 Its main responsibility is the election of the "Yang di-Pertuan Agong" (King) and his deputy, the "Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong", which occurs every five years or when the positions fall vacant (either through death, resignation, or removal from office).Although its position in the process of elective monarchy is unique, the Conference of Rulers also plays a role in amending the Constitution of Malaysia and some other policies, in particular, those Articles which have been "entrenched", namely those pertaining to the status of the rulers, the special privileges of the indigenous Bumiputra (see Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia), the status of the Malay language as the national language, and the clause governing the entrenchment of such Articles.The Conference of Rulers has its origins in the 1897 Durbar, the Council of Rulers for the Federated Malay States, which were not under the British colonial regime, with the British playing the advisory role on only a very few administrative items and the full authority to govern remaining with the Sultan of those states.