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 independence from the sovereign state, which only takes care of their foreign relations and defence. However, they are neither considered to be part of it, nor recognised as sovereign or associated states. The distinction between a federation and a unitary state is often quite ambiguous. A unitary state may closely resemble a federation in structure and, while a central government may possess the theoretical right to revoke the autonomy of a self-governing region, it may be politically difficult for it to do so in practice. The self-governing regions of some unitary states also often enjoy greater autonomy than those of