Malaysia is a State of Asia (131,791 km ² ; 6,275,416 residents in 1957) on the Malacca peninsula, one of the many that have acquired independence in recent years.

Government. – For the constitution of 1957 the Malaysian Federation is a “democratic, independent and sovereign” state within the British Commonwealth and therefore recognizes the Queen of England as head. It has a monarchical order; but the constitution establishes that every five years the sovereigns of the federated states shall in turn designate one of them as supreme head of the Federation (Yang of – Pertuan Agong) and another as supreme deputy head (Timbalan Yang of – Pertuan Agong). Islam is the official religion of the Federation. The parliament consists of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and two chambers (Mailis): the Dewan Negara (upper house or senate) and the Dewan Ra’ayat (house of representatives). The senate, with thirty members, remains in office for six years; the chamber, of just over a hundred members, was five years old, but can be dissolved by Yang di-Pertuang Agong in agreement with his ministers.

Finances. – According to Directory of Maps, the Central Bank of Malaysia was established in 1959, with two-thirds subscribed capital by the government and with the task of issuing the currency. The bank must hold a reserve of foreign currency against its bonds and deposits, such as to guarantee a certain liquidity of the bank, consisting mainly of sterling; acts as the government’s economic adviser, cannot compete with commercial banks for ordinary financial affairs, underwrites government loans and exercises control over credit and foreign currencies. Before 1959 the currency was issued by the Currency Board, in an amount almost equal to the foreign currency received; since 1952 the competence of the Currency Board (and today that of the Central Bank) extends to the territories of Singapore, Northern Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei. In the Federation there are z2 commercial banks, some of which are only branches of banks that have their headquarters in London or Singapore (we recall the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, the Mercantile Bank of India, the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, etc.); the task of these banks is to finance foreign trade and to grant short-term loans to small private companies. The exchange rate is set at 3.06 Malaysian dollars per 1 US dollar abroad and to grant short-term loans to small private companies. The exchange rate is set at 3.06 Malaysian dollars per 1 US dollar abroad and to grant short-term loans to small private companies. The exchange rate is set at 3.06 Malaysian dollars per 1 US dollar.

The communication routes are quite dense, especially in the western coastal strip and along the longitudinal valleys, to connect the various mining centers with each other and with the ports.

Although the Federation’s economy rests on quite solid foundations, there is still no amalgamation between the various ethnic groups that make up its population due to the considerable cultural, religious and social differences between them.

History. – A few days before the official proclamation of independence, the first government of independent Malaysia was established, chaired by Tengku Abdul Rahman, head of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), who had worked so hard and for the independence of his country and the harmony of the various ethnic groups that make up the population. On 2 September 1957 the sultans of the eleven states of the Federation, gathered in Kuala Lumpur, elected Yang di-Pertuang Agong as the sultan of Negri Sembilan: Tuanku Sir Abdul Rahman. The first elections since the date of independence were held on August 19, 1959 and had the following results: Alliance Party, 73 seats; Pan-Malay Islamic Party, 13 seats; Socialist Front, 8 seats; People’s Progressive Party, 4 seats; Independent, 3 seats; Malaysian Party, 1 seat; Negara Party,i seat. On 21 August of the same year, a new cabinet was formed, again chaired by Tengku Abdul Rahman, who had resigned from his previous post in February. On April 10, 1960, Tuanku Sir Abdul Rahman died and was succeeded by Timbalan Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who also died shortly after; on 21 September, Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the raja of Perlis, Sir Putra ibni Almarhum Syed Hassan Jauralullail, was elected.

The activity of communist (mostly Chinese) guerrillas in the jungle, which had received new and more vigorous impetus from the Korean War, culminated in the assassination of British High Commissioner H. Gurney on 6 October 1951. General Sir Gerald Templer, sent to the peninsula with full civil and military powers, carried out an energetic repression by forcing the guerrillas to reduce the number of raids and coups and retreat deeper and deeper into the jungle towards the Siamese border; even if they cannot yet be said to be completely eradicated, they no longer constitute a serious danger.

The Tibetan uprising of March 1959 and the harsh Chinese repression caused serious concern in Southeast Asia and particularly in Malaysia; among all the countries in this sector it was the only one, on March 30, 1959, to stigmatize the Chinese Communist “aggression”, then raising the question of Tibet, together with Ireland, in October 1959, before the XIV General Assembly of the UN The Malaysia in February 1961 concluded an economic and cultural collaboration agreement with the Philippines and Thailand.