States and federal territories of Malaysia

Eleven states and two federal territories are located on the Malay Peninsula, collectively called Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia. Two states and one federal territory lie on the island of Borneo; they are collectively referred to as East Malaysia or Malaysian Borneo. Of the 13 states in Malaysia, 9 are monarchies. States Federal territories ==Federal–state relations==

, Putrajaya While the population of Malaysia is ethnically and religiously diverse, such diversity is spread throughout the country and not inherently reflected by the borders of the states (however, there is a significant distinction between the peninsular states and Sabah and Sarawak, which have large indigenous populations). This is not only due to the Constitution of Malaysia providing significant powers to the Government of Malaysia, but also to its power in practice exceeding constitutional expectations. The Parliament of Malaysia is permitted to legislate on issues of land, Islamic religion, and local government to provide for a uniform law between different states, or on the request of the state assembly concerned. The law in question must also be passed by the state assembly as well, except in the case of certain land law-related subjects. Issues that fall under the purview of the state may also be legislated on at the federal level for the purpose of conforming with international treaty obligations. Similar to its creation of overlapping institutions, the federal government also creates national economic corridors, which create mechanisms for federal control of land competencies formally assigned to states. with lists of state power supplemental to those that apply to all states. Sabah and Sarawak control immigration themselves, as laid out in the Immigration Act 1959/63. Peninsular Malaysians generally require passports to enter Sabah or Sarawak, or if using their biometric MyKad ID card or other approved identity document can obtain a special document upon arrival to Sabah or Sarawak. Both methods usually limit stays to a maximum of 90 days. A special document is required for longer stays. Political relations between the Bornean states and the central government are often fraught, with the state governments fearing West Malaysian dominance, while the national government fears separatism. The historical erosion of autonomy has been linked to occasional calls for secession in both East Malaysian states, where such discussion is more common than it is in West Malaysian states. This is linked to the demographic and cultural differences already distinguishing these states from the others. While this discontent has sometimes been used by leaders in both states to extract concessions from the federal government, these concessions have often been directly associated with particular East Malaysian politicians, rather than producing structural improvements. ==State governance==

The governance of the states is divided between the federal government and the state governments, while the federal territories are directly administered by the federal government. The nine peninsular states which joined the country as sultanates are known as the Malay states, and all have a monarch as their head of state. The federal head of state, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (commonly referred to as "King" in English), is elected (de facto rotated) among the nine hereditary rulers to serve a 5-year term. While historically state elections mostly aligned with national elections, electoral calendars began to significantly diverge around 2020. ==Federal territory governance==

decorated with the flag of the Federal Territories The 3 federal territories were formed for different purposes: Kuala Lumpur was separated from Selangor to move Malaysia's national capital outside of any one state, Putrajaya was separated from Selangor as the administrative centre of the federal government, and Labuan was separated from Sabah to serve as an offshore financial centre. Each federal territory elects representatives from single-member constituencies to the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) of the Parliament: 11 for Kuala Lumpur, and 1 each for Labuan and Putrajaya. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints senators to represent the territories in the Dewan Negara: two for Kuala Lumpur, and one each for Labuan and Putrajaya. ==History==

