Evidence of human habitation in Malaysia dates back 40,000 years.[27] The first inhabitants of the Malay Peninsula were most probably Negritos.[28] The Malay Peninsula was known to ancient Indians asSuvarnadvipa or the "Golden Peninsula", and was shown on Ptolemy's map as the "Golden Khersonese". Traders and settlers from India and China arrived as early as the first century of the common era, establishing trading ports and towns in the area in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. Both had a strong influence on the local culture. In the early centuries of the first millennium, the people of the Malay Peninsula adopted the Indian religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The Sanskrit writing system was used as early as the 4th century.[29]Between the 7th and the 13th century, much of Peninsular Malaysia was under the Srivijaya empire, which was centered in Palembang on the island of Sumatra. After the fall of Srivijaya, the Java-based Majapahit empire had influence over most of Peninsular Malaysia and the Malay Archipelago.[30] In the early 15th century, Parameswara, a prince of the former Srivijayan empire, established a dynasty and founded what would become the Malacca Sultanate, commonly considered the first independent state in the peninsula.[31] Parameswara became a Muslim, and due to the fact that Malacca was under a Muslim Prince, the conversion of Malays to Islam accelerated in the 15th century.[3] Malacca was an important commercial centre during this time, attracting trade from around the region.[3]
The first colonial claim occurred in 1511, when Malacca was conquered by Portugal, who established a colony there.[3] This colony was later captured by the Dutch, before being turned over to the British in 1795.[30] The British Empire set foot on the Malay Peninsula in 1786, with the lease of the island of Penang to the British East India Company by the sultan of Kedah,[32] which was followed by the occupation of Singapore.[33] In 1824, the British took control of Malacca following the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 which divided the Malay Archipelago between Britain and the Netherlands, with Malaya in the British zone. By 1826 the British controlled Penang, Malacca, Singapore and the island of Labuan, which they established as the crown colony of the Straits Settlements. By the turn of the 20th century, the states of Pahang, Selangor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan, known together as the Federated Malay States, had British Residents appointed to advise the Malay rulers, whom the rulers were bound by treaty to defer to.[34] The remaining five states in the peninsula, known as the Unfederated Malay States, while not directly under rule from London, also accepted British advisers around the turn of the 20th century. Development on the Peninsula and Borneo were generally separate until the 19th century.[30] Sabah was governed as the crown colony of British North Borneo. In 1842, Sarawak was ceded by the Sultan of Brunei to James Brooke, whose successors ruled as the White Rajahs over an independent kingdom until 1946, when it became a British colony.
During World War II, the Japanese army invaded and subsequently occupied Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore for over three years. During this time, ethnic tensions were raised and nationalism grew.[35] After Malaysia was reconquered by Allied Forces, popular support for independence grew.[36] Post-war British plans to unite the administration of Malaya under a single crown colony called the Malayan Union met with strong opposition from the Malays, who opposed the weakening of the Malay rulers and the granting of citizenship to the ethnic Chinese.[37] The Malayan Union, established in 1946 and consisting of all the British possessions in the Malay peninsula with the exception of Singapore, was dissolved in 1948 and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the autonomy of the rulers of the Malay states under British protection. During this time, rebels under the leadership of the Malayan Communist Party launched guerrilla operations designed to force the British out of Malaya. The Malayan Emergency, as it was known, lasted from 1948 to 1960, and involved a long anti-insurgency campaign by Commonwealth troops in Malaya. In 1963, Malaya along with the then British crown colonies of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore, federated to form Malaysia. The proposed date for the formation of Malaysia was 31 August 1963, however, the date was delayed until 16 September 1963 due to opposition from Sukarno and the Sarawak United Peoples' Party.[38]
Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) in Kuala Lumpur, where Malaysians celebrate Independence Day on 31 August each year
In its initial period, independence brought heightened tensions including a conflict with Indonesia (Konfrontasi) over the formation of Malaysia, Singapore's eventual exit in 1965,[39][40] and racial strife in the form of the 13 May race riots in 1969.[41] After the riots, the controversial New Economic Policy was launched by Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, trying to increase the share of the economy held by the bumiputra. Malaysia has since maintained a delicate ethno-political balance, with a system of government that has attempted to combine overall economic development with political and economic policies that promote equitable participation of all races.[42]
Under the premiership of Mahathir bin Mohamad, Malaysia experienced a period of rapid economic growth and urbanization from the 1980s.[43] The period saw a shift from an agriculture-based economy to one based on manufacturing and industry in areas such as computers and consumer electronics. It was during this period too, that the physical landscape of Malaysia changed with the emergence of numerous mega-projects. Notable amongst these were the construction of the Petronas Towers (at the time, the tallest building in the world, and remains the world's tallest twin building), Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), the North-South Expressway, the Sepang International Circuit, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), the Bakun hydroelectric dam, andPutrajaya, the new federal administrative capital. In the late 1990s, Malaysia was shaken by the Asian financial crisis as well as political unrest caused by the sacking of the deputy prime minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim.[44] In November 2007, Malaysia was rocked by two anti-government rallies. They were precipitated by allegations of corruption and discrepancies in the Malaysian election system that heavily favoured the ruling political party, Barisan Nasional, which had been in power since Malaysia achieved its independence in 1957.[45]
Politics
Main article: Politics of Malaysia
The Malaysian Houses of Parliamentis the building where the Malaysian Parliament assembles.
