Malaysia has its origins in the Malay Kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, with the other states forming protectorates.
The states on Peninsular Malaysia, then known as Malaya, was first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Sabah (North Borneo), Sarawak, and Singapore to federate with the existing States of the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia on 16 September 1963. However, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation, and became an independent city state.
Since independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with GDP growing an average 6.5% for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is now expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism.
The head of state is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the Prime Minister. The government system is closely modeled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on English Common Law. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, factors that influence its culture and play a large role in politics.
Even though Malaysia is a small country, with a total area of 329,847 sq km, but this country have a various spectacular places of historical significance. The historical places of Malaysia reveal the culture and tradition attached with this country.
The famous historical places of Malaysia are scattered all over the thirteen states in Malaysia.
