A CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY

THE RISE OF THE Malacca EMPIRE

1400 Founding of Malacca by Parameswara, an exiled prince from Sumatra, Indonesia

1400-1450 Foundation of the Sultanate of Brunei

1446 Malacca becomes a Sultanate

1450 Beginning of Malacca’s expansion into an empire in Southeast Asia

1509 The first Portuguese arrive at Malacca

1511 Malacca is invaded and falls to the Portuguese. The fleeing Malacca sultan takes control of the Empire of Johor and establishes the Perak Kingdom

1641 Dutch invade Malacca and take control from the Portuguese

1699–1784 Period of Minangkabau – Bugis struggle for domination of sea lanes of the Straits of Malacca

1785 Sultan of Kedah permits East India Company to establish settlement in Penang

BRITISH COLONIAL MALAYA

1786 Sir Francis Light lands in Penang. British acquire Penang from Sultan of Kedah.

1808 English law established in Penang via Charter of Justice

1819 Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles establishes free-trading post in Singapore for British

1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty; Malacca is peacefully ceded to the British from the Dutch who get Batavia (now Jakarta) in Indonesia

1826 Singapore and Malacca join with Penang to form Straits Settlements.

1832 Singapore made capital of Straits Settlements

1841 James Brooke established as the Rajah (King) of Sarawak

1845 James Brooke appointed British Agent in Borneo

1851 Straits Settlements placed under the control of the India Office

1857 Kuching sacked and burned by Chinese gold-miners of Bau

1867-1874 Civil war in Selangor

1875-1876 The Perak War

1881 British North Borneo Chartered Company establishes a center in North Borneo (what is now known as present-day Sabah)

1888 North Borneo, Brunei and Sabah accorded British protection

1895-1905 The Mat Salleh Rebellion in North Borneo

1896 Treaty of Federation – the Federated Malay States (FMS) are created by the British

1910 Boom years commence for rubber production in Malaya, producing 53% of world's rubber by 1920

1914-1918 World War 1

1920-1941 The British adopt decentralization policy in the FMS; early signs of a Malay nationalism against British rule begin to surface

INDEPENDENT MALAYA

1941-1942 Japanese invasion of the Malaysian territories

1945 Defeat of Japan ending Japanese occupation: British return to Malaysia

1946 Formation of the United Malay National Organization (UMNO); Sarawak and British North Borneo become Crown colonies

1948 Federation of Malaya agreement. Beginning of communist uprising – The Emergency period (Emergency ends 1960)

1952 First municipal elections in Kuala Lumpur; UMNO and the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) parties cooperate

1953 Alliance coalition comprising UMNO, MCA and the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) formed

1955 First general elections in peninsula Malaya; landslide win for the Alliance

1956 Tunku Abdul Rahman heads Merdeka Mission to London to negotiate Malaya’s independence from British rule

1957 Malaya gains independence from the British. Tunku Abdul Rahman becomes the first Prime Minister of Malaya

POST INDEPENDENCE MALAYA, THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA

1961 Tunku Abdul Rahman proposes a political association – called Malaysia – that would include Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak

1963 Creation of Malaysia (political association including Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei). Beginning of Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia (Confrontation ends 1966).

1964 Singapore leaves Malaysia and becomes an independent nation

1966 Indonesian President Sukarno ousted from power. Peace agreement ends confrontation with Malaysia.

1969 Outbreak of serious riots in Kuala Lumpur after Federal elections.

1970 New Economic Policy (NEP) established to encourage a fairer distribution of wealth among the races, which was deemed to be the cause of the 1969 riots

1983 Constitutional crisis involving the position of Malaysia’s hereditary rulers Power of ruler’s reduced

1990 National car project, Proton, leads the move to transform Malaysia into a fully-developed nation

1996 Malaysia launches its first satellite (Measat), and direct-to-home satellite TV

1997 Opening of The Petronas Twin Towers, the world’s tallest building located in Kuala Lumpur

1998 Kuala Lumpur is the first Asian city to host the Commonwealth Games