History of Malaysia

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History of Malaysia
Prehistoric period Paleolithic  Lenggong Valley c. 2,000,0000 BCE  Mansuli Valley 235,000 BCE Mesolithic  Niah cultures 65,000–40,000 BCE Neolithic  Bewah man/woman 16,000 BCE  Perak man/woman 11,000–200 BCE  Neolithic Klang 500 – 200 BCE
Early kingdoms Ancient Kedah <100 BCE Chi Tu 100 BCE–642 CE Langkasuka 100 BCE–1474 CE Gangga Negara c. 100 CE–1025 Pan Pan 424–775 Old Kedah 170–1135 Old Pahang 449–1454 Srivijaya 700s–1025 Majapahit 1300s
Rise of Muslim states Kedah Sultanate 1136–present Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Brunei Sultanate 1368–present Malacca Sultanate 1402–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1450–1899 Pahang Sultanate 1470–1623 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Pattani Sultanate 1516– 1902 Johor Sultanate 1528–present Sarawak Sultanate 1599–1641 Selangor Sultanate 1766–present Besut Kingdom 1780–1899 Setul Kingdom 1808–1916 Reman Kingdom 1810–1902 Kubang Pasu Kingdom 1839–1864
Colonial period Portuguese Malacca 1511–1641 Dutch–Portuguese War 1601–1661 Dutch Malacca 1641–1824 Pahang Kingdom 1770–1881 Straits Settlements 1786–1946 Siamese invasion of Kedah 1821–1826 Anglo-Dutch Treaty 1824 Burney Treaty 1826 Naning War 1831–1832 Kingdom of Sarawak 1841–1946 Separation of Perlis from Kedah 1843 Crown Colony of Labuan 1848–1946 Pahang Civil War 1857–1863 Larut Wars 1861–1874 Klang War 1867–1874 Pangkor Treaty 1874 Perak War 1875–1876 British Malaya / Borneo 1874–1946 Jementah Civil War 1879 North Borneo 1882–1946 Pahang Uprising 1891–1895 Mat Salleh Rebellion 1894–1905 Federated Malay States 1895–1946 Anglo-Siamese Treaty 1909 Unfederated Malay States 1909–1946 Battle of Penang 1914 Kelantan rebellion 1915
World War II Japanese occupation of Malaya / Borneo 1941–1945 Malayan campaign 1941–1942 Bornean Campaign 1941–1942 Battle of Muar 1942 Parit Sulong Massacre 1942 Battle of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942 Syburi 1942 Sandakan Death Marches 1942–1945 Si Rat Malai 1943–1945 Jesselton revolt 1943–1944
Formative period BMA of Malaya/Borneo 1945–1946 Crown Colony of N. Borneo/Sarawak 1946–1963 Anti-cession movement 1946–1963 Malayan Union 1946–1948 Federation of Malaya 1948–1963 Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 Baling Talks 1955
Independence period Malayan Independence 1957 Singapore self-governance 1959 ISA 1960 1960–2012 Sarawak Insurgency 1962–1990 North Borneo self-governance 1963 Konfrontasi 1963–1966 Sarawak self-governance 1963 Formation of Malaysia 1963 Singapore in Malaysia 1963–1965 ASEAN Declaration 1967 Second communist insurgency 1968–1989
Modern period 1966 Sarawak constitutional crisis 1965–1966 13 May incident 1969 National Operations Council 1969–1971 Declaration of Rukun Negara 1970 New Economic Policy 1971–1990 Federal Territory of KL 1974 1977 Kelantan Emergency 1977 Pedra Branca dispute 1979–2008 South China Sea dispute (Spratly) 1980–present Dawn Raid 1981 Federal Territory of Labuan 1984 Memali incident 1985 Sabah Emergency 1986 Ming Court Affair 1987 Operation Lalang 1987 Constitutional crisis 1987–1988 Peace Agreement of Hat Yai 1989 Royal Immunity Amendments 1993 Asian financial crisis 1997–1998 Reformasi Movement 1998–2022 Federal Territory of Putrajaya 2001 2008 Malaysian Opposition Wave 2008 2009 Perak constitutional crisis 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic 2009–2010 Sedition Dragnet 2014 1MDB scandal 2015–present Pakatan Harapan takeover 2018 COVID-19 pandemic 2020–2022 Political crisis 2020–2022 Bornean Amendment 2021–2023 Green Wave 2022–present 2023 Sabah political crisis 2023
Incidents Brunei revolt 1962–1966 North Borneo dispute (Philippine militant attacks) 1962–present Singapore race riots 1964 Brunei's Limbang claim 1967–2009 Penang Hartal riot 1967 13 May Incident 1969 Ligitan and Sipadan dispute 1969–2002 Kuala Lumpur flash floods 1971 Malaysian haze crisis 1972–present AIA building hostage crisis 1975 National Monument bombing 1975 Campbell Shopping Complex fire 1976 Sabah Air GAF Nomad crash 1976 Japan Airlines Flight 715 incident 1977 MH653 incident 1977 1982 Bukit Merah radioactive pollution 1982 1985 Lahad Datu ambush 1985 Memali Incident 1985 Penang terminal bridge collapse 1988 Taufiqiah Al-Khairiah madrasa fire 1989 Bright Sparklers disaster 1991 Highland Towers collapse 1993 Genting landslide 1995 MH2133 incident 1995 Pos Dipang mudflow 1996 Tropical Storm Greg 1996 1998–1999 Malaysia Nipah virus outbreak 1998–1999 2000 Sipadan kidnappings 2000 Al-Ma'unah incident 2000 Sauk Siege 2000 2001 Kampung Medan riots 2001 2002 Taman Hillview landslide 2002 Indian Ocean tsunami 2004 2006–2007 Southeast Asian floods 2006–2007 Bukit Gantang bus crash 2007 Bukit Antarabangsa landslide 2008 H1N1 flu pandemic 2009 Attacks against places of worship 2010 Cameron Highlands bus crash 2010 Hulu Langat landslide 2011 Genting Highlands bus crash 2013 MH370 incident 2014 MH17 incident 2014 2014–15 Malaysia floods 2014–2015 Sabah earthquake 2015 2015 Plaza Low Yat riot 2015 Movida Bar grenade attack 2016 Kim Jong-nam's Assassination 2017 Darul Quran madrasa fire 2017 2018 Subang Temple riot 2018 2019 Kim Kim River toxic pollution 2019 2020-21 Malaysia floods 2021 LRT train collision 2021 2021-22 Malaysia floods 2021–2022 2022 Batang Kali landslide 2022 2023 Elmina plane crash 2023 2024 Lumut helicopters crash 2024 2024 Ulu Tiram police station attack 2024 2025 Putra Heights pipeline fire 2025
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Malaysia is a modern concept, created in the second half of the 20th century. However, contemporary Malaysia regards the entire history of Malaya and Borneo, spanning thousands of years back to prehistoric times, as its own history.^[1][2][3] Significant events in Malaysia's modern history include the formation of the federation, the separation of Singapore, the racial riots, Mahathir Mohamad's era of industrialisation and privatisation, and the nation's political upheavals of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.^[4][5]

