Independence Day (), also known as National Day (), is the

independence day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

of the

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

from the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. It commemorates the

Malayan Declaration of Independence The Malayan Declaration of Independence (, ), was officially proclaimed on Saturday, 31 August 1957, by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first chief minister of the Federation of Malaya. In a ceremony held at the Merdeka Stadium, the proclamation document ...

of 31 August 1957, and is defined in

article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia defines various terms used in the Constitution. It has an important impact on Islam in Malaysia and the Malay people due to its definition of a Malay person under clause 2. It took effect after 31 Aug ...

. The day is marked by official and unofficial ceremonies and observances across the country. The observation of 31 August as Malaysia's national day is the cause of some controversy, with calls to prioritize the celebration of

Malaysia Day Malaysia Day (; Jawi: ) is a public holiday held on 16 September every year nationally since 2010 to commemorate the establishment of the Malaysian federation on that date in 1963. This event saw Malaya (already a sovereign state since 1957 ...

() on 16 September instead. Malaysia Day commemorates the formation of Malaysia in 1963, when the four entities of

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo wa ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and Malaya federated to form Malaysia. Some, especially people from

East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory ...

, argue that it is illogical to celebrate 31 August 1957 as Malaysia's national day when Malaysia was only established in 1963, and that the "Federation of Malaya" was a different entity. Supporters of Hari Merdeka argue that "the Federation" as defined in article 160 of the Malaysian constitution is the same "Federation of Malaya" that was first established in 1948 and when it stopped being a British protectorate on 31 August 1957.

Events leading up to independence

The effort for independence was spearheaded by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia, federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a membe ...

, who led a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya in negotiations with the British in London for ''

Merdeka ''Merdeka'' ( Jawi: ; , ) is a term in Indonesian and Malay which means "independent" or " free". It is derived from the Sanskrit ''maharddhika'' (महर्द्धिक) meaning "rich, prosperous, and powerful". In the Malay Archipelag ...

'', or independence along with the first president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) Tun Dato Sri Tan Cheng Lock and fifth President of Malaysian Indian Congress Tun V. T. Sambanthan. Once unity between Malay, Indian, and Chinese peoples was achieved, an

agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus (disambiguation), a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of ...

was reached on 8 February 1956, for Malaya to gain independence from the British Empire. However, logistical and administrative reasons led to the official proclamation of independence in the next year, on 31 August 1957, at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, which was purposely built for the celebrations of the national independence day. The announcement of the day was set months earlier by Tunku Abdul Rahman in a meeting of the Alliance in Malacca in February 1957.

Independence Day (31 August 1957)

On the night of 30 August 1957, more than 20,000 people gathered at Merdeka Square (Dataran ''Merdeka'') in

to witness the handover of power from the British. Prime Minister-designate Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj arrived at 11:58 p.m. and joined members of the Alliance Party's youth divisions in observing two minutes of darkness. On the stroke of midnight, the lights were switched back on, and the

Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

in the square was lowered as the royal anthem ''

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is '' de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle of Man, Australia, Canada and ...

'' played. The new Flag of Malaya was raised as the national anthem '' Negaraku'' was played. This was followed by seven chants of "Merdeka" by the crowd. Tunku Abdul Rahman later gave a speech hailing the ceremony as the "greatest moment in the life of the Malayan people". Before giving the address to the crowd, he was given a necklace by representatives of the Alliance Party youth in honour of this great occasion in history, with a map of Malaya inscribed on it. The event ended at one in the morning. On the morning of 31 August 1957, the festivities moved to the newly completed

Merdeka Stadium The Independence Stadium or Merdeka Stadium is a stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is known as the site of the formal declaration of independence of the Federation of Malaya on Independence Day (Malaysia), 31 August 1957. The stadium is also ...

. More than 20,000 people witnessed the ceremony, which began at 9:30 am. Those in attendance included rulers of the Malay states, foreign dignitaries, members of the federal cabinet, and citizens. The Queen's representative, the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester ( ) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curre ...

presented Tunku Abdul Rahman with the instrument of independence. Tunku then proceeded to read the Proclamation of Independence, which culminated in the chanting of "Merdeka!" seven times with the crowd joining in. The ceremony continued with the raising of the National Flag of Malaya accompanied by the national anthem being played by a

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

and a 21-gun salute, followed by an '' azan'' call and a thanksgiving prayer in honour of this great occasion. The day followed with the solemn installation of the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku

Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan ''Tuanku'' Sir Abdul Rahman ibni Almarhum Tuanku Muhammad (Jawi script, Jawi: ; 24 August 1895 – 1 April 1960) was the Yamtuan Besar, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan from 1933, and the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of the Federation ...

