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.
Royal Malaysia Police
Following the assimilation of Malacca into the British Empire in 1795, a modern police organisation in Malaysia was formed, on 25 March 1807, after the Charter of Justice in Penang was granted. Most of the officers were of British origin. Later, this organisation was developed in the Straits Settlements and other Malay states, particularly the Federated Malay States. At that time, independent police forces were established for each respective state. Only after World War II was a central police organisation formed, known as the Civil Affairs Police Force. This organisation was formed in Malaya and led by a British colonial, H.B. Longworthy, who had to stabilise the police forces after the anarchy of Japanese occupation. One of the immediate problems faced by the police at this time was the rebellion of the communist party. During the confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia, which lasted from 1963 to 1965, the police force, along with military forces, fought against the infiltration of Indonesian forces into the states of Johor and Sabah.