Flag of Malaysia

Construction sheet

History

Selection

In 1949, a year after the Federation of Malaya was created, the Federal Legislative Council called for a contest to design a new national flag. The competition attracted 373 entries, three of which were put forward to the public in a poll held by The Malay Mail.

The first flag had a ring of 11 white stars on a blue background, with two red Malay kris (daggers) in the middle. The second was the same as the first but with two concentric rings of 5 and 6 stars. The third had 11 blue and white stripes, and a red field in the top-left corner with a white crescent and five-pointed star on it. This last design was chosen as the winner.

File:1949 Malaya Flag Proposal 1-new.svg| First proposed flag File:1949 Malaya Flag Proposal 2-new.svg| Second proposed flag File:1949 Malaya Flag Proposal 3-new.svg| Third proposed flag

In December 1949, the Federal Legislative Council decided to make changes to the winning design. At the suggestion of statesman Onn Jaafar, the red and blue colours were swapped, the crescent and star were changed from white to yellow, and the star was given eleven points. The final version of the Malayan flag was approved by king George VI on 19 May 1950 and was first raised in front of the Sultan of Selangor's residence on 26 May 1950. On 31 August 1957, it was raised upon independence at Merdeka Square in place of the British Union Flag.

Symbolism

As the flag was finalised for official use, the significance of the design were given as follows:

• Red, white and blue – represents Malaysia as a country belonging in the Commonwealth.
• Crescent and star – represents Islam as the official religion for the Federation, as yellow symbolises sovereignty of the Malay Rulers and their roles as leader of the faith in the constituent states. The eleven-pointed star itself symbolises the "unity and co-operation" of said member states.

The designer

The Malayan flag was designed by Mohamed Hamzah, a 29-year-old architect working for the Public Works Department (JKR) in Johor Bahru, in the state of Johor. He entered the national flag design competition with four designs that he had completed in three days. The flag that became one of the three finalists was said to be inspired by the flag of Johor, but with five white stripes added to the blue field.

Modifications

Following the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, the design of the Malayan flag was modified to reflect and honour the new states in the federation.

Three additional stripes were added to the existing flag to make it 14 and the star was given 14 points to reflect the federation of the 11 states in the Malay peninsula plus Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore; the design remained the same even after Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later. When Kuala Lumpur was designated a Federal Territory on 1 February 1974, the additional stripe and the point in the star were appropriated to represent this new addition to the federation. Eventually, with the addition of two other federal territories, Labuan in 1984 and Putrajaya in 2001, the fourteenth stripe and point in the star came to be associated with the federal territories in general.

In 1997, when Malaysians were invited to name the flag, then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad picked the name Jalur Gemilang to project the country's onward drive toward continuous growth and success.

Mark of respect

During the National Day celebrations, everyone is encouraged to fly the Jalur Gemilang at their homes, office buildings, shops and corporate premises.

• If the flag is fixed at home, it is to be raised pointing toward the road.
• If the flag is put in a group of flags with state and private company flags, the Malaysian flag must be raised in between two flags and its pole placed higher than the rest.

Inappropriate use

The use of Malaysian flag is subject to the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1963. Under the Act, the Malaysian flag may not be used for commercial, trade or business purposes without the written permission of a minister. The flag also cannot be used in the registration of patents, trademarks or design. Violators may be punished with up to RM20,000 fine or up to 3 years imprisonment, or both.

