31st August 2012 will be the 55th anniversary of Merdeka Day, the day that the Federation of Malaya shed British colonial rule to become a free and independent country. Known in Malay as 'Persekutuan Tanah Melayu' the Federation was formed on 31st January 1948 with the joining together of nine Malay states with two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca.
The Federation stayed in existence until 16th September 1963 when it was reconstituted as Malaysia with the addition of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (Singapore subsequently left to become an independent State on 9th August 1965).
Merdeka Day is celebrated each year and this years official slogan from the Malaysian Government's Information, Communications and Culture Ministry is “55 Years of Independence, Promises Fulfilled”. This has been questioned by the Opposition which claims the theme has political elements.
Watch the 1957 declaration of Merdeka by Tunku Abdul Rahman in the clip below:
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