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Period: to
Japanese occupation
Japanese occupies Malaysia -
British rules Malaysia
British-ruled Malayan territories unified under Federation of Malaya -
Federation of Malaya becomes independent
Federation of Malaya becomes independent from Britain with Tunku Abdul Rahman as prime minister -
Federation of Malaysia formed
British colonies of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore join Federation of Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia -
Singapore withdrawls from Federation of Malaysia
Singapore withdraws from Malaysia, which is reduced to 13 states; communist insurgency begins in Sarawak -
Anti-Chinese riots stages
Malays stage anti-Chinese riots in the context of increasing frustration over the economic success of the ethnic Chinese -
National Front coalition formed
Tun Abdul Razak becomes prime minister following Abdul Rahman's resignation; forms National Front (BN) coalition -
Chief minister expelled from PAS
Kelantan chief minister expelled from Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), triggering unrest, a national emergency and the expulsion of PAS from the BN coalition -
Period: to
Vietnamese refugees benefit from unrestricted asylum
Vietnamese refugees benefit from unrestricted asylum -
Mohamad becomes prime minister
Mahathir Mohamad becomes prime minister -
Local communists sign peace accord with gov.
Local communist insurgents sign peace accord with government -
Sarawak communists sign peace accord with gov.
Sarawak communist insurgents sign peace accord with government. -
Sultans lose legal immunity
Sultans lose legal immunity -
Asian Financial Crisis end economic growth
Asian financial crisis spells end of decade of impressive economic growth -
Mohamad kills future successor
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sacks his deputy and presumed successor, Anwar Ibrahim, on charges of sexual misconduct, against the background of differences between the two men over economic policy; Ibrahim arrested -
Ibrahim given 6-year sentence
Ibrahim is found guilty of sodomy and sentenced to nine years in prison. This is added to the six-year jail sentence he was given in 1999 after being found guilty of corruption following a controversial trial -
Dozens arrested in ethnic clashes
Dozens arrested during Malaysia's worst ethnic clashes in decades between Malays and ethnic Indians -
Malaysia and Singapore resolve disputes
Malaysia and Singapore resolve long-standing disputes, ranging from water supplies to air space. They also agree to build a new bridge and tunnel -
Tough immigrant laws in effect
Tough new laws against illegal immigrants come into effect, providing for whipping and prison terms for offenders. Laws prompt exodus of foreign workers -
Badawi becomes prime minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi takes over as prime minister as Mahathir Mohamad steps down after 22 years in office -
Thousands killed in tsunami
Scores of people in Malaysia are killed in the Asian tsunami disaster. Malaysia delays planned deportations of many thousands of illegal immigrants, most of them from Indonesia -
Malaysia builds controversial bridge to Singapore
Malaysia shelves the construction of a controversial bridge to Singapore -
Deal signed to protect rainforest
Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam sign deal to protect 200,000 square kilometres of rainforest on the island of Borneo -
Step closer to building pipeline to bypass Malacca Strait
Malaysian, Indonesian and Saudi Arabian partners move a step closer to building a 193 mile (310km) pipeline to bypass the Malacca Strait, so oil tankers can load crude away from the busy and often dangerous waterway -
Recruitment of foreign workers banned
Malaysia bans the recruitment of foreign workers to protect its citizens from unemployment during the economic downturn -
Nine foreigners arrested on terrorist charges and women flogged for cheating
Malaysia is to extradite nine foreigners arrested on terror charges in January. Rights activists say the men are from Jordan, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen and are being held under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial. Three Malay women are flogged for extra-marital sex in the first case of this Islamic punishment being meted out to women in the country