Creation of the federation Ahmad Muʽazzam, and Acting Resident of Pahang, Frederic Duberly Malaysia's federal system arose due the preservation of sultanates on the Malay Peninsula who came under British control. The 1826 Burney Treaty between the Rattanakosin Thailand and the United Kingdom saw the former relinquish its claims over Pahang, Perak, and all territory to their south, although the latter did not at the time claim this territory. A Resident was installed in Pahang in 1888, while the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 brought Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu under British control. A protectorate over Johor was established in 1914, bringing all territory south of Siam under British control. , consisting of Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, and Selangor, issued stamps as a single entity. In 1895, the Federated Malay States was created, bringing Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, and Selangor under a shared governmental structure. The power of this new body over the individual sultanates was kept limited, to ensure the United Kingdom remained on good terms with the sultans. This set a precedent for later attempts at unification. The remaining five sultanates became known as the Unfederated Malay States, while the directly-ruled Penang, Malacca, and Singapore became known as the Straits Settlements. The demographics and economies of these groups diverged, with the Straits Settlements turning into cosmopolitan cities, while the Federated Malay States saw Chinese and Indian immigration to urban areas. In rural areas, and among the Unfederated Malay States, the population remained mostly Malay, and economies grew more slowly. However, efforts to further unite these separately governed territories faced resistance until the Japanese invasion during the Second World War in 1942. In some cases, Malay anger even affected the sultans, who were blamed for signing the treaty that founded the Union. However, Alliance was forced to negotiate with the sultans as it established governmental structures. It also entrenched the idea that the federation would give greater privileges to Malays than to other ethnic communities.Malaya became independent under its new constitution in 1957, After the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, North Borneo and Sarawak came under direct British control as crown colonies in 1946. Ideas for constitutionally linking Britain's various Southeast Asian territories, including the concept of closer links within Borneo or within Malaya, had been on occasion raised since the late 19th century. However, such ideas did not receive serious consideration until the end of the Second World War and the growing importance of decolonisation. While Singapore was maintained as a naval base, a future merger with Malaya was widely thought optimal. In July 1960, Indonesia began dedicated efforts to annex Western New Guinea, which it achieved in August 1962. Its relations to China grew closer, and there were concerns it would seek further territorial expansion. In January 1960, the Deputy Commissioner-General for Southeast Asia Dennis Allen held a meeting in Singapore to discuss the "grand design" of a potential large federation. While it was thought that the people of North Borneo and Sarawak would resist a potential replacement of British officials with Malay or Chinese ones, Brunei was viewed as more Malay-leaning and thus a potential offset to Singapore's ethnic Chinese population. Potential configurations considered following this discussion were a union of just North Borneo and Sarawak, a union of all three Bornean territories, a union of Malaya and Brunei, and a wider union of all five territories. as his concern of a potentially hostile communist Singapore outweighed his earlier reluctance to integrate it into Malaya. This concern was sharpened by the Cuban Missile Crisis. The question of federation was seen as urgent in 1962, as defections from those opposed to union brought Lee close to losing power in Singapore. In January 1962, the Sarawakian government issued a document titled "Sarawak and Malaysia" and sent versions in the local language to each district, where officials were tasked with discussing the document with the public. Local leaders were brought to the more developed Malaya to highlight the economic possibilities following federation. While some officials opposed the concept, on 15 February 51 of the 54 Dayak penghulu (leaders) led by Jugah Barieng agreed on 13 initial conditions under which they would support federation. The British and Malayan Cobbold Commission surveyed North Borneo and Sarawak, determining there was overall support for the idea of federation, albeit with a desire "for conditions and safeguards varying in nature and extent". Macmillan and Tunku met in July 1962, where they agreed on a joint path forward and an expected federation date of 31 August 1963. North Borneo and Sarawak were offered various safeguards and areas of additional autonomy to secure their support. The offer to North Borneo became known as the 20-point agreement. Elections in North Borneo and in Sarawak confirmed support for federation. Negotiations with Brunei foundered, and Brunei pulled out in June 1963. The Malaysia Agreement saw the original Constitution of Malaya amended, rather than the creation of a new constitution. While the new states received some different accommodations through the amendments, the constitution was substantially similar to its previous form. It is not known if the Conference of Rulers gave its approval for the expansion of the country, indicating the early dominance of the central government. The sudden departure of Singapore caused tensions