List of Malaysian flags

Malaysian flag in Merdeka Square

This is a list of flags used in Malaysia.

National flags

Flag	Date (century)	Use	Description
	1963 onwards	Flag of Malaysia	Fourteen horizontal stripes alternating red and white; in the canton, a yellow crescent and 14-point star on a blue field.
		Civil Ensign of Malaysia	A red field with the Flag of Malaysia in a blue-fimbriated canton.
		Government Ensign of Malaysia	A blue field with the Flag of Malaysia in the canton.

Monarch

Flag	Date (century)	Use	Description
		Standard of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong	The Jata Negara, the coat of arms of Malaysia, enwreathed by two sheaves of paddy on a yellow field.
		Standard of the Raja Permaisuri Agong	The coat of arms of Malaysia enwreathed by two sheaves of paddy on a light green field.

Military

Flag	Date (century)	Use	Description
		Flag of the Malaysian Army	A red field defaced with the crest of the Malaysian Army, with the Malaysian flag with black fimbriation in the canton.
		Flag of the Royal Malaysian Air Force	A sky blue field defaced with the Federal Star, with the Malaysian flag in the canton.
		Naval ensign of the Royal Malaysian Navy	A white field defaced with blue crossed kris and anchor, with the Malaysian flag in the canton.
	1963 – 1968	Naval ensign of the Royal Malaysian Navy	A red cross on a white field with the Malaysian flag in the canton.
	1957 – 1963	Naval ensign of the Royal Malayan Navy	A red cross on a white field with the Malayan flag in the canton.

Administrative divisions

States

Flag	Date (century)	Use	Description
	1870 on	Flag of the state of Perlis.	Two equal horizontal bands of yellow and blue.
	1912 on	Flag of the state of Kedah.	A red field with the state coat of arms in the canton.
	1957 on	Flag of the state of Penang.	A blue, white and yellow vertical tri-colour defaced with a betel nut tree.
	1879 on	Flag of the state of Perak.	A white, yellow and black horizontal tri-colour.
	1923 on	Flag of the state of Kelantan.	A red field defaced with a white crescent and star and two white kris and spears.
	1947 on	Flag of the state of Terengganu.	A black field defaced with a white crescent and five-pointed star, with white at the edge.
	1903 on	Flag of the state of Pahang.	Two equal horizontal bands of white and black.
	1965 on	Flag of the state of Selangor.	Red and yellow quartered, with a white crescent and five-pointed stars in the canton.
	1895 on	Flag of the state of Negeri Sembilan.	A yellow field with two diagonal bands of red and black in the canton.
	1961 on	Flag of the state of Malacca.	Two equal bands of red and white, with a crescent and five-pointed star in a blue canton.
	1871 on	Flag of the state of Johor.	A blue field with an arranged crescent and five-pointed stars in a red canton.
	1988 on	Flag of the state of Sarawak.	A yellow field with two diagonal bands of red (top) and black, defaced with a nine-pointed star.
	1988 on	Flag of the state of Sabah.	A blue (top), white, and red tri-colour, with the silhouette of Mount Kinabalu on a light blue canton.

Federal territories

A common flag for the three federal territories was adopted by the Ministry of the Federal Territories on 20 August 2006. The flag is to be used and flown on matters and ceremonies that involve all the federal territories as a whole. An example is in national sporting events; the unified contingent of the territories would be under this common flag. However, the usage of the individual territorial flags would be given preference in events relating to individual territories.^[1]

Flag	Date (century)	Use	Description
	2006 on	Flag of the Federal Territories	three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red, there is a Malaysian coat of arms in centre of blue band.
	1990 on	Flag of Kuala Lumpur	blue with six equal horizontal stripes of red (top), and white in upper and lower, there is a yellow crescent and yellow fourteen-pointed stars in left within blue band.
	1984 on	Flag of Labuan	three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue, there is a yellow crescent and yellow fourteen-pointed stars in white band.
	2001 on	Flag of Putrajaya	three equal vertical bands of blue (top, double width), and yellow, there is a Malaysian coat of arms in yellow band.

