Negeri Sembilan [key], state (1991 pop. 691,150), 2,564 sq mi (6,641 sq km), Malaysia, S Malay Peninsula, on the Strait of Malacca. The capital is Seremban. Its principal rivers are the Linggi on the west and the Muar on the east. Rubber and rice are grown and exported; tin is mined and also exported. More than half the inhabitants are non-Malays (Chinese and Indians). The separate political existence of Negeri Sembilan began in the 18th cent. After a considerable immigration of Minangkabaus from Sumatra, the Negeri Sembilan [nine states] broke away (1777) from the sultanate of Riau and Johor to form a loose confederation. Each state was then practically independent. The British established their influence by making treaties with the separate states (1874–89) and by reforming them into a closer federation (1895). Negeri Sembilan became one of the Federated Malay States (1896) and in 1948 became part of the Federation of Malaya (see Malaysia).
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