FLAG OF MALAYSIA: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY

The Malaysian flag is the national symbol of this Southeast Asian country. It is made up of fourteen horizontal stripes that intersperse the colors white and red. In the canton, there is a blue rectangle that contains a yellow crescent and a fourteen-pointed star.

Malaysia as a political unit was conceived in the 20th century, after British pressure for independence. Before that, the territory was dominated by different empires and sultanates. The arrival of Europeans brought with them different flags used in colonization.

Malaysian flag. (SKopp, Zscout370 and Ranking Update).

The current flag comes from a contest held in the late 1940s. It originally had eleven stripes representing the states of Peninsular Malaysia. The country achieved its independence in 1957 and added three stripes with the incorporation of Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak in 1963. The flag is known as Jalur Gemilang or Glorious Stripes.

The colors red, white and blue would represent Malaysia's role in the Commonwealth of Nations. Yellow would be the royal color and the sovereignty of its rulers. The crescent and star represent Islam. The fourteen-pointed star itself represents the unity between the federal states.

History of the flag

Malaysia, as a state, is a recent historical invention. The history of the flags that have flown in Malaysia shows that this territory was not united until very recently, so that a large number of symbols have been established between its different parts.

First kingdoms

Hominids have been in Southeast Asia since prehistoric times, even with species of their own. Thousands of years later, the Malays prevailed in the region. The first states began to be established around the 3rd century BC, with Indian influence.

Between the 2nd and 3rd centuries, the Malay kingdoms were numerous, especially on the eastern coast of the peninsula. One of the first was the Kingdom of Langkasuka. Also the area was occupied by Buddhist empires such as Srivijaya, which was present for more than six centuries. They later fought the Chola dynasty of India.

For many years, Cambodian, Siamese, and Indian Khmer fought for control of the Malay states. The Buddhist power of Srivijaya was falling before the power of Siam and Islam. The Sultanate of Aceh was one of the first states to form an establishment based on this religion.

Their flag, established many years later, was a red cloth with a crescent and white star. At the bottom a sword was imposed.

Flag of the Sultanate of Aceh. (Keradjeun Atjeh Darussalam, from Wikimedia Commons).

Majapahit Empire

By the 14th century, the Majapahit Empire, of Hindu religion that ruled in Java, invaded and occupied the Malay peninsula. The colors red and white come from this symbol. The flag had horizontal red and white stripes interspersed.

Its origin could be in Austronesian mythology, which assumed that white was the sea and red the land. However, different tribal groups already used it. This symbol also inspires the current Indonesian flag.

Flag of the Majapahit Empire. (Syzyszune, from Wikimedia Commons).

Islamic rule

The first Muslims to arrive in the Malay Archipelago in the 13th century were traders from other Arab countries and from India. Islam quickly spread to the detriment of Buddhism and Hinduism.

The Sultanate of Malacca was one of the first Islamic states, led by Parameswara. His son managed to establish relations with China and expand the domain of the territory. In the 15th century, other states such as the Demak Sultanate on the island of Java joined the Islamic expansion.

By 1511, Portuguese troops conquered the capital of the sultanate. Sultan Mahmud Shah had to retreat and new dynasties led by his sons caused the empire to split. In this way the Sultanate of Johor and the Sultanate of Perak were born.

The Sultanate of Johor lasted until 1855, being one of the longest in the history of Southeast Asia. When the British and the Dutch occupied the area, the sultanate was divided. The western part of Britain became Malaysia. In its final years, the Sultanate of Johor had a black flag with a white rectangle in the canton.

Flag of the Sultanate of Johor. (1855-1865). (Ranking Update, from Wikimedia Commons).

Portuguese colonization

The arrival of Europeans to the region that today constitutes Malaysia definitely changed the way the region was governed. The Portuguese were the first to make themselves felt, since since the 15th century they have been sailing in that direction. By 1511, the Portuguese Empire conquered Malacca. They brought Catholicism, which they tried to impose from Malacca.

The flag they used was the imperial one: a white cloth with the Portuguese coat of arms in the central part. The shields were changing depending on the different monarchs that ruled. By 1511, the current flag was that of the coat of arms of King Manuel.

