British Malaya with strong opposition from the local Malays. The opposition revolved around two issues: loose citizenship requirements and reduction in the Malay rulers' power. Due to the pressure exerted, the Union was replaced with the Federation of Malaya on 31 January 1948. The Federation achieved independence on 31 August 1957. All Malayan states later formed a larger federation called Malaysia on 16 September 1963 together with Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo. Singapore was expelled from the federation on 9 August 1965. British Malaya The term "British Malaya" () loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island
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