Federation of Malaya Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya (; Jawi: ڤرسكوتوان تانه ملايو) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca) that existed from 1 February 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957, and in 1963 Malaysia was formed from the federation by incorporating the Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak Crown Colonies. The federation of states that made up the Federation of Malaya is now known as Peninsular Malaysia. From 1946 to 1948, the eleven states formed
Malaysia while Putrajaya is the seat of federal government. With a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the world's 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia. In the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire when the Straits Settlements became British protectorates. Peninsular Malaysia was unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on