Flag of the Portuguese Empire. (1495-1521). (Guilherme Paula).

This city was always under siege by the Sultanate of Johor and the Sultanate of Aceh, which expanded to the Malay Peninsula. This state conquered cities like Perak and Kedah. Despite this, no one could control Malacca and strip it of Portuguese hands.

Dutch colonization

Malacca fell into the hands of the Dutch in 1641. The Dutch East India Company had taken control of the territory after an alliance with the Sultanate of Johor, who became allies. Dutch coastal settlements increased in number, but stability collapsed with the fall of the Sultanate of Johor in 1699.

The flag used by the Netherlands East India Company was the same Dutch tricolor, colored red, white and green. In the center he included the initials of the company.

Flag of the Netherlands East India Company. (Himasaram, from Wikimedia Commons).

Siam influence

The end of the Sultanate of Johor left much of the territory it administered adrift. The Siam kings who held the Ayutthaya Kingdom occupied Kedah, Terengannu, Kelantan, Perlis, and Patani. The flag of this kingdom was a garnet colored flag.

Flag of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. (1350–1767). (Xiengyod).

Brunei Empire

The other major Islamic state in the region has been Brunei. In its early days it was called Poni and was under the influence of the Majapahit Empire, but in the 15th century it converted to Islam. Its territory settled in Borneo, especially to the northeast and expanded into the present-day Philippines.

The Bruneian Empire was very solid, but under the influence of different Western powers it began to wane. Its power in the Philippines fell to Spanish hands even temporarily in Borneo.

Faced with independent Malaysian leaders and the subsequent British occupation, the Bruneian Empire was reduced to a small space. In the end, they became a state that took orders from the British.

Although Brunei still survives and borders Malaysia, its territories were not what it occupied during its imperial period. The flag they used was a yellow cloth.

Flag of the Bruneian Empire. (The original uploader was at. (Original text: Orange Tuesday (talk))).

British influence on the Malay Peninsula and Borneo

The reality of Southeast Asia was definitely changed by the broad and decisive arrival of Great Britain and the Netherlands. As in much of Africa, British interests were purely commercial, and that is what many of their merchants have been on since the seventeenth century. By the 19th century, the situation changed and Britain was already aspiring to colonize, seeking new resources.

In the Napoleonic Wars, Great Britain allied with the Dutch occupying Malacca to protect it. By 1815 it was returned, but the British continued to search for new territories and thus colonized Singapore.

Later, they seized Malacca in 1825. However, it was not until 1824 that the British and the Dutch signed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty. That divided the archipelago between both countries.

The result was that the Dutch lost the entire Malay Peninsula, while the British gave up any interest in the eastern islands. Although the Malay states were under British influence, they maintained their internal autonomy and independence, so no colonies were established from the outset. However, the destabilization of these states led to direct British intervention.

First formal British colonies

The British came to have effective control from 1825 of what they called the Colonies of the Strait, within which were Malacca, Penang, Dinding and Singapore. However, these did not acquire formal colonial status until 1867.

Its flag kept a blue cloth with the Union Jack in the canton. The symbol in the white circle showed a red rhombus divided into three by a white line on which three crowns were placed.

Flag of the British Strait Colonies. (1904-1925). (Himasaram).

Bad States Federated

By leaps and bounds the British colonization was moving. The Treaty of Pangkor in 1874 established agreements with Malaysian states, which they began to govern effectively through advisers. The Sultanate of Johor was one of those that resisted, by its own characteristics.

Instead, the states of Perak, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor became the Federated Malay States, with British advisers. The Siamese states also resisted intervention for many years. The Federated Malay States did not have a colonial denomination but did maintain a British Resident General.

The flag of the Federated Malay States kept four horizontal stripes of equal size. The colors were white, red, yellow and black. In the center a white circle was erected with a running tiger in yellow.

Flag of the Federated Malay States. (1895-1946), the Malaya Union (1946-1948) and the Malaya Federation (1948-1952). (See page for author).

Colonial borneo

The island of Borneo, from the end of the 19th century, was divided and the British occupied the north coast, with the British North Borneo Company, with a British protectorate status.

