Malaysia
 

1874 - 1942  British Straits Settlements                     Jan 1942  - Sep 1945          1 Jul 1896 - Jan 1942, 1 Apr 1946 - 19 May 1950      Federated Malay States, Malay Union, Fed. of Malaya                      19 May 1950 - 16 Sep 1963                           Adopted 16 Sep 1963    Map of Malaysia Hear National Anthem "Negara Ku" (My Country) Text of National Anthem Adopted 1957 Constitution  (31 Aug 1957) Capital: Kuala Lumpur Administrative: Putrajaya (since 2002) Currency: Ringgit (MYR)  National Holiday: 31 Aug (1957) Independence Day/ Malaysia Day Population: 24,3821,286 (2007) GDP: $308.8 billion (2006)  Exports: $158 billion (2006) Imports: $127 billion (2006) Ethnic groups: Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, Indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8% (2004)  Total Armed Forces: 104,000 (2003) Merchant marine: 312 ships (2006) Religions: Muslim 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.3%, Chinese folk religionist 2.6%, Sikhism, Shamanism and other 2.4% (2000) International Organizations/Treaties: ADB, APEC, APM, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, BTWC, C, CP, CTBT, D-8, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISESCO, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, KP, MIGA, NAM, NPT, NTBT, OIC, OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCLOS, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFCC, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Malaysia Index Chronology 14 Aug 1826 - 29 Jan 1946   Straits Settlements (Malacca, Penang,                               Singapore; see under Singapore).  1 Jul 1896                 Federated Malay States (Negeri Sembilan, Pahang,                               Perak, and Selangor). Jan 1942 - Sep 1945         Japanese occupation. 20 Aug 1943 -  8 Sep 1945   Perlis, Terengganu, Kedah, and Kelantan                                annexed by Thailand. Sep 1945 - 29 Jan 1946      British military rule.  1 Apr 1946                 Malay Union (federated and unfederated Malay                                states plus Malacca and Penang).  1 Feb 1948                 Federation of Malaya 31 Aug 1957                 Independence from Britain. 16 Sep 1963                 Malaysia (accession of Sabah [formerly North                               Borneo], Sarawak, and Singapore).  9 Aug 1965                 Withdrawal of Singapore. States and Territories Map of Malaysia Administrative divisions Map of Historical Malay states 1908 Historical Maps of Malaysia

High Commissioners
 1 Jul 1896 -  1 Apr 1946  the governors of the Straits 
                           Settlements (see Singapore)
Residents-general
 1 Jul 1896 - 1901         Frank Athelstane Swettenham        (b. 1850 - d. 1946)
                             (from 1897, Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham) 
1901 - 1904                William Hood Treacher              (b. 1849 - d. 1919)
1904 - 1910                Sir William Thomas Taylor          (b. 1848 - d. 1931)
1910 - 1911                Arthur Henderson Young             (b. 1854 - d. 1938)
Chief Secretaries
1911 - 1920                Sir Edward Lewis Brockman          (b. 1865 - d. 1943)
1920 - 1926                George Maxwell                     (b. 1871 - d. 1959)
                             (from 1924, Sir George Maxwell) 
1926 - 1930                William Peel                       (b. 1875 - d. 1945)
                             (from 1928, Sir William Peel) 
1930 - 1932                Charles Walter Hamilton Cochrane   (b. 1876 - d. 1932)
1932 - 1934                Andrew Caldecott                   (b. 1884 - d. 1951)
1934 - 1935                Malcolm Bond Shelley               (b. 1879 - d. 1968)
1935 - 1936                Marcus Rex                         (b. 1886 - d. 1971)
Federal Secretaries
1936 - 1939                Christopher Dominic Ahearne        (b. 1886 - d. 1964)
1939 - 31 Jan 1942         Hugh Fraser
Japanese Military governors
31 Jan 1942 - Oct 1944     Tomoyuki Yamashita                 (b. 1888 - d. 1946)
Oct 1944 - 1945            Count Hisaichi Terauchi            (b. 1879 - d. 1946)
1945 - 12 Sep 1945         Seishiro Itagaki                   (b. 1885 - d. 1948)
Civil governors
194. -  1 Mar 1942         Manaki Takanobu
Mar 1942 - Apr 1943        Tokugawa Yoshichika
Apr 1943 - 1945            ....
Governor-general (of the Malayan Union and Singapore)
22 May 1946 -  1 May 1948  Malcolm John MacDonald             (b. 1901 - d. 1981)
Governor
 1 Apr 1946 -  1 Feb 1948  Sir Gerard Edward James Gent       (b. 1895 - d. 1948)
High commissioners
 1 Feb 1948 -  4 Jul 1948  Sir Gerard Edward James Gent       (s.a.)
 1 Oct 1948 -  6 Oct 1951  Sir Henry Lovell Goldworthy Gurney (b. 1898 - d. 1951)
15 Jan 1952 - 31 May 1954  Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer   (b. 1898 - d. 1979)
31 May 1954 - 31 Aug 1957  Sir Donald Charles MacGillivray    (b. 1906 - d. 1966)
Paramount Rulers¹
31 Aug 1957 -  1 Apr 1960  Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni           (b. 1895 - d. 1960)
                             al-Marhum Yamtuan Muhammad 
                             (Negeri Sembilan) 
 1 Apr 1960 -  1 Sep 1960  Tuanku Hisamuddin Alam Shah        (b. 1898 - d. 1960)
                             ibni al-Marhum Sultan Alaeddin
                             Sulaiman Shah (Selangor) 
                             (acting to 14 Apr 1960)
 1 Sep 1960 - 20 Sep 1965  Syed Harun Putra ibni al-Marhum    (b. 1920 - d. 2000)
                             Syed Hasan Jamalullail (Perlis)
                             (acting to 21 Sep 1960)
21 Sep 1965 - 20 Sep 1970  Tuanku Ismail Nasiruddin Shah      (b. 1907 - d. 1979)
                             ibni al-Marhum Sultan Zainal
                             Abidin Muadzam Shah (Terengganu)
21 Sep 1970 - 20 Sep 1975  Tuanku Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah    (b. 1927)
                             ibni al-Marhum Sultan Badishah 
                             (Kedah)
21 Sep 1975 - 29 Mar 1979  Tuanku Yahya Petra ibni al-Marhum  (b. 1917 - d. 1979)
                             Sultan Ibrahim  (Kelantan) 
29 Mar 1979 - 25 Apr 1984  Tuanku Ahmad Shah al-Mustain
                             Billah ibni al-Marhum Sultan Abu (b. 1930)
                             Bakar Riayatuddin al-Muadzam Shah 
                             (acting to 25 Apr 1979)(Pahang)
26 Apr 1984 - 25 Apr 1989  Tuanku Mahmud Iskandar ibni        (b. 1932)
                             al-Marhum Sultan Ismail (Johore) 
26 Apr 1989 - 25 Apr 1994  Tuanku Azlan Muhibuddin Shah ibni  (b. 1928)
                             al-Marhum Sultan Yusuf Izzuddin
                             Shah Ghafarullahu-Lah (Perak) 
26 Apr 1994 - 25 Apr 1999  Tuanku Jaafar ibni al-Marhum       (b. 1922)
                             Yamtuan Abdul Rahman 
                             (Negeri Sembilan)
26 Apr 1999 - 21 Nov 2001  Tuanku Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah  (b. 1926 - d. 2001)
                             ibni al-Marhum Sultan Hisamuddin 
                             Alam Shah (Selangor) 
21 Nov 2001 - 13 Dec 2001  Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin ibni    (b. 1962)
                             al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud (1st time)
                             (acting [for Salahuddin from 8 Oct 2001])
                             (Terengganu) 
13 Dec 2001 - 12 Dec 2006  Syed Sirajuddin ibni al-Marhum     (b. 1943)
                             Syed Putra Jamalullail (Perlis) 
13 Dec 2006 -              Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin ibni    (s.a.)
                             al-Marhum Sultan Mahmud (2nd time)
                             (Terengganu) 
 

