Flag of Malaysia

The current Malaysian flag is based on the flag of the Federation of Malaya. In 1949, a year after the Federation 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.[4]

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.

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  First proposed flag
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  Second proposed flag
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  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 six more points were added to the star.[5][6] The final version of the Malayan flag was approved by George VI on 19 May 1950 and was first raised in front of the Sultan of Selangor's residence on 26 May 1950.[7] 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:[8]

• 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.

Red and white had also been the traditional colours of the region since the time of the Majapahit Empire.

Mohamed upon receiving the Sultan Ibrahim Diamond Jubilee Medal in 1955.

Flag of Johor

The Malayan flag was designed by Mohamed Hamzah, a 29-year-old architect working for the Public Works Department (JKR) in Johor Baharu, Johor. He entered the national flag design competition with two designs that he had completed in two weeks. The first was a green flag with blue kris in the middle, surrounded by 15 white stars. The second, which 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.[6]

Mohamed Hamzah died just short of his 75th birthday on 13 February 1993 in Jalan Stulang Baru, Kampung Melayu Majidee, Johor.[9]

The Malaysian flag flying above the Tourism Malaysia office in Trafalgar Square, 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 and the star was given 14 points to reflect the federation of the original 11 states in Malaya 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 government in general.

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 towards continuous growth and success.