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 national cricket team
Cricket has been played in what is now Malaysia since the 1880s. Various teams represented Malaya, the Federated Malay States and the Straits Settlements, formed in 1884 by the British, Royal Selangor Club (RSC) is the first cricket club founded in present Malaysia (locally called a padang also in Singapore e.g. Padang, Singapore).
The Singapore Cricket Club, a former affiliate of the Malayan Cricket Association, is the oldest cricket club in the region (founded in 1852).