Historical flags

Main article: List of Malaysian flags

File:Flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak (1870).svg|alt=Flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak.| Flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak from 1870 to 1946. File:Flag of Sarawak (1947–1963).svg|Flag of the Crown Colony of Sarawak from 1947 to 1963. File:Flag of North Borneo (1882–1902).svg|alt=Flag of North Borneo colony.| Flag of North Borneo from 1882 to 1902. File:Flag of North Borneo (1902–1946).svg|alt=Flag of North Borneo colony.| Flag of North Borneo from 1902 to 1946. File:Flag of North Borneo (1948–1963).svg|alt=Flag of North Borneo colony.| Flag of the Crown Colony of North Borneo from 1948 to 1963. File:Flag of Labuan (1912–1946).svg|alt=Ensign of vessels of administration of the Crown Colony of Labuan 1912–1946.| Flag of the Crown Colony of Labuan from 1912 to 1946. File:Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1874–1904).svg|alt=Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1874-1904).| Flag of the Straits Settlements from 1874 to 1904. File:Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1904–1925).svg|alt=Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1904-1925).| Flag of the Straits Settlements from 1904 to 1925. File:Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1925–1946).svg|alt=Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1925-1946).| Flag of the Straits Settlements from 1925 to 1946. File:Flag of Penang (1949–1952).svg|Flag of Crown Colony of Penang from 1949 to 1952 File:Flag of Penang (1952–1957).svg|Flag of Crown Colony of Penang from 1952 to 1957 File:Flag of Malacca (1946-1957).svg|alt=Flag of Malacca (1946-1957).| Flag of Crown Colony of Malacca from 1946 to 1957. File:Flag of Singapore (1946–1952).svg|alt=Flag of Singapore colony.| Flag of the Crown Colony of Singapore from 1946 to 1952. File:Flag of Singapore (1952–1959).svg|alt=Flag of Singapore colony.| Flag of the Crown Colony of Singapore from 1952 to 1959. File:Flag of the Federated Malay States (1895 - 1946).svg|alt=Flag of four stripes along the fly coloured white, red, yellow and black respectively. In the middle is a white oblong circle with a Malayan tiger in it.| Flag of the Federated Malay States from 1896 to 1946; later adopted by the Malayan Union from 1946 until 1948 and the Federation of Malaya from 1948 to 1950. File:Flag of Malaya.svg|alt=Flag with 11 alternating red and white stripes along the fly and a blue canton (occupying 7 stripes) bearing a crescent and an 11-point star.| Flag of the Federation of Malaya from 1950 to 1963. File:Flag of Malaysia.svg|alt=Flag with 14 alternating red and white stripes along the fly and a blue canton bearing a crescent and a 14-point star.| Flag of Malaysia in current use since 1964.

Flag anthem

The flag anthem is written as dedication and pride of the Malaysian national flag. It is performed on the nation's independence day, also known as Hari Merdeka or Hari Kemerdekaan in Malay on 31 August every year. The original anthem Benderaku was written by Malaysian songwriter Tony Fonseka. After the flag was given the name Jalur Gemilang, the flag anthem was updated in 1997 to reflect this change. This was then followed by an introduction of a new flag anthem, with arrangements by Malaysian songwriter Pak Ngah and lyrics by Malaysian songwriter Siso Kopratasa.

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|}[[File:Lagu_Jalur_Gemilang.ogg|thumb|alt=(vocal)|Jalur gemilang (vocal)]]

Other ensigns and flags

Government vessels use the Jalur Gemilang as the state ensign. The following is a table of the other ensigns used in Malaysia with the national flag inside.

Federal Star (Bintang Persekutuan)

The Federal Star is similar in concept of Australia's Commonwealth Star in that it symbolises the unity of states in the Malaysian federation and its Federal government, featuring 14 points to represent the federation's 13 states and the federal territories. It is also used on the Royal Malaysian Air Force roundel, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the former United Malayan Banking Corporation (UMBC) logo.

The Patani Malayu National Revolutionary Front, a Southern Thai Malay separatist group involved in the South Thailand insurgency, originally adopted an independence flag that incorporated a crescent and 15-point variation of the Federal Star on its flag to represent the southernmost Thai provinces' closer tie to Malay and Muslim-majority Malaysia over that of Thailand.

File:Roundel of Malaysia.svg|Royal Malaysian Air Force roundel File:Flag of the Malaysian Chinese Association.svg|Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) flag File:Flag of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (Koordinasi).svg|Deprecated Patani Malayu National Revolutionary Front flag, with a crescent and 15-point Federal Star File: Malaysian flag flying in Malacca.jpg|Malaysian flag flying on a pole

Notes

References

References

1. "Malaysian Flag and Coat of Arms". myGovernment Malaysian Government's official portal.
2. Bernama. (2021-08-05). "Fly the Jalur Gemilang, instill love for the nation New Straits Times".
3. "Malaysia Flag". TalkMalaysia.com.
4. Flags Of The World [https://www.fotw.info/flags/my.html#des Malaysia: Description] {{Webarchive. link. (20 December 2022)
5. "Flag of Malaysia". MyGOV.
6. (2 August 2023). "Bendera Malaysia – Maksud Warna, Lambang, Muat Turun Gambar". eCentral.
7. Sonia Ramachandran. ''Golden Merdeka Memories: National flag chosen by people in one of country's first public polls''. [[New Straits Times]]. 18 August 2006.
8. (6 March 1950). "Federal Flag". [[The Straits Times]].
9. Alan Teh Leam Seng. (20 September 2021). "Birth of the flag that unites us". New Straits Times.
10. (27 May 1950). "Federation Flag Hoisted at Istana". [[The Malay Mail]].
11. (2012). "The History and Design Chronology of Jalur Gemilang". Make Condition Design.
12. "MyGOV - The Government of Malaysia's Official Portal".
13. (1 March 2018). "Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1963".
14. Arshad, Nur Afiradina. (17 August 2022). "Fashioning The Jalur Gemilang Seen As Desecrating The Flag – Expert". Bernama.