Foreign relations of Malaysia letters of exchange by Abdullah and the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei at Istana Nurul Iman. As of 2010, the two countries are working towards resolving disputes over their maritime boundaries. According to a source, the areas around Ko Kra and Ko Losin in present-day Thailand are once disputed with Malaysia. The Federation of Malaya became an independent native elective monarchy within the Commonwealth on 31 August 1957 with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as head of state. Malaya united with North Borneo (now Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia in 1963. Singapore was expelled from Malaysia in 1965, and
Federation in practice highly centralized under the government of the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation has inherited a similar system. Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Malaysia became federations on or shortly before becoming independent from the British Empire. In some recent cases, federations have been instituted as a measure to handle ethnic conflict within a state, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Iraq since 2005. With the United States Constitution having become effective on 4 March 1789, the United States is the oldest surviving federation. On the other end of the timeline is Nepal, which became the newest federation after its constitution