The Order of the Defender of State () is the sole order of chivalry of the state of Penang which was constituted in 1967 by then Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Dato' Seri Utama Raja Uda Raja Muhammad to recognize eminent contributions of individuals towards Penang and the nation. The order was initially constituted in three grades, namely the Knight Grand Commander, Companion, and Member. Later, other grades were added to the order. Currently, the order is conferred in six grades.
Annually, inductions are made to the order on the occasion of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri's birthday.
Grades The Order of the Defender of State was initially constituted in three grades, namely Knight Grand Commander, Companion, and Member respectively. In 1976, the Officer grade was added, followed by, the Commander grade in 1996 and finally the Knight Commander in 2003.
Grand Principal
Darjah Utama Pangkuan Negeri (DUPN) Dato' Seri Utama
The Grand Principal of the Order of the Defender of State () is the highest grade of the order which was constituted in 1967. The recipients of the grade bear the pre-nominal title of "Dato' Seri Utama", while the wives of the male recipients are titled as "Datin Seri". Husbands of female recipients are not entitled to any pre-nominal title. The recipients bear the post-nominal letters of "D.U.P.N."
The insignia of the grade comprises a collar, a sash, a badge and a star. The sash is a blue silk riband with wide white bars on both ends above which are two gold stripes. The sash is worn from the right shoulder to the left hip.
The grade is conferred on the Yang di-Pertua Negeri, the spouse of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri and upon eminent individuals for their services to Penang.
Grand Commander Darjah Panglima Pangkuan Negeri (DPPN) Dato' Seri
The Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of State () is the second highest grade of the order which was instituted in 2003. The recipients of the grade bear the title of "Dato' Seri", while the wives of the male recipients are titled as "Datin Seri". Husbands of female recipients are not entitled to any title. The recipients bear the post-nominal letters of "D.P.P.N."
The insignia of the grade comprises a collar, a sash, a badge and a star. The sash is a blue silk riband with wide gold bars on both ends and a wide white band in the center. The sash is worn from the right shoulder to the left hip.
Commander
Darjah Gemilang Pangkuan Negeri (DGPN) Dato' Seri
The Commander of the Order of the Defender of State () is the third highest grade of the order which was instituted in 1996. The recipients of the grade bear the pre-nominal title of "Dato' Seri", while the wives of the male recipients are titled as "Datin Seri". Husbands of female recipients are not entitled to any pre-nominal title. The recipients bear the post-nominal letters of "D.G.P.N."
The insignia of the grade comprises a collar, a sash, a badge and a star. The sash is a blue silk riband with wide white bars on both ends and a wide gold band in the center. The sash is worn from the right shoulder to the left hip.
Companion
Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negeri (DMPN) Dato'
The Companion of the Order of the Defender of State () is the fourth grade of the order which was instituted in 1967. The recipients of the grade bear the pre-nominal title of "Dato'", while the wives of the male recipients are titled as "Datin". Husbands of female recipients are not entitled to any pre-nominal title. The recipients bear the post-nominal letters of "D.M.P.N."
The insignia of the grade comprises a sash, a badge and a star. The sash is a blue silk riband with wide white bars on both ends and a wide gold band in the center. The sash is worn from the right shoulder to the left hip.
Lieutenant
Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) Dato'
The Lieutenant of the Order of the Defender of State () is the fifth grade of the order which was instituted in 1976. The recipients of the grade bear the pre-nominal title of "Dato'", while the wives of the male recipients are titled as "Datin". Husbands of female recipients are not entitled to any pre-nominal title. The recipients bear the post-nominal letters of "D.S.P.N."
The insignia of the grade comprises a sash, a badge and a star. The sash is a blue silk riband with wide gold bars on both ends above which are two white stripes. The sash is worn from the right shoulder to the left hip.
Member
Darjah Johan Negeri (DJN)
The Member of the Order of the Defender of State () is the lowest grade of the order which was instituted in 1967. The recipients of the grade do not bear any pre-nominal title. The recipients bear the post-nominal letters of "D.J.N."
The insignia of the grade comprises a necklet. The star of the order in silver hanged to a riband which is made of blue silk with wide gold bars on both ends above which are two white stripes, similar to the sash of the Officer grade. The necklet is worn by the recipients around the neck.
Grand Masters The incumbent Yang di-Pertua Negeri is the Grand Master of the order and receives the highest class of the order, the Knight Grand Commander class or Darjah Utama Pangkuan Negeri (D.U.P.N.) and is titled as Dato' Seri Utama. All inductions, revocations and amendments are done at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri on the advice of the Chief Minister and the government. On several occasions, the spouse of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri also receives the same grade of the order as the Yang di-Pertua Negeri. The current Grand Master is Tun Dato' Seri Utama Ramli Ngah Talib since 1 May 2025.