Malaysia is a federal constitutional elective monarchy. The federal head of state of Malaysia is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commonly referred to as the "King of Malaysia". The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is elected to a five-year term by and from amongst the nine hereditary rulers of the Malay states; the other four states, which have titular Governors, do not participate in the selection.[46] The position has to date been, by informal agreement, systematically rotated between the nine; the order was originally based on seniority. The system of government in Malaysia is closely modelled on that of the Westminster parliamentary system, a legacy of British colonial rule.[11]
Legislative power is divided between federal and state legislatures. The bicameral parliament consists of the lower house, the House of Representatives or Dewan Rakyat (literally the "Chamber of the People") and the upper house, the Senate or Dewan Negara (literally the "Chamber of the Nation").[47][48][48] The 222-member House of Representatives is elected for a maximum term of five years from single-member constituencies, which are defined based on population. All 70 Senators sit for three-year terms; 26 are elected by the 13 state assemblies, with the remaining 44 appointed by the king upon the Prime Minster's recommendation.[3] The parliament follows a multi-party system and the governing body is elected through a first-past-the-post system. Since independence in 1957, Malaysia has been governed by a multi-party coalition known as the Barisan Nasional (formerly known as the Alliance Party).[3]
Besides the Parliament at the federal level, each state has a unicameral State Legislative Assembly (Malay: Dewan Undangan Negeri) whose members are elected from single-member constituencies. State governments are led by Chief Ministers[3] (Menteri Besar in Malay states, or Ketua Menteri in states without hereditary rulers), who are state assembly members from the majority party in the State Legislative Assembly. In each of the states with a hereditary ruler, the Chief Minister is required to be a Malay, appointed by the Sultan upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister.[49] Parliamentary elections are held at least once every five years, with the last general election being in March 2008.[3] Registered voters of age 21 and above may vote for the members of the House of Representatives and, in most of the states, for the state legislative chamber. Voting is not mandatory.[50]
Current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak.
Executive power is vested in the Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister; the Constitution stipulates that the prime minister must be a member of the lower house ofparliament who, in the opinion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, commands a majority in parliament.[51] The cabinet is chosen from among members of both houses of Parliament and is responsible to that body.[52]
The judiciary of Malaysia is theoretically independent of the executive and the legislature,[53] although supporters of the government hold many judicial positions.[54] The highest body in the judicial system is the Federal Courts. Underneath these courts, there are two high courts, one for Peninsular Malaysia and one for East Malaysia.[2]Malaysia's legal system is based upon English Common Law.[3]
Separate from the civil courts of Malaysia are Sharia courts, which decide on cases which involve Malaysian Muslims.[55] The Sharia courts run parallel to the normal court system, and are undergoing reforms that include the first ever appointment of female judges.[56] The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has championed the founding of a purely Islamic state in Malaysia and has debated if the country should become a an Islamic state.[57] Some state governments controlled by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, including that of Terengganu, have passed Islamic laws, but these have not gone into effect due to opposition from the federal government.[58]
Race is a significant force in Malaysian politics, and many Malaysian political parties are ethnically based.[3] Actions such as the New Economic Policy (NEP)[42] and the National Development Policy (NDP) which superseded it, were implemented to advance the standing of Bumiputera.[59] These policies provide preferential treatment to Malays over non-Malays in employment, education, scholarships, business, and access to cheaper housing and assisted savings. While it improved the economic position of Bumiputras, it is a source of resentment amongst others.[60]
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