History of Malaysia in the context of "Languages of Malaysia"

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. A federal constitutional monarchy, it consists of 13 states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia on the Indochinese Peninsula and East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Peninsular Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Thailand, as well as maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia; East Malaysia shares land borders with Brunei and Indonesia, and maritime borders with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the country's national capital, largest city, and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government, while Putrajaya is the federal administrative capital, representing the seat of both the executive branch (the Cabinet, federal ministries, and federal agencies) and the judicial branch of the federal government. With a population of over 34 million, it is the world's 42nd-most populous country.

The country has its origins in the Malay kingdoms, which, from the 18th century on, became subject to the British Empire, along with the British Straits Settlements protectorate. During World War II, British Malaya, along with other nearby British and American colonies, was occupied by the Empire of Japan. Following three years of occupation, Peninsular Malaysia was briefly unified as the Malayan Union in 1946 until 1948 when it was restructured as the Federation of Malaya. The country achieved independence on 31 August 1957. On 16 September 1963, independent Malaya united with the then British crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to become Malaysia. In August 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation and became a separate, independent country.

3°8′15.29″N 101°41′14.60″E / 3.1375806°N 101.6873889°E / 3.1375806; 101.6873889

The National Museum (Malay: Muzium Negara) is a public museum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia dedicated to Malaysian art, culture, and history. Located on Jalan Damansara close to Perdana Lake Gardens across KL Sentral station. Its façade comprises elements from both traditional Malay and modern features. It was inaugurated on 31 August 1963, and it serves as a repository of Malaysia's cultural and historical heritage.

Kapitan China Yap Ah Loy (Chinese: 葉亞來; pinyin: Yè Yǎlái; Cantonese Yale: Yihp A-lòih; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Ya̍p Â-lòi, Jawi: يب الوي‎; 14 March 1837 – 15 April 1885), also known as Yap Tet Loy and Yap Mao Lan, is an important figure of early Kuala Lumpur. He served as the third Kapitan China of Kuala Lumpur, and in this administrative capacity, played an important role in developing the city as a commercial and mining centre during the 19th century.

After the independence of the Federation of Malaya from the British Empire on 31 August 1957 and later the Formation of Malaysia in 1963, Kuala Lumpur became the capital of Malaysia. Today, there is a street named after him in the heart of Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur, known as "Jalan Yap Ah Loy" or "Yap Ah Loy Road".

General elections were held in Malaysia on Wednesday, 9 May 2018. At stake were all 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of parliament. The 13th Parliament was dissolved by Prime Minister Najib Razak on 7 April 2018. It would have been automatically dissolved on 24 June 2018, five years after the first meeting of the first session of the 13th Parliament of Malaysia on 24 June 2013.

In an unprecedented victory, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, which had been the country's federal opposition prior to the elections, won a majority in the Dewan Rakyat together with the Sabah Heritage Party (WARISAN), with PH and WARISAN together winning 121 seats. The elections marked the first time in Malaysia's history that the ruling party was voted out of power. The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition had previously enjoyed an uninterrupted reign over the country since Malaya's independence in 1957, but this came to an end following the elections. PH's leader, Mahathir Mohamad, who previously served as Malaysia's prime minister from 1981 to 2003, was sworn in for the second time on 10 May, a day after the elections. At 93 years of age, Mahathir was also the world's oldest elected head of government. Barisan Nasional (BN), led by Najib, held onto 79 seats and became the new federal opposition, along with Gagasan Sejahtera (GS), which won 18 seats. The United Sabah Alliance (USA) won one seat, while three seats were won by independent politicians. The elections were widely regarded as one of the greatest political upsets worldwide in 2018.

Ahmad Zahid bin Hamidi (Jawi: أحمد زاهد بن حميدي; born 4 January 1953) is a Malaysian politician who is the deputy prime minister since 2022. A president of UMNO since 2018, he represented Bagan Datuk in Dewan Rakyat since 1995. Zahid is also the rural and regional development minister since 2022, as well as the leader and the chairman of the coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) since May 2018. He is the first UMNO president, after the Malayan independence to not be elected as prime minister.

Born in Perak. He served in several cabinet positions under former Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak from March 2008 to May 2018 and served as deputy prime minister from July 2015 to May 2018. Zahid became the president of the UMNO in 2018 following the party's defeat in the 2018 election. He served as the 14th Leader of the Opposition from July 2018 to March 2019. Under his leadership, UMNO and BN won at the 2021 Malacca state election and the 2022 Johor state election, but achieved its worst result in Malaysian history at the 2022 federal election. After BN formed a coalition government with Pakatan Harapan and other regional parties, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia alongside Fadillah Yusof in December 2022, making him the first person to be appointed to this position twice, under two different administrations.