Flag of Malaysia

{{Plain image with caption|image=Flag of Malaysia (construction sheet).svg|alt=Malaysian flag in technical drawing style, labelled with length ratios as guides to reproduce the flag accurately|width=600px|align=left|caption=Flag construction sheet}}

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File:Flag of Malaya.svg

In 1949, a year after the Federation of Malaya was created, the Federal Legislative Council called for a contest to design a new national flag. The competition attracted 373 entries, three of which were put forward to the public in a poll held by The Malay Mail.Sonia Ramachandran. Golden Merdeka Memories: National flag chosen by people in one of country's first public polls. New Straits Times. 18 August 2006.

The first flag had a ring of 11 white stars on a blue background, with two red Malay kris (daggers) in the middle. The second was the same as the first but with two concentric rings of 5 and 6 stars. The third had 11 blue and white stripes, and a red field in the top-left corner with a white crescent and five-pointed star on it. This last design was chosen as the winner.

File:1949 Malaya Flag Proposal 1-new.svg|{{FIAV|historical}} First proposed flag

File:1949 Malaya Flag Proposal 2-new.svg|{{FIAV|historical}} Second proposed flag

File:1949 Malaya Flag Proposal 3-new.svg|{{FIAV|historical}} Third proposed flag

In December 1949, the Federal Legislative Council decided to make changes to the winning design. At the suggestion of statesman Onn Jaafar, the red and blue colours were swapped, the crescent and star were changed from white to yellow, and the star was given eleven points.{{cite news|title=Federal Flag|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19500306-1.2.69.2|publisher=The Straits Times|date=6 March 1950|page=5|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=20 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220192235/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19500306-1.2.69.2|url-status=live}}, via {{cite web|title=The History and Design Chronology of Jalur Gemilang|url=http://malaysiadesignarchive.org/documents/The%20History%20of%20Malaysian%20Flag%20Design.pdf|website=Malaysia Design Archive|access-date=25 May 2018|page=16|date=2012}}{{cite web|url=https://api.nst.com.my/news/nation/2021/09/728828/birth-flag-unites-us|title=Birth of the flag that unites us|author=Alan Teh Leam Seng|publisher=New Straits Times|date=20 September 2021|access-date=3 September 2022|archive-date=4 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904044550/https://api.nst.com.my/news/nation/2021/09/728828/birth-flag-unites-us|url-status=live}} The final version of the Malayan flag was approved by king George VI on 19 May 1950 and was first raised in front of the Sultan of Selangor's residence on 26 May 1950.{{cite news|title=Federation Flag Hoisted at Istana|publisher=The Malay Mail|date=27 May 1950}} On 31 August 1957, it was raised upon independence at Merdeka Square in place of the British Union Flag.

As the flag was finalised for official use, the significance of the design were given as follows:{{cite web|author1=Muhamad Razif Nasruddin|author2=Zarul Nazli bin Zulkhurnain|title=The History and Design Chronology of Jalur Gemilang|url=http://malaysiadesignarchive.org/documents/The%20History%20of%20Malaysian%20Flag%20Design.pdf|page=23|website=Malaysia Design Archive|publisher=Make Condition Design|date=2012}}

• Red, white and blue – represents Malaysia as a country belonging in the Commonwealth.
• Crescent and star – represents Islam as the official religion for the Federation, as yellow symbolises sovereignty of the Malay Rulers and their roles as leader of the faith in the constituent states. The eleven-pointed star itself symbolises the "unity and co-operation" of said member states.

File:Mohamed Hamzah - Award.jpg in 1955.]]

File:Flag_of_Johor.svg]]

The Malayan flag was designed by Mohamed Hamzah, a 29-year-old architect working for the Public Works Department (JKR) in Johor Bahru, in the state of Johor. He entered the national flag design competition with four designs that he had completed in three days. The flag that became one of the three finalists was said to be inspired by the flag of Johor, but with five white stripes added to the blue field.

File:Malaysia and Uganda Flags, Trafalgar Square.jpg, London. The flag of Uganda is seen by its side over Uganda House.]]

Following the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963, the design of the Malayan flag was modified to reflect and honour the new states in the federation.

Three additional stripes were added to the existing flag to make it 14 and the star was given 14 points to reflect the federation of the 11 states in the Malay peninsula plus Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore; the design remained the same even after Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later. When Kuala Lumpur was designated a Federal Territory on 1 February 1974, the additional stripe and the point in the star were appropriated to represent this new addition to the federation. Eventually, with the addition of two other federal territories, Labuan in 1984 and Putrajaya in 2001, the fourteenth stripe and point in the star came to be associated with the federal territories in general.{{Cite web |title=MyGOV - The Government of Malaysia's Official Portal |url=https://www.malaysia.gov.my/portal/content/138 |access-date=2024-03-04 |website=www.malaysia.gov.my |archive-date=4 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304105731/https://www.malaysia.gov.my/portal/content/138 |url-status=live }}

In 1997, when Malaysians were invited to name the flag, then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad picked the name Jalur Gemilang to project the country's onward drive toward continuous growth and success.

During the National Day celebrations, everyone is encouraged to fly the Jalur Gemilang at their homes, office buildings, shops and corporate premises.

• If the flag is fixed at home, it is to be raised pointing toward the road.
• If the flag is put in a group of flags with state and private company flags, the Malaysian flag must be raised in between two flags and its pole placed higher than the rest.

