Flag of Malaysia
Asia
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Kuala Lumpur
- Flag adopted
- 1963
- Population
- 34,231,700
- Area
- 330,803 km²
- Languages
- English, Malay
- Currency
- Malaysian ringgit (RM) — MYR
- Demonym
- Malaysian
- Government
- federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
- Subregion
- South-Eastern Asia
- Driving side
- Left
- Timezones
- UTC+08:00
- Independence
- 1957
Religions
- Muslim 63.5%
- Buddhist 18.7%
- Christian 9.1%
- Hindu 6.1%
- Unspecified 1.8%
- Other 0.9%
About This Flag
The flag of Malaysia, known as Jalur Gemilang ('Stripes of Glory'), consists of 14 alternating red and white horizontal stripes with a dark blue canton containing a yellow crescent and a 14-pointed yellow star. The 14 stripes and 14 points on the star represent the 13 states and the federal territories of Malaysia.
The crescent represents Islam, the official religion. The yellow of the crescent and star is the royal color of the Malay sultans.
The blue canton symbolizes the unity of the Malaysian people. The flag bears a strong resemblance to the American flag, reflecting the influence of the British East India Company flag, which itself inspired the U.S. design.
Adopted on September 16, 1963, when Malaysia was formed.
What the colors & design mean
The 14 red and white stripes represent the 13 states and the federal territories. The blue canton symbolizes unity. The yellow crescent represents Islam. The 14-pointed star (Bintang Persekutuan) represents federal unity. Yellow is the royal color of the Malay rulers.
Pattern: Horizontal Stripes, Canton Design
Bordering countries (3)
Fun Facts
- Malaysia's flag originally had 11 stripes and an 11-pointed star when the Federation of Malaya was formed in 1950; the design was updated to 14 stripes after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined in 1963.
- Despite Singapore's departure from Malaysia in 1965, the flag was not changed — the 14th stripe and point are now said to represent the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan collectively.
- The flag's resemblance to the American Stars and Stripes is coincidental in intent but traceable to a shared ancestor: the flag of the British East India Company, which had a similar striped design.
- Malaysia is one of the few countries in the world with a system of rotating monarchs — nine of its 13 states have hereditary rulers who take turns serving as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king) every five years.
Similar looking flags
These flags share similar colors and patterns:
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