HISTORY OF GEMILANG

In 1949 a committee was formed to consider and formalise the establishment of a flagfor the Federation of Malaya. A national-level competition was organised by the

Federal Legal o!ncil. A total of "#" entries were received from which three were

short-listed.

$he Federal Legal o!ncil then invited the p!blic to give their feedbac% on the three

selected designs. A poll was cond!cted by $he Malay Mail newspaper. $he final res!ltwas p!blished on &ov '9( 1949.

$he chosen design portrayed eleven bl!e and white stripes with a yellow crescent and

star on the left side. It was designed by Mohamad bin )am*ah( a government architectfrom +ohor.

A few amendments were made to the design and the final version was approved by theonference of ,!lers on Feb '' - '"( 19. /n April 19 the same year( the Federal

Legal o!ncil endorsed a motion proposed by the Acting hief 0ecretary to the

overnment as follows2"That in the opinion of this Council the Flag of the Federation of Malaya should be as

 follows: Eleven horizontal stripes alternately red and white in colour, the uppermost

 stripe being red, having a blue uarter with a crescent and eleven pointed star in

 yellow superimposed, the standard size of the flag to be si! feet by three feet"  

/n May 19( 19 3ing eorge I gave his consent on the flag design.

$he flag of the Federation of Malaya was flown for the first time in a flag-hoisting

ceremony organised by the 5ritish )igh ommissioner on May '6( 19 at the

gro!nds of the 0elangor 7alace( attended by all Malay ,!lers and officials of 3ingeorge I.

$he amalgamation of 0abah( 0arawa% and 0ingapore with the Federation of Malayagave birth to a new nation( Malaysia. 8ith this development( the flag of the Federation

of Malaya needed to be amended.

$he onference of ,!lers consented that the Malaysian flag be based on the originaldesign of the flag of the Federation of Malaya( with amendments made on the n!mber

of stripes and points of the star to represent the 14 states !nder the new Federation.

$he Malaysian flag was flown officially for the first time thro!gho!t the co!ntry to

signify the birth of the new nation on 0ept 16( 196".

Altho!gh 0ingapore seceded from Malaysia on A!g 9( 196( the n!mber of stripes and

 points of the stars are maintained till today. $he fo!rteen stripes and fo!rteen points of

the star carry a new significance the federation of thirteen states in the Federal

overnment.

 

 

/n the eve of A!g "1( 199# in con:!nction with Malaysia;s 4th Independence <ay(

$he )ono!rable 7rime Minister <r Mahathir Mohamad anno!nced +al!r emilang asthe official name for the Malaysian flag.

CREATIVE RATIONALE

$he flag of Malaysia is a combination of traditional Islamic symbols and therepresentation of all the states !nder the federation. $he 14 stripes and 14 points of the

star represent the e=!al stat!s of the 14 member states( namely +ohor( 3edah( 3elantan(

Mela%a( &egeri 0embilan( 7ahang( 7!la! 7inang( 7era%( 7erlis( 0abah( 0arawa%(

0elangor and $erenggan! in the Federal overnment.

$he colo!r red signifies strength( bravery and co!rage in facing challenges.

$he colo!r white symbolises honesty and integrity.

$he dar% bl!e canton represents the !nity and harmony of the peoples of Malaysia.

$he crescent represents Islam as the dominant religion.

$he 14-pointed star symbolises the !nity of the 1" states with the Federal

overnment.

$he yellow colo!r of the crescent and star is the royal colo!r of the ,!lers.

WHY "JALUR GEMILANG"?

Jalur >prono!nced :ah-loor? A Malay word meaning a band or stripe of colo!r. $he

14 parallel red and white stripes symbolise a common mission( a common directionand a virt!o!s path followed by the peoples of all states regardless of creed( race and

religion.

Gemilang >prono!nced g!h-mee-l!ng? A Malay word meaning bright( brilliant(resplendent or e@cellent.

Jalur Gemilang represents the e@cellence of the peoples and the nation of Malaysia inevery field( be it at national or international level. Jalur Gemilang symbolises a nation

and peoples who are hard-wor%ing( patriotic( strong( co!rageo!s and prepared to

sacrifice for the race( nation and religion.

22 0o!rce - <epartment of Information( Malaysia( +!ne 199#