Kuala Lumpur - This Sunday, Aug 31, Malaysians will be celebrating the 51st anniversary of the country’s independence.
With the event only days away, the Malaysian flag Jalur Gemilang can be seen flying proudly lining up the streets apart from at government and public buildings, houses as well as commercial complexes and premises in this city and other towns nationwide.
Malaysians, in general, understand the meaning of the colours and features of the national flag but not many exactly know how the flag came about.
COMPETITION
According to the National Archives, the flag of the Federation of Malay States was officially unveiled on May 26, 1950.
With the consent of the Malay Rulers, a special committee was set up to organize a competition to choose a design deemed suitable to be turned into the official flag of the Federation of Malay States.
The competition drew 373 entries. Out of these, only three made it to the final list and were presented to the Malay Rulers for a decision to be made.
Hence, on April 19, 1950, on the advice of the Federal Legislative Council and after being consented to by the Malay Rulers, the design of the existing national flag was chosen as the official flag of the Federation of Malay States.
WHITE COLOUR
Initially, the colour of the flags star and crescent was white but on the advice of the Malay Rulers, this was switched to yellow to mark the royal colour.
On May 26, 1950, the flag made its first official appearance when it was unveiled at the Sultan of Selangor’s palace in Kuala Lumpur.
Among those who were present at the ceremony were the Sultan of Selangor and representatives of Malay Rulers like Abdul Wahab Abdul Aziz (Perak Menteri Besar), Datuk Mahmud Mat (Pahang Menteri Besar), Datuk Onn Jaafar (Johor Menteri Besar), Nik Ahmad Kamil Mahmud (Kelantan Menteri Besar), Raja Ahmad Raja Endut (Perlis Menteri Besar), Tunku Ismail Tunku Yahya (Kedah Menteri Besar) and Datuk Abdul Malek Yusuf (Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar).
At 9.38am that day, the British High Commissioner for Malaya, Sir Henry Gurney, hoisted the Federation of Malay States flag on behalf of the state dignitaries.
From that moment, the Federation of Malay States had its own flag that became the pride of the nation and its citizens.
RESEARCH BY NATIONAL ARCHIVES
According to the research held by the National Archives and based on documents of the Clerk of Councils , The Council Chamber, Kuala Lumpur as well as that from the Johor Public Works Department, it was believed that the designer of the Federation of Malay States flag was Mohamed Hamzah, an architect with the state government of Johor.
The flag was named the Malaysian Flag in conjunction with the creation of Malaysia in 1963. The 14 red and white stripes signify the 14 states in Malaysia while the star also depicts 14 tips. There was no change in colour from the original flag.
JALUR GEMILANG
In 1997, the Cabinet decided to name the flag Jalur Gemilang, a name for all Malaysians to treasure, respect and be proud of.
The then Prime Minister Datuk Seri (Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad officially named the flag Jalur Gemilang at 11.58pm on Aug 30, 1997 at the Merdeka Square, here. By Zulkiple Ibrahim
Source: http://www.bernama.com/ (August 28, 2008)
