Malaysia Flags

The flag is also known as ‘"Jalur Gemilang" which means ‘Stripes of Glory". The naming of this flag took place in 1997 when the then Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohammad allocated this name to forecast the country’s growth and success.

The flag of Malaysia comprises of 14 alternating red and white stripes that are equal in width, and a crescent and a 14-point star are embedded in a blue canton on the left top side. The 14 point-star symbolizes the unity of states in the Malaysian Federation (13 states) and the Federal government. The flag is also known as the "Federal Star" or "Bintang Persekutuan". The 14 stripes represent equality among the 13 member states and the Federal government. The crescent is a representation of Islam which is the national religion. The yellow color symbolizes royalty while the blue canton represents the harmony of the people of Malaysia.

The Malaysian flag was designed by an architect by the name of Mohamad Hamzah. Three designs were presented in a contest in 1947 when the Malayan Union was replaced by the Federation of Malaya. Mohamad’s design won through votes in a public poll. The flag was approved on May 19, 1950 by King George VI and was subsequently adopted on May 26, 1950.

In 1905, what was then known as The Malay Union (1905-1950) had its own flag. The flag comprised of white, red, yellow and black horizontal stripes, with a running tiger at the center embedded on a white oval. The colored stripes represented the then 4 states of the Malay Union. In 1946, other states joined the Union and in 1948, the Union was renamed to the Malay Federation. In 1950, a new flag was designed. The original flag adopted in 1950 consisted of 11 stripes and 11-point star. It was later modified in 1963 when 3 new states joined the Malaysian Federation. 3 stripes and 3 points on the star were added to represent the 3 states. The flag adopted in 1963 is the current flag of Malaysia.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Kuala Lumpur
Languages	Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
Ethnic Groups	Malay 50.1%, Chinese 22.6%, indigenous 11.8%, Indian 6.7%, other 0.7%, non-citizens 8.2% (2010 est.)
Religion	Muslim (official) 61.3%, Buddhist 19.8%, Christian 9.2%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 1.3%, other 0.4%, none 0.8%, unspecified 1% (2010 est.)
Government	Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Independance	31 August 1957 (from the UK)
Area	329,847.00 km²
Water Area	1,190.00 km²
Land Area	328,657.00 km²
Population	30,949,962.00 A highly uneven distribution with over 80% of the population residing on the Malay Peninsula
Location	Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
No. Bordering Countries	3
Bordering Countries	Brunei 266 km, Indonesia 1,881 km, Thailand 595 km
GDP(PPP)	$863,000,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$27,200.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are Singapore, China, and Japan.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are semiconductors, electronic equipment, and palm oil.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are China, Singapore, and the United States.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include electronics, machinery, petroleum products, and plastics.
Climate	Tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
Terrain	Coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Learn More	Malaysia

Malaysia Flags

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