Its flag maintained the traditional British style of colonial flags, with a blue background, the Union Jack in the canton and a distinctive symbol. In this case it was a yellow circle with a red lion.

Flag of British North Borneo. (1902-1946). (Orange Tuesday).

Another of the states in the region, dependent as British protectorates, was the Kingdom of Sarawak. This was located northwest of the island of Borneo, with lands won from the Sultanate of Brunei by the British James Brook.

The flag that maintained this status was yellow with a cross that divided it into four rectangles. The left part of the cross was black, the right red, and in the center a yellow crown was imposed.

Flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak. (1870-1946). (Defunct, extinct historical state, successor state: Sarawak).

Labuan Colony

Labuan came to complete the first British colonial map in the region. It is a colony whose center was the island of Labuan, located on the north coast of Borneo. The colony also grouped other smaller islands.

Labuan was bought from Brunei in 1846 and its economic development was rapid and dizzying, following the example of Singapore. However, its coal production declined and with it, the economy.

Its flag also maintained the British colonial style. The Union Jack and the blue background were present, accompanied by the colonial symbol. On this occasion, Labuan identified himself with a circle in which you could see a seascape, with a boat, a mountain while the sun was rising.

Flag of the British Labuan colony. (1912). (British Government, redraw by Ranking Update).

Colonial recomposition

World War II changed the political reality of Southeast Asia. From French Indochina, the Japanese attacked the Malay Peninsula and by 1942 occupied all the British colonies in the area.

As in other countries such as Indonesia, Japan encouraged a Malaysian nationalism subordinated to its interests. The greatest resistance they encountered came from the Chinese. During the Japanese occupation, the Hinomaru was raised.

Flag of Japan (Hinomaru). (By Various, via Wikimedia Commons).

When Japan was defeated in World War II, the British Empire regained control of its colonies. The nationalist demands were growing and the British Labor government was betting on autonomy and independence.

Malay Union and Malay Federation

The first British autonomy plan in 1944 was to create the Malay Union, which would unite the Malay Federated States and those that were not, ruling out Singapore and Borneo.

Racial and ethnic problems were the impediments to its realization, which occurred in 1946. The flag used was the same as that of the federated states, which was maintained with the new change of 1948: the Federation of Malaya.

This federation returned autonomy to each ruler of the states of the country even though it was in a British protectorate. The colonial government had to face the attacks of the Chinese Communist Party, which had armed itself in a guerrilla.

Division of the Colonies of the Strait

The old Colonies of the Strait obtained a differentiated status, due to the fact that they finally did not join the union. Penang had colonial status since 1946 and its shield maintained a succession of horizontal blue and white lines emulating a castle, with the upper part in yellow.

Flag of British Penang. (1946-1957). (Bearsmalaysia).

Malacca also had its own autonomous status. That made her the bearer of a colonial flag. The shield included a red castle on a green hill in a white circle.

Flag of British Malacca. (1946-1957). (Bearsmalaysia).

Singapore was the largest British economic center and its independence began to emerge since then, in addition to being an ethnic Chinese majority. The colonial flag of Singapore partially inherited the symbol of the Colonies of the Straits. This time a white circle was divided by a red line into three parts, with a crown as a point of attachment in the middle.

Flag of British Singapore. (1946-1952). (User: Zscout370 (Return Fire)).

Borneo colonies

For its part, the Kingdom of Sarawak became a formal British colony in 1946, occupying northwestern Borneo. Consequently, their flag changed to the colonial style, but adopted as a shield the same cross symbol that they had for their flag.

British Sarawak flag. (1946-1963). (Kaiser Torikka).

Meanwhile, North Borneo acquired a colonial status from 1946. In this case it was the northeast part of the island. Its colonial flag began to fly in 1948 and it differed from the previously existing one.

In this symbol you can see within a white circle two arms, one white and the other black, holding the mast of a royal flag with a red lion on a yellow background.

Flag of British North Borneo. (1948-1963). (SodacanThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Inkscape.).

Change in crown from Singapore flag

The arrival of Elizabeth II to the throne changed the flag of the colony of Singapore. Although the design of the shield was not changed, the royal crown was. This was maintained until its incorporation in Malaysia.

