Flag of Malaysia

The flag of Malaysia was adopted on September 16, 1963. It is an interesting combination of a flag inspired by that of the United States with the crescent and star, a traditional symbol of Islam. Malaysia's flag is similar to that of the United States in that it has a blue field, along with stars and stripes. On the Malaysian flag, there are 14 stripes that stand for the thirteen states and one for the Federal Territories of Malaysia, likewise the star has fourteen points for the same reason. (See also Malaysia's Federal star.) Other sources say that the number of stripes is for the thirteen states of Malaysia plus one for Singapore, which at the Federation's inception was a part of Malaysia. The blue field symbolizes the unity of the Malaysian people, and the yellow seen on the crescent and star is the color of the royal family.

On 31 August 1997, the Malaysian flag was given a name Jalur Gemilang (Glorious Stripes) by then-Prime Minister Dato' Seri (Now Tun) Mahathir bin Mohammad.

Maritime flags

Civilian vessels use as a civil ensign a red flag with the Jalur Gemilang in a blue-fimbriated canton.
Government vessels use the Jalur Gemilang as the state ensign.
Ships of the Royal Malaysian Navy use as a naval ensign a white flag with the Jalur Gemilang in a red-fimbriated canton and an emblem consisting of an anchor and two crossed traditional kris daggers in the fly.

Other ensigns

Malaysian Army: red flag with the Jalur Gemilang in the canton and the army emblem in the fly.
Royal Malaysian Air Force: a pale blue flag with the Jalur Gemilang in the canton and a federal star in the fly.
Malaysian Coast Guard: a dark blue ensign with the Jalur Gemilang in the canton.

History

After the British started to collectively administer the eleven states of Malaya as a single entity, the idea of having a national flag was mooted. Prior to that, each state in Malaya had its own flag, many of which are unchanged in design to this very day. Following the formation of Malaysia in 1963, the design of the Malayan flag was modified to reflect and honour the new states in the federation (from 11 to 14). When Singapore left the federation in 1965, the design of the Malaysian flag remained unchanged, though the 'extra' stripe and star-point came to be known to represent the federal territories of Malaysia.

The Malayan flag was designed by Mohamed Hamzah, a 29-year-old architect working for the Public Works Department (JKR) in Johor Bahru, Johor.

He entered the Malayan flag design competition in 1947 with two designs which he completed within two weeks. The first design was a green flag with blue kris in the middle, surrounded by 15 white stars. The second design, which was among the three finalists, was similar to the current flag but with a five-pointed star. The competition attracted 373 entries and voting was made by the general public via post. Malayan senior statesman Dato' Onn Jaafar met with Mohamed Hamzah after he won the competition and suggested that the star be changed to an 11-pointed one to represent all the Malayan states.

The Malayan flag was approved by King George VI on 19 May 1950 and was first raised in front of Istana Selangor on 26 May 1950. It was raised at independence on 31 August 1957 in place of the British Union Flag, which was lowered on the midnight of 30 August.

Mohamed Hamzah died just shy of his 75th birthday on 13 February 1993 in Jalan Stulang Baru, Kampung Melayu Majidee, Johor.

The design of alternating red and white stripes are also seen on the flags of the United States of America, Puerto Rico and Liberia.

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Maritime flags

Other ensigns

History

See also