Chief minister
 4 Aug 1955 - 28 Aug 1957  Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj     (b. 1903 - d. 1990)  UMNO
Prime ministers
28 Aug 1957 - 15 Apr 1959  Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj     (s.a.)               UMNO 
                             (1st time) 
15 Apr 1959 - 20 Aug 1959  Tun Abdul Razak bin Hussein        (b. 1922 - d. 1976)  UMNO 
                             (1st time) 
21 Aug 1959 - 22 Sep 1970  Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Alhaj     (s.a.)               UMNO
                             (2nd time) 
22 Sep 1970 - 14 Jan 1976  Tun Abdul Razak bin Hussein        (s.a.)               UMNO
                             (2nd time) 
15 Jan 1976 - 16 Jul 1981  Datuk Hussein bin Onn              (b. 1922 - d. 1990)  UMNO 
16 Jul 1981 - 31 Oct 2003  Dato' Seri Mahathir bin Mohamad    (b. 1925)            UMNO 
31 Oct 2003 -              Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi   (b. 1939)            UMNO

  ¹The full style of the Paramount Rulers:
(a) 31 Aug 1957 - 16 Sep 1963: Yang Dipertuan Agong ("Paramount Ruler");
(b) from 16 Sep 1963: Yang Dipertuan Agong bagi Malaysia ("Paramount Ruler of Malaysia").

Territorial Disputes: Malaysia has asserted sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together with China, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; while the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions over the Spratly Islands, it is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Malaysia was not party to the Mar 2005 joint accord among the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam on conducting marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; disputes continue over deliveries of fresh water to Singapore, Singapore's land reclamation, bridge construction, and maritime boundaries in the Johor and Singapore Straits; in Nov 2007, the ICJ will hold public hearings in response to the Memorials and Countermemorials filed by the parties in 2003 and 2005 over sovereignty of Pedra Branca Island/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge; ICJ awarded Ligitan and Sipadan islands, also claimed by Indonesia and Philippines, to Malaysia but left maritime boundary and sovereignty of Unarang rock in the hydrocarbon-rich Celebes Sea in dispute; separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompts measures to close and monitor border with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo; Brunei and Malaysia are still considering international adjudication over their disputed offshore and deepwater seabeds, where hydrocarbon exploration was terminated in 2003; Malaysia's land boundary with Brunei around Limbang is in dispute; piracy remains a problem in the Malacca Strait.

Party abbreviation: UMNO = Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu (United Malays National Organisation, ethnic Malay party, authoritarian, est.1946)