minister of Thailand 1963: Norodom Monineath, Queen consort of Cambodia 1964: Dhani Nivat, Member of the Thai royal family 1964: Hayato Ikeda, Prime Minister of Japan 1964: Masayoshi Ōhira, Foreign Minister of Japan 1964: Norodom Kantol, Prime Minister of Cambodia 1964: Prapas Charusathien, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army 1964: Wan Waithayakon, Member of the Thai royal family 1965: Abdel Hakim Amer, Vice President of Egypt 1965: Ali Sabri, Vice President of Egypt 1965: Anwar Sadat, Vice President of Egypt 1965: Zein al-Sharaf Talal, Queen Mother of Jordan 1965: Firyal, Spouse of Muhammad bin Talal 1965: Hassan bin Talal, Crown Prince of Jordan 1965: Hassan Ibrahim, Vice President of Egypt 1965: Hussein el-Shafei, Vice President of Egypt 1965: Chung Il-kwon, Prime Minister of South Korea 1965: Muhammad bin Talal, Member of the Jordanian royal family 1965: Muna al-Hussein, Princess Consort of Jordan 1965: Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, Prime Minister of South Vietnam 1965: Hussein ibn Nasser, Prime Minister of Jordan 1965: Wasfi al-Tal, Prime Minister of Jordan 1965: Zakaria Mohieddin, Vice President of Egypt 1966: Chang Kay Young 1966: James Beveridge Thomson, Lord President of the Federal Court of Malaysia 1967: Albert II, Member of the Belgian royal family 1967: Eisaku Satō, Prime Minister of Japan 1970: Adam Malik, Foreign Minister of Indonesia 1970: Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Member of the House of Saud 1971: Souvanna Phouma, Prime Minister of Laos 1975: Kukrit Pramoj, Prime Minister of Thailand 1979: Kriangsak Chamanan, Prime Minister of Thailand 1982: Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia 1984: Elena Ceaușescu, First Lady of Romania 1984: Prem Tinsulanonda, Prime Minister of Thailand 1989: Jefri Bolkiah, Member of the Bruneian royal family 1995: Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden 2000: Maha Vajiralongkorn, Crown Prince of Thailand 2000: Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Member of the House of Saud 2001: Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain 2003: Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia 2003: Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy 2003: Marcello Pera, President of the Italian Senate 2003: Pier Ferdinando Casini, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies 2005: Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden 2010: Moza bint Nasser, Consort to the Emir of Qatar 2011: Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi 2012: Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan 2012: Masako, Crown Princess of Japan 2023: Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
Honorary Commanders (P.M.N. (K))
The honorary commander were also receives the title Tan Sri and his wife Puan Sri.
References
External links Malaysia: Most Distinguished Order of the Defender of the Realm