Flag of British Singapore. (1952-1959). (Fry1989 huh?).

Independence

Malaysia's independence process was extremely successful due to the armed conflict that occurred in the country. During the colonial regime and under British force, progress was made towards the election of local governments. The agreement between the political forces determined equality between races in the future independent Malaya and that the head of state would be separated from the sultans.

In this way, representation quotas were guaranteed for Chinese and Indians in an independent country. On August 31, 1957, the independence of the Malaya Federation was finally achieved. This grouped the nine states of the Malay Peninsula, in addition to Penang and Malacca.

Creation of Malaysia

The idea for Malaysia came from Lee Kuan Yew in 1961. Malaysia would be made up of the Malay Peninsula, northern Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore. From Borneo and Sarawak opposition was shown, while Brunei was ready to join.

After different meetings within the framework of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Cobbold Commission was established, which approved the merger. The Sultanate of Brunei withdrew due to internal conflicts that could further destabilize the situation.

Subsequently, the Landsdowne Commission drafted a new constitution, which was essentially the same as in 1957 but adopting the autonomous particularities of the new territories. On September 16, 1963, Malaysia was born with all its new entities.

Flag formation

The flag maintained by the Federation of Malaya since 1957 replaced that of the Union of Malaya. Before independence, in 1949, the government called a contest from which three flags were selected.

The first of these was a dark blue cloth in which two red daggers were crossed in its central part. Around eleven white stars formed a circle.

Flag Proposal 1 of the Federation of Malaya. (1949). (Macesito / Joins2003).

The second proposal was very similar to the first. In this case, he kept the daggers, although emptying the red part inside. The stars also changed position, with two being positioned at each corner of a larger figure, similar to a five-pointed star. At the top were three stars.

Proposal 2 flag of the Federation of Malaya. (1949). (Macesito / Joins2003).

The third design, which ended up being approved with modifications, kept eleven horizontal stripes of interspersed red and white. In the blue color canton included a golden crescent and five pointed star.

Flag Proposal 3 of the Malaya Federation. (1949). (Joins2003).

Winning design

The winning design was carried out by 29-year-old architect Mohamed Hamzah. The artist submitted two designs made in two weeks and one of them entered the top three out of 373. Finally, the design was modified, as the five pointed star was related to communism. King George VI approved the modified design in 1950.

The flag also came into force since Malay independence in 1957. The symbol has undergone little change since then.

Flag of the British Malay Federation. (1950-1957) and the Federation of Malaya. (1957-1963). (Joins2003).

1963 flag

The incorporation of North Borneo and Singapore changed the political reality, and that resulted in a change of flag. To include Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore, the bars were changed from eleven to fourteen. The same happened with the star. This is the official flag that still remains unchanged today, even after Singapore's independence in 1965.

Meaning of the flag

The Malaysian flag has an original interpretation of its components since its birth. At first, the colors white, red and blue represented Malaysia within the Commonwealth of Nations, being the same as the British flag.

As is well known, the crescent moon and the star are the symbols of Islam as the official religion of the country. The color yellow is identified with the power and sovereignty of the rulers and their role as leaders of the faith in the constituent states. The star symbolizes the unity and cooperation of the members of the federation.

It is important to note that the Malaysian flag maintains the colors of the Majapahit Empire and that its composition is clearly inspired by that of the United States.

References

All Malaysia. (sf). Malaysia Flag. All Malaysia. Guide to all Malaysia. Recovered from all.talkmalaysia.com.
Andaya, B. and Andaya, L. (2016). A history of Malaysia. Macmillan International Higher Education. Recovered from books.google.com.
Government of Malaysia. (sf). Flag & Coat of Arms. My Government. The Government of Malaysia's Official Gateway. Recovered from malaysia.gov.my.
Razif Nasruddin, M. and bin Zulkhurnain, Z. (2012). The History and Design Chronology of Jalur Gemilang. Malaysia Design Archive. Make Condition Design: Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
Smith, W. (2018). Flag of Malaysia. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com.
The Strait Times. (March 6, 1950). Federal Flag. The Strait Times. P5, C2. Recovered from eresources.nlb.gov.sg.

FLAG OF MALAYSIA: HISTORY AND MEANING - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025