August 31: Independence Day in Malaysia
Prayer Idea
Pray for the people and government of Malaysia.
Map by Peter Hermes Furian / Shutterstock.com.
History Note
Modern Malaysia reflects the cultural influences from thousands of years of interaction between different people groups. Several Malay kingdoms began to grow in ancient times. The Malay people were known for their ability to travel and trade across the seas.
After centuries of the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism, the religion of Islam came in the 13th century. The port of Malacca became a major trading hub. Chinese admiral Zheng He visited Malacca during his voyages around the Indian Ocean in the 15th century.
The Portuguese, the Dutch, and eventually the British vied for control of colonies among the islands of Southeast Asia. The British began taking over much of what became Malaysia in the early 1800s. It included the regions of Malaya and Singapore on the Malayan peninsula and Sabah, Sarawak, and Brunei on the island of Borneo.
A movement for Malaysian independence was delayed by Japanese occupation during World War II. The effort continued after the war and Malayans proclaimed their independence on August 31, 1957. Negotiations with the British continued until the modern country of Malaysia was formed in 1963. Singapore chose to leave the federation in 1965. Brunei chose to remain a British protectorate until 1984.
Malaysia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a parliament and prime minister who run the government with a monarch who is the head of state. Several regions of Malaysia also have their own local sultans. This group of sultans elects one of their members to serve as the monarch of the whole country every five years, or when a vacancy occurs.
Out of Malaysia’s population of 35 million, over 60% are Bumiputera, a term meaning “sons of the soil”. This includes ethnic Malays and members of other Indigenous groups. About 20% of the people are Chinese and 6% are Indian. About 10% of the population are non-citizens, including migrant workers and refugees.
People in Malaysia speak over 100 languages. Bahasa Malaysia is the official language, though English and various dialects of Chinese are common. Islam is the official religion, followed by about 64% of the people. About 19% are Buddhist, 9% Christian, and 6% Hindu.
This photo shows people celebrating Independence Day on August 31, 2022, in Seremban, Malaysia. Photo by Laboo Studio / Shutterstock.com.
Learn More
This video shows people in Malaysia talking about their country as it celebrated 60 years of independence in 2017.
Find more resources at Homeschool History.
