Culture of Malaysia
Malaysia consists of two distinct geographical regions: Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Malaysia was formed when the Federation of Malaya merged with North Borneo (today the province of Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore (seceded 1965) in 1963, and cultural differences between Peninsular and East Malaysia remain. During the formation of Malaysia, executive power was vested in the Perikatan (later the Barisan Nasional) coalition of three racially based political parties, namely the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). UMNO has dominated the coalition from its inception. Although Islam is the official state religion, the Constitution of Malaysia guarantees freedom of religion.
Malaysia Act 1963
The Act made provisions for the federation of the States of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore with the existing States of the Federation of Malaya merge with the states of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore and the union was renamed Malaysia. As a result of the Act, the Federation of Malaya was renamed Malaysia on 16 September 1963.