1 August 1967 – 30 August 1967: Raja Uda, Yang di-Pertua Negeri I 31 August 196731 January 1969: Syed Sheh Shahabudin, Yang di-Pertua Negeri II 1 February 19691 February 1975: Syed Sheh Barakbah, Yang di-Pertua Negeri III 2 February 197530 April 1981: Sardon Jubir, Yang di-Pertua Negeri IV 1 May 1981 30 April 1989: Awang Hassan, Yang di-Pertua Negeri V 1 May 198930 April 2001: Hamdan Sheikh Tahir, Yang di-Pertua Negeri VI 1 May 2001 30 April 2021: Abdul Rahman Abbas, Yang di-Pertua Negeri VII 1 May 2021 30 April 2025: Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, Yang di-Pertua Negeri VIII 1 May 2025 present: Ramli Ngah Talib, Yang di-Pertua Negeri IX
Recipients
Knight Grand Commander (D.U.P.N.)
1975: Abdul Razak Hussein 1977: Hussein Onn 1979: Wong Pow Nee 1980: Mohamad Adnan Robert 1981: Mahathir Mohamad 1989: Lim Chong Eu 1990: Ahmad Zaidi Adruce 1994: Anwar Ibrahim 1994: Siti Zainab Baharuddin 2003: Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali 2004: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi 2007: Majimor binti Shariff 2008: Abdul Hamid Mohamad 2009: Najib Razak (revoked on 13 September 2022) 2012: Arifin Zakaria 2013: Pandikar Amin Mulia 2014: Ali Hamsa 2017: Mohamed Raus Sharif 2019: Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat 2020: Karpal Singh (posthumously) 2020: Zainal Rahim Seman 2021: Mohd Ali Rustam 2021: Khadijah Mohd Nor 2022: Juhar Mahiruddin 2024: Lim Kit Siang 2025: Raja Noora Ashikin Raja Abdullah Unknown: Abang Muhammad Salahuddin
Knight Commander (D.P.P.N.)
2004: Haidar Mohamed Nor 2004: Samsudin Osman 2004: Syed Hamid Albar 2005: Abdul Taib Mahmud 2006: Abdul Malek Ahmad 2008: Wan Azizah Wan Ismail 2011: Ismail Omar 2011: Zulkifeli Mohd Zin 2012: Kelvin Kiew Kwong Sen 2012: Lee Kim Yew 2012: Tan Kok Ping 2013: Hng Bok San 2013: Md. Salleh Yaapar 2013: Mohamad Zabidi Zainal 2013: Robert Tan Chung Meng 2014: Raja Mohamed Affandi 2015: Ambrin Buang 2015: Khoo Keat Siew 2015: Roslan Saad 2015: Teh Choon Beng 2015: Teh Aik Lum 2015: Yahaya Ibrahim 2016: Ismail Muhammad 2017: Choot Ewe Seng 2017: Zulkiple Kassim 2018: Tan King Tai 2018: Zulkifli Zainal Abidin 2019: Abdul Hamid Bador 2019: Affendi Buang 2020: Ackbal Abdul Samad 2020: Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani 2020: Mohd Reza Mohd Sany 2020: Suppiah a/l Manikam 2020: Zamrose Mohd Zain 2021: Mohaiyani Shamsudin 2021: Syed Hussian Syed Junid 2022: Mohamed Hassan Md Kamil 2022: Wong Siew Hai 2022: Yusuf Taiyoob 2023: Zulkapli Mohamed 2023: Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah 2023: Baharin Din 2025: Tengku Zafrul Aziz 2025: Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar 2025: Mohd Yussof Latiff 2025: Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak
Commander (D.G.P.N.)
