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.
Guided Democracy in Indonesia
In 1963 the establishment of Malaysia was announced, incorporating Federation of Malaya and the former British colonial possessions in northern Borneo. Indonesia rejected the formation as a neo-colonialist project of the United Kingdom. The Philippines also rejected the formation due to its claim to Sabah. PKI once again sought to exploit the issue to strengthen its political position. They organised mass demonstrations in Jakarta, during which the British Embassy was burned to the ground. On 17 September, a day after Malaysia was established, Indonesia broke off diplomatic relations with Malaysia, and shortly after, the low level conflict known as "konfrontasi" (confrontation) was commenced.