The Malaysian flag is subject to the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1963; any act that insults the flag such as waving the flag upside down can be punished with a maximum fine of RM20,000 or a maximum imprisonment of three years or both.

{{Main|List of Malaysian flags}}

File:Flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak (1870).svg|alt=Flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak.|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak from 1870 to 1946.

File:Flag of Sarawak (1947–1963).svg|Flag of the Crown Colony of Sarawak from 1947 to 1963.

File:Flag of North Borneo (1882–1902).svg|alt=Flag of North Borneo colony.|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of North Borneo from 1882 to 1902.

File:Flag of North Borneo (1902–1946).svg|alt=Flag of North Borneo colony.|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of North Borneo from 1902 to 1946.

File:Flag of North Borneo (1948–1963).svg|alt=Flag of North Borneo colony.|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Crown Colony of North Borneo from 1948 to 1963.

File:Flag of Labuan (1912–1946).svg|alt=Ensign of vessels of administration of the Crown Colony of Labuan 1912–1946.|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Crown Colony of Labuan from 1912 to 1946.

File:Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1874–1904).svg|alt=Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1874-1904).|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Straits Settlements from 1874 to 1904.

File:Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1904–1925).svg|alt=Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1904-1925).|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Straits Settlements from 1904 to 1925.

File:Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1925–1946).svg|alt=Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1925-1946).|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Straits Settlements from 1925 to 1946.

File:Flag of Penang (1949–1952).svg|Flag of Crown Colony of Penang from 1949 to 1952

File:Flag of Penang (1952–1957).svg|Flag of Crown Colony of Penang from 1952 to 1957

File:Flag of Malacca (1946-1957).svg|alt=Flag of Malacca (1946-1957).|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of Crown Colony of Malacca from 1946 to 1957.

File:Flag of Singapore (1946–1952).svg|alt=Flag of Singapore colony.|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Crown Colony of Singapore from 1946 to 1952.

File:Flag of Singapore (1952–1959).svg|alt=Flag of Singapore colony.|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Crown Colony of Singapore from 1952 to 1959.

File:Flag of the Federated Malay States (1895 - 1946).svg|alt=Flag of four stripes along the fly coloured white, red, yellow and black respectively. In the middle is a white oblong circle with a Malayan tiger in it.|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Federated Malay States from 1896 to 1946; later adopted by the Malayan Union from 1946 until 1948 and the Federation of Malaya from 1948 to 1950.

File:Flag of Malaya.svg|alt=Flag with 11 alternating red and white stripes along the fly and a blue canton (occupying 7 stripes) bearing a crescent and an 11-point star.|{{FIAV|historical}} Flag of the Federation of Malaya from 1950 to 1963.

File:Flag of Malaysia.svg|alt=Flag with 14 alternating red and white stripes along the fly and a blue canton bearing a crescent and a 14-point star.|{{FIAV|normal}} Flag of Malaysia in current use since 1964.

The flag anthem is written as dedication and pride of the Malaysian national flag. It is performed on Hari Merdeka, the nation's independence day on 31 August every year. The original anthem Benderaku was written by Malaysian songwriter Tony Fonseka. After the flag was given the name Jalur Gemilang, the flag anthem was updated in 1997 to reflect this change. This was then followed by an introduction of a new flag anthem, with arrangements by Malaysian songwriter Pak Ngah and lyrics by Malaysian songwriter Siso Kopratasa.

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Government vessels use the Jalur Gemilang as the state ensign. The following is a table of the other ensigns used in Malaysia with the national flag inside.

The Federal Star is similar in concept of Australia's Commonwealth Star in that it symbolises the unity of states in the Malaysian federation and its Federal government, featuring 14 points to represent the federation's 13 states and the federal territories. It is also used on the Royal Malaysian Air Force roundel, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) {{illm|Flag of the Malaysian Chinese Association|zh|马来西亚华人公会会旗|lt=flag}} and the former United Malayan Banking Corporation (UMBC) logo.

The Patani Malayu National Revolutionary Front, a Southern Thai Malay separatist group involved in the South Thailand insurgency, originally adopted an independence flag that incorporated a crescent and 15-point variation of the Federal Star on its flag to represent the southernmost Thai provinces' closer tie to Malay and Muslim-majority Malaysia over that of Thailand.

File:Roundel of Malaysia.svg|Royal Malaysian Air Force roundel

File:Flag of the Malaysian Chinese Association.svg|Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) flag

File:Flag of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (Koordinasi).svg|Deprecated Patani Malayu National Revolutionary Front flag, with a crescent and 15-point Federal Star

File: Malaysian flag flying in Malacca.jpg|Malaysian flag flying on a pole

{{Portal|Heraldry|Malaysia}}

• List of Malaysian flags
• List of Malaysian patriotic songs

• Flag of the United States
• Flag of Liberia
• Flag of the East India Company

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{{reflist|2}}

• {{cite web|author1=Muhamad Razif Nasruddin|author2=Zarul Nazli bin Zulkhurnain|title=The History and Design Chronology of Jalur Gemilang|url=http://malaysiadesignarchive.org/documents/The%20History%20of%20Malaysian%20Flag%20Design.pdf|website=Malaysia Design Archive|publisher=Make Condition Design|date=2012}}

• {{Commonscat-inline|National flag of Malaysia}}
• {{FOTW|id=my|title=Malaysia}}

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