A parliamentary
democracy with a
constitutional monarch in southeast asia, consisting of 11 states (west malaysia) on the malay peninsula and
two states (east malaysia) on the
island of borneo. It is
also called the federation of malaysia. Its capital is kuala lumpur. Till 1963 it was the
union of malaya. It reorganised in 1948 as the federation of malaya, becoming
independent from british malaya in 1957 and becoming
malaysia in 1963 as a federation of malaya, sabah, sarawak, and singapore (which seceded in 1965). The
form malay-
perhaps derives from the
tamil malay, mountain, with
reference to its geography.