History of Malaysia comprises of four distinct phases of foreign influence followed by the final phase of Malay independence. The first phase marks the advent and domination of Hindu culture which was imported from India. The Hindu culture reached its zenith during the Srivijaya civilization based in Sumatra, which dominated the entire Malay world from 7th to14th centuries.
The second period in the history of Malaysia began with the advent of Islam in the country during the 10th century. The Islamic rule in the country resulted in the conversion of the entire Malay world to Islam and the disintegration of the Srivijayan Empire indigenous. The Islamic phase left an indelible impact on the people of Malaysia.
Third phase of the history of Malaysia saw the invasion of the European Colonial powers. The Malay world was first invaded by the Portuguese followed by the Dutch and finally the British. The Portuguese invaders captured Melaka in the year 1511 and the British formed bases at Penang and Singapore. The most significant event in the history of Southeast Asia happened during this period; the Anglo-Dutch treaty in 1824 resulted in the creation of a frontier between British Malaya and Netherlands East Indies which later on christened as Indonesia. The frontier created on the fateful day is still operational today and has resulted in the permanent division of the Malay world.
The fourth phase of the country is an offshoot of the third one, in order to fulfill the demands of the colonial economy the British in the Malay Peninsula and North Borneo, Chinese and Indian workers were transported in Malaysia and they became a major threat to the indigenous people because of their total control over economic life and the professions and the at one point of time it seemed that the Malays would become a minority in their country.
The British grip over the country loosened with Japanese occupation of the region and resulted in insurgence of Malay nationalism and subsequent civil unrest. Infact this phase also saw the rise of Communist insurgency and the formation of an independent, multi-racial Federation of Malaya in 1957.
Finally in the year 1963 Malaya became Malaysia that included British territories in North Borneo and Singapore. However, Singapore separated form Malaysia on account of the fact that Singapore had a majority of Chinese inhabitants. The country faced other setbacks in the form of conflict with Indonesia and the breaking out of racial riots in the year 1969.
From 1970 onwards, Malaysia has been ruled by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). The country developed remarkably and prospered under the UMNO rule and is fast becoming an economically developed and socially integrated country. The UMNO government took several steps to reduce the dominance of Chinese and Indian people over the economy and to ensure that the indigenous people of the country became economically secure and independent.
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