The society was founded in Singapore in 1877 as the Straits Asiatic Society by a small group of expatriates led by Archdeacon (later Bishop)
George Hose. In 1878, having sought and obtained an affiliation with the RAS, it became the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society with 150 founding members, many of whom were colonial administrators. Archdeacon Hose became the first president, serving as such until 1908. Today the society has more than 1,000 members. During the colonial period the society was supported by grants from the government and donations from the Sultans of the Malay States and also benefitted from various privileges, such as government-provided premises and printing facilities. In 1923 the society's name was changed to recognise political changes to the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society and in 1954, when the Society was also relocated to Kuala Lumpur, to its current name. The journal has been published since the very early days of the society, initially as the
Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society and currently as the
Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Since then, the society has published 309 journals issues and 48 monographs. The journal is considered the oldest active publication in the region. ==Presidents==