with Sabah and Sarawak, whose leaders saw this as a signal to reassess their own relationships with Kuala Lumpur. Following independence, two main opposition groups emerged. The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) gained support in the northeast, especially in Kelantan and Terengganu, while non-Malay opposition parties gained support in parts of the west coast. PAS won in Kelantan and Terengganu in 1959, although in 1961 defections in the Terengganu parliament gave control to UMNO. The national government arrested some PAS leaders, charging them with supporting Indonesia in the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. However, BN was still unable to win Kelantan in the 1964 or 1969 elections. The 1969 Malaysian general election also saw UMNO lose Penang to Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, and hung parliaments emerged in Perak and Selangor. The national government began to fund states more through loans than through grants. Kedah saw relatively high growth in the late 20th century, coinciding with the long rule of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was from that state. The expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965 was an early example of central government power. The Chief Ministers of Sabah and Sarawak, Fuad Stephens and Stephen Kalong Ningkan respectively, were not consulted on the expulsion. Sabah saw Malayisation and Islamisation under Datu Mustapha Datu Harun, but he was removed after seeking greater autonomy. The successor Sabah People's United Front-led government initially continued such policies, but after a breakaway group defeated the original party in 1985, Kadazan-Dusun identity was more heavily promoted. This was partly a response to the a race riot that occurred in the city in 1969. After the United Sabah Party, which governed Sabah at the time, defected from BN in 1990, development funding was shifted to other states. Timber exports, which were a source of state funding, were banned by the federal government in 1992. The central government worked directly with local authorities, bypassing the state government, and encouraged voting for BN as a way to receive investments. The opposition wins in the relatively wealthier west coast states limited the leverage of tools BN had previously used in poorer states. In 2010, Selangor and Penang appealed to the Electoral Commission for the reinstatement of local elections. This was denied, with the Commission stating that approval was needed from the NCLG. The persistence of such opposition governments influenced changes in BN rule, such as UMNO's commitment to running more female candidates, imitating the opposition. Efforts by the Selangor government to improve bus services and subsidise housing were imitated by the federal government. and sought to increase the percentage of teachers hired locally. However, the proposed amendment failed to reach the required two-thirds majority (148 votes). While 138 parliamentarians voted in support, 59 abstained. Nevertheless, the Malaysian federal government agreed to review the 1963 Malaysia Agreement to remedy breaches of the treaty with the "Special Cabinet Committee To Review the Malaysia Agreement" and directed a Special Task Force Team (Taskforce MA63) to prepare a final report on the 1963 agreement before 31 August 2019. In 2019 Sarawak took its claim for oil sales tax payments to court. This case was won in 2020, and in 2022 an agreement was also reached for Sabah to receive this sales tax revenue. On 16 September 2021, two years after the failed attempt to amend the constitution to distinguish Sabah and Sarawak, prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob pledged to look into issues relating to Sabah and Sarawak via the Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963. Negotiations were chaired by the prime minister, joined by the chief ministers of Sabah and Sarawak, as well as eight federal ministers. On 19 October 2021, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) Maximus Ongkili announced a Bill to be tabled in the coming Parliament sitting after the Special Council on Malaysia Agreement 1963 agreed to Articles 1(2) and 160(2) of the Federal Constitution to restore Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to Peninsular Malaysia. The proposed law differed from the 2019 proposal, being tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Parliament) Wan Junaidi. The same meeting also saw the council agree to empower both the Sabah and Sarawah governments to issue deep fishing licences, previously issued by the federal government. Four constitutional amendments were tabled on 3 November 2021: listing the "Borneo States" of Sabah and Sarawak in a separate group to the 11 "states of Malaya", defining Malaysia Day as the day when Sabah and Sarawak joined, defining "Federation" as the formation of Malaysia rather than Malaya, and changes to the inheritance of Sarawak native status. On 14 December 2021, the proposed amendment was passed in the Parliament unanimously with 199 votes in favour, and 21 MPs absent