, at Jalan Ampang, and the first installation banquet in his honour in the evening followed by a beating retreat performance and a fireworks display. Sports events and other events marked the birth of the new nation.

Attendees

The foreign guests of honour included: ;Members of royal families * The King and Queen of Thailand * The Crown Prince and Princess of Japan * The Duke and

Duchess of Gloucester Duchess of Gloucester is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Gloucester. There have been five titles referring to Gloucester since the 14th century. The current duchess is Birgitt ...

(representing The Queen) *

Prince William of Gloucester Prince William of Gloucester (William Henry Andrew Frederick; 18 December 1941 – 28 August 1972) was a member of the British royal family. The elder son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, he w ...

;Heads of government * The Prime Minister of South Africa,

Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom (also spelled Strydom in accordance with Afrikaans spelling; 14 July 1893 – 24 August 1958), also known as Hans Strijdom and nicknamed the Lion of the North or the Lion of Waterberg, was a South African politician ...

* The Prime Minister of India,

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

* The Prime Minister of Pakistan,

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (8 September 18925 December 1963) was an East Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 to 1957 and before that as the Prime Minister of Bengal from 1946 to ...

* The Prime Minister of North Vietnam,

Phạm Văn Đồng Phạm Văn Đồng (; 1 March 1906 – 29 April 2000) was a Vietnamese politician who served as Prime Minister of North Vietnam from 1955 to 1976. He later served as Prime Minister of Vietnam, following reunification of North and South Viet ...

* The Prime Minister of Ceylon, Solomon Bandaranaike * The Prime Minister of Burma,

U Nu Nu (; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as Burmese names#Honorifics, U Nu and also by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a prominent Burmese people, Burmese statesman and the first Prime Minister of Union of Burma. He was ...

* The Prime Minister of Cambodia, Sim Var * The

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat who served as United States secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 until his resignation in 1959. A member of the ...

(representing U.S. president

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

) * The President of the Republic of Taiwan Provisional Government, Thomas Liao ;Representatives from other British colonies * The Governor of Hong Kong, Sir

Alexander Grantham Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham, GCMG ( zh, c=葛量洪; 15 March 1899 – 4 October 1978) was a British colonial administrator who governed Hong Kong and Fiji. Early life, colonial administration career Grantham was born on ...

* The Chief Minister of Singapore, Lim Yew Hock ;Members of the former British colonial administration * Sir Gerald Templer (former British High Commissioner in Malaya) and Lady Templer * Lady Gurney (wife of former British High Commissioner in Malaya Sir

Henry Gurney Sir Henry Lovell Goldsworthy Gurney (27 June 1898 – 6 October 1951) was a British colonial administrator who served in various posts throughout the British Empire. Gurney was killed by communist insurgents during the Malayan Emergency, whil ...

) * Lady Gent (wife of former British High Commissioner in Malaya Sir

Edward Gent Sir Edward James Gent (28 October 1895 – 4 July 1948) was the first appointed Governor of the Malayan Union in 1946. He was most famous for heading early British attempts to crush a pro-independence uprising in Malaya led by the Malayan Comm ...

) ;High Commissioners of other Commonwealth countries: * High Commissioner of Canada to Malaya, Arthur Redpath Menzies * High Commissioner of Australia to Malaya, Tom Critchley * High Commissioner of New Zealand to Malaya, Foss Shanahan

The formation of Malaysia

The Federation of Malaysia, comprising the states of the

and

, was officially declared on 31 August 1963, on the 6th anniversary of Malayan independence. However, it was postponed to 16 September 1963, mainly due to Indonesian and the Philippines' opposition to the formation of Malaysia. Nevertheless, North Borneo and Singapore declared sovereignty on 31 August 1963. Indonesian opposition later escalated to a

military conflict War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organize ...

. Indonesia considered Malaysia as a new form of colonisation on Sarawak and North Borneo, which bordered Indonesian territory on Borneo. However, they did not lay claim upon the two territories, unlike the Philippines which claimed the eastern part of Sabah. To assure Indonesia that Malaysia was not a form of

neocolonialism Neocolonialism is the control by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony) through indirect means. The term ''neocolonialism'' was first used after World War II to refer to ...