1996: Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman 1997: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi 1997: Lim Keng Yaik 1999: Mohd Shariff Omar 2001: Azizan Zainul Abidin 2001: Law Hieng Ding 2002: Abdullah Ahmad 2002: Kerk Choo Ting 2002: Shahrizat Abdul Jalil 2003: Nor Mohamed Yakcop 2004: Hilmi Yahaya 2007: Zulhasnan Rafique 2007: Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan 2008: Ahmad Said Hamdan 2009: Zahrain Mohamed Hashim 2009: Syamsul Arifin (honorary) 2010: Azizan Ariffin 2012: Zulkifli Zainal Abidin 2013: Abdul Aziz Jaafar 2015: Noor Rashid Ibrahim 2016: Cheah Cheng Hye (honorary) 2017: A. Samad Said 2017: Ramlan Ibrahim 2018: Maimunah Mohd Sharif 2018: Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri 2020: Mazlan Lazim 2020: Sundarajoo Somu 2020: Anwar Fazal 2021: Sebastian Francis 2021: Tan Gin Soon 2022: Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin 2022: Ahmad Jailani Muhamed Yunus 2022: Awang Adek Hussin 2022: Bey Leang Seng 2022: Bhupinder Singh Jeswant Singh 2022: Chan Kong Yew 2022: Gobalakrishnan Narayanasamy 2022: Haminnuddin Abd Hamid 2022: Jaseni Maidinsa 2022: Kamal Nasharuddin Mustapha 2022: Kulasegaran Sabaratnam 2022: Kuvenaraju Pachappen 2022: Lim Huat Bee 2022: Lim Kok Khong 2022: Lim Tiong Chin 2022: Mohamad Zulkefly Sulaiman 2022: Palaniappan Krishnan 2022: Rozali Mohamud 2022: Tan Choo Hin 2022: Tan Kean Tet 2022: Tan King Seng 2023: Abdul Halim Hussain 2023: Abdul Rahman Mohamad 2023: Abdul Wahab Mat Yasin 2023: Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman 2023: Cheah Seong Paik 2023: Chong Eng 2023: Chuah Hean Teik 2023: Jerry Chan Fook Sing 2023: Joseph Kow Hock Beng 2023: Khor Chong Hai 2023: Kumaraendran Kumarasamy 2023: Lee Chin Heng 2023: Lee Teong Li 2023: Lim Yam Koi 2023: Md Hamzah Md Kassim 2023: Mohd Sayuthi Bakar 2023: Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain 2023: Noor Azuan Abu Osman 2023: Ong Poh Eng 2023: Phee Boon Poh 2023: Reezal Merican Naina Merican 2023: Selvakumar Shanmugam Chetty 2023: Syed Mohamad Syed Murtaza 2023: Tan Eng Kee 2023: Teow Peng Hee 2023: Vaseehar Hassan Abdul Razack 2023: Yong Yoon Kooi 2024: Yee Thiam Sun
Companion (D.M.P.N.)
Eusoffe Abdoolcader Musa Mohamad 1981: Abdullah Ahmad Badawi 1984: Mohd Zaman Khan 1985: Chin Fung Kee 1985: Elyas Omar 1987: Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah 1991: Anwar Ibrahim 1992: Abdul Rahman Arshad 1994: Yahya Awang 1994: Mohd Shariff Omar 1994: Salleh Mat Som 1996: Abdul Hamid Mohamad 1996: Hilmi Yahaya 1997: P. G. Lim 2000: Mohamed Raus Sharif 2000: Chang Yung-fa 2002: Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak 2003: Dzulkifli Abdul Razak 2003: Ken Yeang 2004: Tan Kee Kwong 2006: Christopher Wan Soo Kee 2007: Yusuf Taiyoob 2008: Raja Mohamed Affandi 2009: Abdul Halim Hussain 2009: Ayub Yaakob 2010: Mansor Othman 2012: Syed Danial Syed Ahmad 2012: Yee Thiam Sun 2013: Ahmad Hasbullah Mohd Nawawi 2013: Law Choo Kiang 2013: Mohd Rashid Hasnon 2013: Noor Hisham Abdullah 2013: Tan Gin Soon 2016: Sundarajoo Somu 2017: Abdul Malik Abul Kassim 2018: Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman 2018: Law Heng Kiang 2018: Lim Hock Seng 2022: Ang Cho Teing 2022: Annual Hassan 2022: Benjamin KRK Samy @ R. Antory 2022: Cheong Yew Teik 2022: Choong Chee Meng 2022: Fouad Hayel Saeed Anam 2022: Datuk Khoo Kay Hock 2022: Datuk Dr Kuldip Singh K. Sohan Singh 2022: Mohamad Anil Shah Abdullah 2022: Mohd Hussain Abdullah 2022: Supramaniam Kasia Pillai 2022: Taizoon Hyder Tyebkhan 2022: Tan Heng Kheng @ Tan Ah Poh 2022: Tan Hiang Joo 2022: Aileen Tan Shau Hwai 2022: Teh Yong Khoon 2022: Yeoh Moh Chai 2022: Zaiviji Ismail Abdullah 2023: Baldev Singh Gurcharn Singh 2023: Brian Tan Guan Hooi 2023: Che Omar Ahmat @ Ahmad 2023: Ganapathy Arumugam 2023: Khoo Kay Huat 2023: Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil 2023: Mohd Salleh Man 2023: Ooi Kok Wan 2023: Pang Yun Tiam