History And Culture:

The stories of human habitat in the Malay Peninsula go 40,000 years back in time.  It is believed that the Negritos came to this land first, followed by traders from China and India. After being ruled by some rulers, Sultan Iskandar Shah entered and built the Malacca Sultanatewhich became an important centre for Trade. The state of Malacca officially adopted Islam as a religion when Parameswara, the ruler of Malacca adopted Islam in the 15^th century. Later, in 1511, the Portuguese invaded Malacca and ruled it until 1641. This was the time when the Dutch came in and took over the land of Malacca after the Dutch-Portuguese War. As time passed by, the British started entering the land of Malacca and spread their influence over other towns too. British appointed advisors to the rulers of these states. Many states that are now a part of Brunei also gave in to the rule of the British. This enlarged and strengthened the British rule and hence the Crown Colony.

During the Second World War, the Japanese Army invaded Malaya and some other surrounding lands. They stayed here for three years, which caused a lot of disturbance in all these lands. After the Japanese forces decamped, the British re-entered and planned to make a “Malayan Union” which shall include all the crowned colonies from their former rule. With a lot of protest, this Union was established in 1946. This union only lived till 1^st February 1948, when Federation of Malaya came into existence.

In 1948, the Mayalan Communist Party and some Chinese activists revolted against the British Government in order to force them out. This revolt was known as the Guerrilla operations and it lasted till 1960. Eventually on 31^st August 1957 Malaya became an independent member of the commonwealth nations.