The first evidence of archaic human occupation in the region dates back at least 1.83 million years, while the earliest remnants of anatomically modern humans are approximately 40,000 years old. The ancestors of the present-day population of Malaysia entered the area in multiple waves during prehistoric and historical times.^[6][7]

Hinduism and Buddhism from India and China dominated early regional history, reaching their peak from the 7th to the 13th centuries during the reign of the Sumatra-based Srivijaya civilisation. Islam made its initial presence in the Malay Peninsula as early as the 10th century, but it was during the 15th century that the religion firmly took root, at least among the court elites, leading to the rise of several sultanates, the most prominent being the Sultanate of Malacca and the Sultanate of Brunei.^[8]

The Portuguese were the first European colonial power to establish themselves on the Malay Peninsula and in Southeast Asia, capturing Malacca in 1511. This event led to the establishment of several sultanates, such as Johor and Perak. Dutch hegemony over the Malay sultanates increased during the 17th to 18th centuries, with the Dutch capturing Malacca in 1641 with the aid of Johor. In the 19th century, the English ultimately gained hegemony across the territory that is now Malaysia. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 defined the boundaries between British Malaya and the Dutch East Indies (which became Indonesia), and the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 defined the boundaries between British Malaya and Siam (which became Thailand). The fourth phase of foreign influence was marked by a wave of immigration of Chinese and Indian workers to meet the needs created by the colonial economy in the Malay Peninsula and Borneo.^[9]

The Japanese invasion during World War II ended British rule in Malaya. After the Japanese Empire was defeated by the Allies, the Malayan Union was established in 1946 and reorganized as the Federation of Malaya in 1948. In the peninsula, the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) took up arms against the British, leading to the declaration of emergency rule from 1948 to 1960. A forceful military response to the communist insurgency, followed by the Baling Talks in 1955, led to Malayan independence on August 31, 1957, through diplomatic negotiation with the British.^[10][11] On 16 September 1963, the Federation of Malaysia was formed, but in August 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation and became a separate independent country.^[12][13] A racial riot in 1969 resulted in the imposition of emergency rule, the suspension of parliament, and the proclamation of the Rukun Negara, a national philosophy promoting unity among citizens.^[14][15] The New Economic Policy (NEP), adopted in 1971, sought to eradicate poverty and restructure society to eliminate the identification of race with economic function.^[16]

Under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia experienced rapid economic growth and urbanization beginning in the 1980s.^[17] The National Development Policy (NDP), succeeding the previous economic policy, was implemented from 1991 to 2000.^[18] The Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s nearly caused the country's currency, stock, and property markets to collapse, though they subsequently recovered.^[19] The 1MDB scandal came to prominence in 2015 as a significant global corruption scandal, implicating then-Prime Minister Najib Razak.^[20] The scandal significantly influenced the 2018 general election, resulting in the first change of ruling political party since independence.^[21] In early 2020, Malaysia faced a political crisis,^[22] concurrent with the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to political, health, social, and economic disruptions.^[23][24] The 2022 general election resulted in Malaysia's first hung parliament, leading to Anwar Ibrahim's appointment as Prime Minister on November 24, 2022.^{[25][26][27][28]}