"Malaysia history in brief" Malaysia by airasia

Malaysia Travel Guide: 27,574 reviews and 68,430 photos

Situated in the heart of Southeast Asia at one of the world's major crossroads, Malaysia has always been pivotal to trade routes from Europe, the Orient, India and China. Its warm tropical climate and abundant natural blessings made it a congenial destination for immigrants as in the early years ago when the ancestors of the Orang Asli, the indigenous peoples of Peninsular Malaysia, settle here, probably the pioneers of a general movement from China and Tibet. They were followed by the Malays, who brought with them skills in farming and the use of metals.

Due to strong trading links from China and India, Malayan has a major impact on the culture, language and social customs.
Evidence of a Hindu-Buddhist period in the history of Malaysia can today be found in the temple sites of the Bujang Valley and Merbok Estuary in Kedah in the north west of Peninsular Malaysia, near the Thai border. The spread of Islam, introduced by Arab and Indian traders, brought the Hindu-Buddhist era to an end some centuries ago. With the conversion of the Malay-Hindu rulers of the Melaka Sultanate (the Malay kingdom which ruled both side of the Straits of Malaka for over a hundred years),
Islam was established as the religion of the Malays, and had profound effect on Malay society.

Sultan's palace

The arrival of Europeans in Malaysia brought a dramatic change to the country. The Portuguese captured Malaka and the rulers of the Melaka Sultanate fled south to Johor where they tried to establish a new kingdom. They were resisted not only by the Europeans but by the Acehnese, Minangkabau and the Bugis, resulting in the sovereign units of the present-day states of Peninsular Malaysia. The Portuguese were in turn defeated by the Dutch, who colonized Melaka until the advent of the British in the Dutch exerted any profound influence on Malay society. The British acquired Melaka from the Dutch in exchange for Bencoolen in Sumatra. From their new bases in Malaka, Penang and Singapore, collectively known as the Straits settlements, the British, through their influence and power, began the process of political intergration of the Malay states of Peninsular Malaysia.

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After World War II (more or less) and the Japanese occupation , the British created the Malayan Union .This was abandoned later and the Federation of Malaya emerged in its place. The Federation gained its independence from Britain on 31 August 1957. Which is celebrated ever since ( a holiday : )).
Malaya, Sarawak, Sabah, and (initially) Singapore united to form Malaysia, a country whose potpourri of society and customs derives from its rich heritage from four of the world's major cultures - Chinese, Indian, Islamic and Western (courtesy fr yahoo & edit by a-asia).

And the story goes...

Pros and Cons

Pros:Land of many cultures
In a nutshell:Lot to see and learn

Last visit to Malaysia: Mar 2005
Intro Updated Sep 7, 2005
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Comments (7)

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Helenbb Aug 31, 2008 at 7:34 AM

my ge ge lives in malaysia. but which city? there are so many cities there. ???
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monina_c Jul 15, 2008 at 3:27 AM

all good!:D am flying to BKK tomorrow night then on to Siem reab.
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zanzooni Nov 14, 2007 at 5:00 PM

Yup...how about you? Tomorrow the cd goes out. Sending 2. Keep your eyes on the look out. I shall give you all the data tomorrow.~
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peerapa Jul 12, 2005 at 9:13 AM

Sawasdee ka Lee!!!...How're you? I'll go to JB on this Saturday ^__^ Take care....May
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SiewSian May 13, 2005 at 5:41 AM

Lee U do well on your malaysia website !
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wwliu Apr 16, 2005 at 9:12 AM

It's seems you discoverying my news lead me to reveal your news ^_^ hehe~~~nice page....Malaysia is a beautiful place
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hotsauce28 Apr 8, 2005 at 8:50 PM

bite his @SS???? lol...i'm a %^#&&* chihuahau now??? =))