The flag of Malaysia also goes by the Malay name Jalur Gemilang or ‘stripes of glory’. The background of the flag features 14 alternating white and red stripes. The top left corner of the flag has a blue canton with a 14-point star and a crescent. This star is also known as the federal star (Bintang Persekutuan).
Theu00a0Portugueseu00a0conquered Malaysia in 1511 and their flag, which was plain white and bears the coat of arms at the center, was adopted. In 1641, the Dutch took control, and a red-white-blue horizontal tricolor flag that had the Dutch Eastu00a0Indiau00a0Company coat of arms was adopted. Later, the British Empire took over in 1786 and by 1824 had taken control of Melaka after the Anglo-Dutch Treaty. The flag at the time was that of the East India Company, which featured 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes and a union flag at the top left corner. They also used theu00a0United Kingdomu2019su00a0and Irelandu2019s flag. The northern part of the country was under the Dutch Kingdom, and the flag used featured a horizontal red-white-blue design.
In 1896, the British took control of the Federated Malay state, consisting of Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, and Pahang. By the 20thu00a0century, even the Unfederated Malay States accepted British advisers although they were not under the British rule. They adopted a white-red-yellow-black flag that featured a tiger inside a white oval in the middle. Theu00a0Japaneseu00a0invaded between 1942 and 1945 and claimed control. Their flag was a white field that featured a red sun.
In 1946, the Japanese surrendered and the British formed the Malayan Union to unite the Malaya administration. The union was opposed and in 1948 replaced by the Federation of Malaya. Between 1896 to 1950, Malaysia used a horizontal white-red-yellow-black striped flag that featured a tiger inside a white oval at the middle. Once the Federation of Malaya took over, it called for a flag design contest. Several designs were presented but the final choice had alternating white and blue stripes with a red background and at the top left corner, there was a five-pointed star and a yellow crescent. Mohamad Bin Hamzah, a government architect, submitted the flag. The federation made some adjustments to it, and in 1950, the royal council passed a motion for the flag to have eleven red and white alternating horizontal stripes and to replace the white crescent with yellow.
In 1950, they adopted the 11 alternating red and white striped flag that featured a blue rectangle, a yellow crescent and 12-point yellow star at the top left corner. The flag of Malaya was raised for the first time in an official procession at the Sultan Selangoru2019s palace. The British High Commissioner to Malaya, Sir Henry Gurney, raised the flag and the Federation of Malaya proudly and officially had its flag. In 1963, after the formation of Malaysia, they altered it and adopted the fourteen-pointed stars. Each of the stars represents one of the member states and the Malaysian government.
Colour
The flag adopted in 1950 had a 6:3 feet width to height ratio. It had six red stripes and five white stripes.u00a0 These stripes represented the 11 states, namely Johor, Selangor, Pahang, Kedah, Melaka, Perak, Perlis, Negeri Sembilan, Pulau Pinang, Terengganu, and Kelantan, and their unification.
The red, blue and white colors were symbols of Malaysia joining the commonwealth while the crescent and star were symbols of Malayau2019s mainu00a0religion, Islam. Yellow was a symbol of royal sovereignty and the countryu2019s Islamic leader. The eleven-star icon denoted the cooperation and unity of the states. Alternatively, the colors used in the Malaysian flag represent:
After Malaysia formed in 1963, they adopted the fourteen-striped flag. This was done after the addition of Sabah and Sarawak to make up 13 states and the federal government.
Shape
The Malaysian flag consists of 14 stripes of equal dimensions with a proportion of 1:2 ratio.
Do you know any other interesting facts about the flag of Malaysia? Share your thoughts below.
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