, a general survey (instead of a referendum) was organised by the United Nations involving interviews of approximately 4,000 people, which received 2,200 memorandums from groups and private individuals. The Cobbold Commission, led by Lord Cobbold, was also formed to determine whether the people of

and

wished to join for the formation of Malaysia. Their eventual findings, which indicated substantial support for the formation of Malaysia among the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, cleared the way for the final proclamation of Malaysia. The formation of the Federation of Malaysia was announced on 16 September 1963, the anniversary of which is celebrated as

. Hari Merdeka continued to be celebrated on 31 August, the original independence date of Malaya, while Malaysia Day became a public holiday only in East Malaysia. This caused discontent among East Malaysians in particular, it being sometimes felt that celebrating the national day on 31 August is Malaya-centric. In 2009, it was decided that starting 2010, Malaysia Day would be a nationwide public holiday in addition to Hari Merdeka on 31 August.

Themes

The 2012 theme proved to be controversial, as it was seen by many Malaysians to be a political slogan rather than a patriotic one (''Janji Ditepati'' was

Najib Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...

's campaign jingle in the run-up to the 2013 elections). The official "logo" was also ridiculed for its unconventional design. A video of the theme song uploaded on YouTube (with lyrics penned by Rais Yatim) garnered an overwhelming number of "dislikes" because of its overtly political content, which had nothing to do with the spirit of independence. The video has since been taken down. The 2020 Malaysia Prihatin theme had been chosen because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and in recognition of the caring and concerned of all Malaysian. In 2021, despite the theme and logo remained the same, but the theme song changed from ''Malaysia Prihatin'' (sung by Aliff Satar, Syamel, Siti Sarah, and Aina Abdul for original version, and Ernie Zakri for symphony version) to ''Menang Bersama'' (sung by

Faizal Tahir Ahmad Faizal bin Mohammad Tahir (born 26 October 1978) is a Malaysian singer-songwriter who shot to fame after becoming the first runner-up of the first season of '' One in a Million'' in 2006. He has won multiple Anugerah Industri Muzik award ...

), symbolizing the National Recovery Plan ''(Pelan Pemulihan Negara)'' theme, ''Malaysia Menang Bersama'' (English: ''Malaysia Winning Together''). 2022 marks the first parade to be held after 2 years of hiatus caused by the pandemic, which was themed Keluarga Malaysia Teguh Bersama. A number of nearly 20,000 participants of various contingents involved in the parade. In 2023, the theme for Malaysia's Independence Day is 'Malaysia Madani: Determination in Unity, Fulfilling Hope'. The theme was selected to strengthen the spirit of unity and to achieve the shared aspirations for a stronger Malaysia by government of

Anwar Ibrahim Anwar bin Ibrahim (; born 10 August 1947), also known by his abbreviation as DSAI and PMX, is a Malaysian politician who is the 10th prime minister of Malaysia since 2022. A member of the People's Justice Party (Malaysia), People's Justice P ...

2015 Hari Merdeka Anniversary Issues

Legally, Hari Merdeka is the official independence day of 'the federation' as defined in the

Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia defines various terms used in the Constitution. It has an important impact on Islam in Malaysia and the Malay people due to its definition of a Malay person under clause 2. It took effect after 31 Aug ...

, which was that established under the

Agreement 1957. However, beginning in 2015, in a policy announced by the then Minister of Communication and Multimedia Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Hari Merdeka celebrations are to be held without mentioning the number of years since independence. This is to be more inclusive of Sabah and Sarawak, who left British rule in a different year. The Minister of Land Development of Sarawak, the late James Jemut Masing, responded to this announcement by stating that Malaysia Day on 16 September should be the rallying point for the nation's unity, rather than Hari Merdeka. He added "Everyone now knows that 31 August is Malaya's and Sabah's Independence Day… it's not our (Sarawak)

. They can celebrate it both in Malaya and in Sabah as they have the same Independence Day date, and we can join them there if they invite us. We must right the wrong".

References

External links

Merdeka proclamation on YouTube video

{{Malaysia topics August observances

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

British Malaya 1957 in Malaya Malaysian Independence Public holidays in Malaysia