The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders. The Philippines historically used Malay titles in its pre-Hispanic history as evidenced by historical figures Rajah Sulayman, Lakandula and Dayang Kalangitan. Malay titles are still used by the traditional royal houses of Sulu, Maguindanao, Maranao and Iranun in the southern Philippines.

Indonesia, meanwhile, despite being a Republic, recognizes several hereditary rulers and aristocratic systems, mostly those who supported the Independence movement of 1945. The late wife of former President Suharto, for example, was the Raden Ayu Siti Hartinah, not as some say, Madame Suharto. (Under the Dutch in Java, similarly, descendants of the Majoors, Kapiteins and Luitnens der Chinezen were entitled to the hereditary title "Sia".) In the 1930s, the colonial government abolished these titles and Peranakan feudalism, during implementation of their "social policy", whose goal was establishing a more egalitarian society.^{[citation needed]}

Tan Sri Dato' Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun (born 1952; (Chinese: 陳志遠; pinyin: Chén Zhìyuǎn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Chì-uán); is the current owner of Cardiff City F.C. and also is the Chairman and Chief Executive of Berjaya Corporation Berhad, which controls a wide array of businesses which includes golfing, property, resorts, and gambling in a group known as the Berjaya Group. He operates the second pay-TV service in Malaysia, MiTV, that was launched in September 2005. In 2010 he entered the Forbes billionaire billionaire list with an estimated worth of US$1.3 billion (RM4.2 billion). Tan's success in the Malaysian business sector has been attributed in part to his close association with prominent Malay political figures.

Tan was born in 1952, in Batu Pahat, Johor. He worked as a clerk and an insurance agent before going into business in the 1980s. In 1982 he purchased Malaysia's McDonald's franchise and in 1985 he bought Sports Toto when the lottery agency was privatised by the government. Vincent Tan has had close links with Mahatir Mohamed and his family, the ex prime minister of Malaysia. Vincent Tan obtained the license of his lottery business from an untendered privatisation in 1985 (Studwell, Joe; Asian Godfathers, page 130, Grove Press, 2007)

Dato', or occasionally Datin Seri,Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin DIMP, JSM, SAP, PMP, AAP (Jawi: سيتي نورهاليز بنت تارودين [ˈsiti nʊrhaˈliza ˈbinti taˈrudɪn]; born 11 January 1979) is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, record producer, television presenter and businesswoman. To date, she has garnered more than 200 local awards as well as international awards. She rose to fame as a multiple-platinum selling artist, since her winning of Bintang HMI 1995 when she was only 16 where she was given offers in form of singing contract from four different international recording companies. Her first single, Jerat Percintaan from her debut album won the 11th Anugerah Juara Lagu and another two awards for Best Performance and Best Ballad.. In her career she had recorded and sings in languages, including Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindustan and Japanese.

She has won an unprecedented number of music awards in Malaysia and its environs: 34 Anugerah Industri Muzik awards, 23 Anugerah Bintang Popular awards, 21 Anugerah Planet Muzik awards, 18 Anugerah Juara Lagu awards, four MTV Asia Awards and the holder of two records in the Malaysian Book of Records. Backed with 14 studio albums, she is one of the most popular artistes in the Malay Archipelago and Nusantara region and she has been voted ten times in a row for Regional Most Popular Artiste in the Anugerah Planet Muzik since 2001. Currently, she has been listed as one of Malaysia's richest, most-influential, most award-winning, most single-produced artists.

Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr. P. Ramlee, (March 22, 1929 – May 29, 1973) was a Malaysian film actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer, and producer. Due to his contributions to the movie and music industry and his literary work, he is often considered the icon of Malay entertainment in Malaysia, Singapore, and Sumatra (especially in Aceh due to his ancestry).

P. Ramlee was born Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh, on the first day of the Eid festival, which fell on 22 March 1929. His father, Teuku Nyak Puteh, was a sailor from Aceh, who later married Che Mah Hussain.

He attended Sekolah Melayu Kampung Jawa (Kampung Jawa Malay School) and Sekolah Francis Light primary schools. Next he went to the famous Penang Free School secondary school until the second World War broke out. During the Japanese occupation years in Malaysia, he continued his studies at the Japanese Navy Academy. When the war ended, he resumed his studies in Penang Free School,and was very active in sports.

In 1947, he won the first place in a song competition organized by Penang Radio. Seven years after his acting career started, P. Ramlee directed his first film, Penarek Becha. In 1957, he appeared in the first of his Bujang Lapok comedic films, in which he acted along with Aziz Sattar and S. Shamsuddin, and which are still popular among modern Malay film watchers. During his career he directed and acted in 66 films, and had more than 360 songs to his credit.

Dato' Seri Azizan bin Abdul Razak (born c. 1940) is the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of the Malaysian state of Kedah. His Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) leads a coalition government of Kedah with PKR and the DAP after their victory in the 2008 Malaysian election. Ustaz Azizan is the first Menteri Besar of Kedah from a political party other than UMNO. He holds the Kedah state assembly seat of Sungai Limau, is the PAS Commissioner for Kedah and member of the PAS Central Committee.

Azizan was sworn in as the Menteri Besar of Kedah at 3.40pm Sunday, 9 March 2008, before Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah at Wisma Darul Aman, witnessed by royalty and dignitaries. On 16 July 2008, Ustaz Azizan was conferred the Darjah Seri Paduka Mahkota Kedah (SPMK) which carries the "Datuk Seri" title. The award was presented by Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah at Istana Anak Bukit in conjunction with the Sultan's Golden Jubilee celebration.

Azizan has 14 children from two marriages. He is a graduate of Al-Azhar University and the University of Kent, and a former head of the sharia law department of the National University of Malaysia.