United Malays National Organisation
The Philippines and Indonesia strenuously objected to this development, with Indonesia claiming Malaysia represented a form of neocolonialism and the Philippines claiming Sabah as its territory. The United Nations sent a commission to the region which approved the merger after having delayed the date of Malaysia's formation to investigate. Despite further protests from the Indonesian President, Sukarno, the formation of Malaysia was proclaimed on 16 September 1963. Indonesia then declared a "confrontation" with Malaysia, sending commandos to perform guerilla attacks in East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). The confrontation was ended when a military coup replaced Sukarno with Suharto. The Philippines, which had withdrawn diplomatic recognition from Malaysia, also recognised Malaysia around the same time.
Malayisation
The Malay peninsula, now an important part of Malaysia, has been the stronghold of Malay sultanates for centuries. As the entire peninsular was consolidated under Melaka's rule in the 15th century, it became the core of the Malay world since then, thus earning its name "Tanah Melayu" ("Malay land") in Malay language. The traditional institutions of sultanates in the peninsula survived the colonisation, and were incorporated into the blueprints of the modern state in 1948. Ultimately, Malay rulers remained at the highest hierarchical order of the society, in accordance with what commonly referred as "Ketuanan Melayu" ("Malay supremacy").
Malayness has been conceived as fundamental basis for state's ideology and it became the main driving force for Malay nationalism in a struggle against British colonisation. The state itself is largely organised around the idea of maintaining the special status of Malays as the first among equals of the "Bumiputra" communities. The historical identification of the Malays with Islam was entrenched in the Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The article defines specifically a "Malay" as a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language and conforms to Malay custom. The Malaysian government also has taken the step of defining Malaysian Culture through the 1971 National Culture Policy, which defined what was considered official culture, basing it around Malay culture and integrating Islamic influences. The government has historically made little distinction between "Malay culture" and "Malaysian culture".