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Trengganu (Malaysia)

Sultanate of Trengganu, Negeri Terengganu Darul "Iman"

image by Clay Moss, 19 September 2005

State Flag
Changing the flag?
State Emblem
Construction details
Personal Standard of the Sultan
Former State Flag
Former Governmental Service Flag

See also:

State Flag

Trengganu uses a black and white flag: white bordered black flag with white crescent and star pointing towards the fly.
Željko Heimer, 6 April 1996

Whitney Smith writes in the last release of Ar Banniel, "24. Trengganu - State flag. Black field with white crescent and star and white border."
Ivan Sache, 2 August 1999

The width of the white border on Terengganu's flag varies greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. On a 3x6 flag, I have seen it as narrow as 3 inches, and have seen it as wide as 9". I have also seen plenty of uneven white borders, with the ends being wider than the top and bottom flanks. The defacement is always made larger or smaller depending on how wide the black center is.
Clay Moss, 19 September 2005

Changing the flag?

Quoting "The Star", 13 October 2006:

"The state government plans to seek the views of professionals, including academicians and journalists, on “brightening up” the Terengganu flag. “I get a lot of feedback from people that the flag is simple and dull,” said Mentri Besar [Chief Minister] Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh of the current black and white flag that was first unfurled in 1953. “We need to look into injecting vivid elements to make it more lively,” he told reporters after chairing the weekly state executive committee meeting at Darul Iman here yesterday. He said, however, that the move to redesign the flag would only be carried out after gathering suggestions and comments from professionals. Idris hoped they would provide the right input on how to brighten up the flag, and to include an emblem. Asked about dissenting voices, such as from the Malaysian History Association, he said certain quarters would comment “on every single matter”. “There are people who are not in favour of the current black and white flag and there are those who are totally against the idea (of redesigning it),” said Idris. “Others just like to make comments on just about anything, even on issues that are positive.”
[...]
Ivan Sache, 13 October 2006

State Emblem

image by Ivan Sache, 13 October 2006

The emblem of Terengganu is shown on the Terengganu State Museum website, http://www.muzium.terengganu.gov.my/web/emblem.htm with the following description:

"The Terengganu State Emblem at present was created by a number of state officials during the reign of the late Sultan Zainal Abidin III. According to stories, the person who drew the emblem was Mr. Mohamad bin Abdul Rahim, the relative of Dato’ Nara Wangsa (Dato’ Mata-Mata), and his creation was approved for official use by the State Ministers Committee in 1932. The State Emblem consists of :

Moon and Stars - To denote an Islamic state.
Crown - To denote sovereignty of the King.
Sword and the Long Kris- To denote two of the state’s royal paraphernalia.
Quran-Placed on the right to denote the Law.
The Book of Law - Placed on the left to denote justice.
Wali / Selampai - To denote part of the state’s cultural regalia.

Each of these components is surrounded by a circle, which contains, in separate letters, the three Malay words "Jawatan Kerajaan Terengganu" (Terengganu Government Post). During the reign of His Royal Highness the late Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah, the figure of a seal was added and the words "Jawatan Kerajaan" were removed, but the word "Terengganu" was still retained."

The emblem also appears (without the circles- on the royal flags, shown on http://www.muzium.terengganu.gov.my/web/flag.htm. The Sultan's flag is white, symbolizing clarity and cleanliness, with the "symbol of royalty", surrounded by two rice panicles ("bunga padi") symbolizing the staple food and surmounting a scroll with the writing in Jawi letters "The Sultan of Terrenganu". All the elements of the emblem are in dark yellow, symbolizing royalty. The Queen's flag is similar to the Sultan's flag but with a dark yellow field and the emblem in white. The scroll bears "The Queen of Terengganu". The Crown Prince's flag is similar to the Queen's flag but without the rice panicles and the scroll and, accordingly, with a bigger emblem. On the images, the flags are shown with a brown border. The apparent ratio of the flags is ~7:10.
Ivan Sache, 13 October 2006

Construction details

image by Christopher Southworth and Clay Moss, 19 September 2005

I was impressed by this flag. In the first place the emblem was correctly centred, the crescent was exactly five-sixths the width of the central panel (although the inner arc was slightly smaller hence the high unit figures). The star was exactly two-thirds the crescent, and its inner apex (if that is the correct term) placed precisely on an imaginary line drawn between the horns of the crescent thus giving the emblem rather neat proportions of 12:13

The figures read 72-144-72 for the hoist and 72-432-72 for the length, with the emblem in the exact centre and contained within an imaginary rectangle of 120 x 130 units.
Christopher Southworth, 19 September 2005

Personal Standard of the Sultan

image by Ivan Sache

A plain white field, in a proportion 3:4. Source: Flaggenbuch 1939.

Ivan Sache, 26 June 1999

Flaggenbuch 1939 reported it as a plain white flag, but later, probably in 1947 when the national flag was changed and the current one adopted (the third one), a golden emblem was added: two crossed swords under a crown and side by side a book (perhaps the Quran); the swords have a ribbon crossed.

Jaume Ollé, 27 June 1999

Former State Flag

image by Ivan Sache

Whitney Smith writes in the last release of Ar Banniel, "25. Trengganu - Obsolete State flag. Vertical white-black (black stripe twice wider) with white crescent and star (crescent below the star) in black stripe."
Ivan Sache, 2 August 1999

The Cigarette ALBUM "Die Welt in Bildern Album 7 : Flaggen der Welt, aussereurpäische Staaten" published by the Bulgaria Cigarette Manufactory, some time between 1928 and 1932 shows the Trengganu national flag as a simple vertical bicolor, white hoist-black fly end, black stripe double width.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 March 2006

Former Governmental Service Flag

image by Ivan Sache

Whitney Smith writes in the last release of Ar Banniel, "26. Trengganu - Obsolete (governmental) service flag. As 25. but with black crescent and star (crescent below the star) in white stripe and a white thin saltire in the black stripe. Flaggenbuch 1939 gives proportions of 3:5, 4:7 and 2:3."
Ivan Sache, 2 August 1999

The Cigarette ALBUM "Die Welt in Bildern Album 7 : Flaggen der Welt, aussereurpäische Staaten" published by the Bulgaria Cigarette Manufactory, some time between 1928 and 1932 shows the Trengganu state flag as a is a vertical bicolor, white hoist-black fly end with a white saltire (black stripe double width).
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 27 March 2006

Znameirowski: "Flaggen Enzyklopedie" (2001) confirms on p.174, that the Terengganu (=Trengganu) national flag did exist between 1925 and 1933. According to him the flag was black with a white stripe at the hoist. Crescent and star were added in 1933, symbolizing the Islamic character of the state. The flag was replaced by the modern pattern in 1947. I conclude that the state flag was also used between 1925 and 1933.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 28th March 2006