Flag of Finland as its Grand Master. Like Sweden's, Finland's national flag is based on the Scandinavian cross. It was adopted after independence from Russia, when many patriotic Finns wanted a special flag for their country, but its design dates back to the 19th century. The blue colouring is said to represent the country's thousands of lakes and the sky, with white for the snow that covers the land in winter. This colour combination has also been used over the centuries in various Finnish provincial, military, and town flags. The first known "Flag of Finland" was presented in 1848, along with the national
Flag of Sarawak (later the Czech flag). In 1988, the flag was replaced again with the current version along with yet another new state anthem and motto, "Ibu Pertiwiku" ("My Motherland") and "Bersatu, Berusaha, Berbakti" ("United, Striving, Serving"). The new design was adopted on the 25th anniversary of independence of Sarawak within the Federation of Malaysia. It retains the same colour scheme as the flag of the former kingdom, with two significant changes: the cross was replaced with two diagonal bars and the crown was substituted with a nine-pointed star symbolising the original nine divisions of Sarawak, in order to eliminate any overt