from the 6-hour long debate. The amendments went into effect on 11 February 2022. Shortly after the national constitutional amendments, Sarawak amended its state constitution, renaming its "Chief Minister" a "Premier" to symbolically differentiate the state from those on the peninsula. On 6 January 2022, Minister Ongkili announced the setting up of a joint technical committee to study Sabah's proposal for increased annual grants in addition to a counteroffer from the Federal Government. This committee met monthly, and in the 2023 budget Sabah was allocated more funding than any other state. While there was some cooperation between Sabah and Sarawak post-2018 towards seeking enhanced autonomy, cooperation has been limited, in part because of Sarawakian parties being unwilling to work too closely with what are seen as federally-influenced Sabahan parties. Both states have been pushing for increased control over their continental shelf, greater representation in the national parliament, and increased revenue collection. Sarawak's bid to obtain MASwings, which is part of an ambition to establish a state airline, was approved by the federal government. However, new state laws asserting state control over oil and gas resources have led to legal disagreements with the federal government, which asserts that ultimate authority resides with Petronas at the national level. After the 2022 Malaysian general election, the PH and BN coalitions formed a national government, and many PH- or BN-led state governments followed suit by bringing the other coalition into their state administrations. In Johor, the concept of an official opposition was replaced by the idea of a "balancing force", and the PH-affiliated former opposition adopted this role instead of joining the UMNO government. In Terengganu, PN won every seat, leaving the state parliament without an opposition. and in the end only three states (Perlis, Perak, and Pahang) held simultaneous elections. Another impact of the election was the resulting ruling coalition relying on East Malaysian parliamentarians to maintain a majority, increasing the influence gained by both states in the 2018 election. This has been matched by increasing assertiveness by the Sabah and Sarawak governments for greater political and economic power, and increasing political focus within the two states of their unique identities. Neither BN or PH campaigned on federal issues in general, although both had specific promises for Sabah and Sarawak. Sabah has obtained greater control over electric utilities. On 17 October the Kota Kinabalu High court ruled that the national government's former policy of not providing 40% of revenue from Sabah to Sabah was unlawful and unconstitutional, and ordered that an agreement be reached on the lack of such funding from 1974 to 2021. The 29 November 2025 Sabah state election saw all national coalitions lose seats to various Sabah-based regional parties. ==Brunei and Singapore==

Brunei After the Second World War, the United Kingdom sought to integrate Brunei with North Borneo and Sarawak, as an interim step to unifying the Borneo territories with Malaya and Singapore. However, the Sultan of Brunei was reluctant to cede political control or share oil revenues. and Brunei began to participate in meetings of the Malaysian Solidarity Consultative Committee. In the 1962 Singaporean integration referendum, an overwhelming majority chose Option A, which granted Singapore the highest level of autonomy with special status. Singaporeans would also automatically become Malaysian citizens. The constitutional arrangements of the federation were designed to give the island autonomy while limiting the impact of Singapore's Chinese-majority population on national politics. Singapore was given just 15 seats in the national parliament, despite holding 16.9% of Malaysia's population at the time, which, if seats were allocated evenly by population, would have given it 27. This was the converse of Sabah and Sarawak, who received 16 and 24 seats with 4.6% and 7.5% of the population respectively. Singaporeans were not allowed to run for or vote in elections elsewhere in Malaysia. In turn, non-Singaporeans could not run in Singapore. Following Singapore's independence, it established a close relationship with Brunei. The three states created new currencies beginning in June 1967. Following the split of the currency, Brunei and Singapore have continued to maintain their currencies at par, whereas Malaysia unilaterally broke the peg in May 1973. When Malaysia–Singapore Airlines broke up, Brunei gave preference to Singapore Airlines over Malaysia Airlines. While Malaysia and Singapore joined the Five Power Defence Arrangements in 1971 with Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, Brunei did not. Malaysia continued to support political opposition in Brunei until the 1970s, receiving support in this from other ASEAN members but not Singapore. However, a change in policy by Malaysia in the late 1970s was part of a process leading to eventual Bruneian independence and membership of ASEAN. ==See also==