History
Malaya was formed in the year 1957 and became independent from British Colonization. The Union Jack was lowered and the first Malaysian flag was raised in the Merdeka (independent) square on midnight 31st August, 1957. 6 years later, Malaysia was formed in 1963 through a merging of Malaya and Singapore, including the East Malaysian states of Sabah (known then as North Borneo) and Sarawak on the northern coast of Borneo. The first several years of the country's history were marred by Indonesian efforts to control Malaysia, Philippine claims to Sabah, and Singapore's secession in 1965.
Today's Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy, nominally headed by the Paramount Ruler (Yang di-Pertuan Agong), who is elected for a five-year term from among the nine sultans of the Malay states. The current king, from Terengganu, was sworn in on 13 Dec 2006. In practice, however, power is held by the Prime Minister, who is the leader of elected government. The United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party and its National Alliance (Barisan National) coalition have ruled Malaysia uninterrupted since its independence, and while periodic elections are contested by feisty opposition parties, the balance has so far always been shifted in the government's favor by press control and use of restrictive security legislation dating from the colonial era.
Malaysia's development has been fast but uneven. Contributing to this is the Bumiputra or Malay-first policy, an affirmative action policy which stems out from the race riots in 1969, sparked by the Malays frustration over the ethnic Chinese minority economic clout. The policy favors the bumiputras in areas such as government jobs, housing, bank loans and contracts. This inequity has posed challenges in moving the multi racial country forward.
Current Weather (May 18)
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Penang Mostly Cloudy, 86° F |
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Kuala Lumpur Mostly Cloudy, 84° F |
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Malacca Mostly Cloudy, 88° F |
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Ipoh Mostly Cloudy, 90° F |
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Johor Bahru Mostly Cloudy, 88° F |
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Kota Kinabalu Mostly Cloudy, 90° F |
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Kuching Mostly Cloudy, 91° F |
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Langkawi Mostly Cloudy, 88° F |
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Kuantan Mostly Cloudy, 88° F |
| Source: Yahoo! Weather |