Historical

Sultanate flags

Flag	Date (century)	Use	Description
	15th century – 1888	Flag of the Bruneian Empire, once rule most of the island of Borneo until Seludong (present-day Manila) and Banjarmasin in Kalimantan	Yellow flag represented the Sultanate of Brunei.
	16th – 18th centuries	Flag of the Sultanate of Sulu, once rule the eastern part of Sabah after the territory been given by the Sultanate of Brunei after they sending help to settling a civil war in Brunei, although this was denied as supported by a numbers of old resources.[2]	Centre emblem represented the Sultanate of Sulu identity.
	17th century	Flag of the Sultanate of Aceh, once rule the northern part of the island of Sumatra and certain parts of the Malay Peninsula.	Represented the Acehnese identity.
	18th century – 1912	Flag of the Sultanate of Kedah	Red flag represented the Sultanate of Kedah.
	1731 – 1881	Flag of the Sultanate of Bulungan, during the area of Tawau in Sabah was under the influence of this Sultanate	Represented the Bulungan identity.
	1853 – 1887	The first flag of the Sultanate of Pahang during a union with Johor	Black flag represented the Sultanate of Pahang.
	1887 – 1903	The second flag of the Sultanate of Pahang	Black flag with a little white on the left represented the Sultanate of Pahang.
	1855 18th century – 1912 18th century – 1879	Flag of the Sultanate of Johor Flag of the Sultanate of Kelantan Flag of the Sultanate of Perak	White flag of several Malay Sultanates.
	1855 – 1865	Flag of the Sultanate of Johor from 1855 to 1865	Black flag with a small white rectangle in the upleft.
	1865 – 1871	Flag of the Sultanate of Johor from 1865 to 1871	Black flag with a small red rectangle cross similar like the St Andrew's Cross in the upleft.
	1859 – 1965	Flag of the Sultanate of Selangor	Quite similar with the current flag except for the yellow crescent and star.
	1912 – 1923	Flag of the Sultanate of Kelantan from 1912 to 1923	Encompasses a white flag with a blue border enveloping the top, fly, and hoist of the flag, and Jawi scriptures stylised as a feline. The tip of the tail is interpreted as "Kerajaan Kelantan" (denoting the Kelantanese government), while the main body of the animal-based scripture contains two passages from the Qur'an, an excerpt of the 13th ayat of the 61st surah, the Al-Saf.
	1912 – 1933	Flag of the Sultanate of Terengganu from 1912 to 1933	Black and white flag.
	1933 – 1947	Flag of the Sultanate of Terengganu from 1933 to 1947	Similar with the first flag but added with a crescent and star.

Colonial flags

Flag	Date (century)	Use	Description
	1511 – 1641	Flag of Portuguese Malacca, a colony in the Portuguese Empire	White rectangle centrally charged with the coat of arms bearing five castles on an ogival or heater-shaped shield and surmounted by an open royal crown.
	1641 – 1795	Flag of the VOC in Dutch Malacca	Three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white and blue (bottom), with a small logo of the VOC in the centre.
	1795 – 1801	Flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Used by British Forces during the intermittent British occupation during the Napoleonic Wars	The Flags of England and Scotland superimposed.
	1801 – 1818	Flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	A superimposition of the flags of England and Scotland with Saint Patrick's saltire.
	1818 – 1825	Flag of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. After the occupation and restoration of Dutch rule in Malacca the VOC had since gone bankrupt and all assets had transferred to the Batavian Republic which in turn turned into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Resulting in the use of the plain Dutch flag in Dutch Malacca	A horizontal tricolour of red (Bright Vermilion), white, and blue (Cobalt Blue).
	1826 – 1895	Flag of the East India Company. With the establishment of the Straits Settlement, the East India Company ruled Malaya until it was designated a Crown Colony in 1867. Its design elements of the Union Jack in the canton and the red and white stripes is purportedly the reference behind the current Flag of Malaysia	Numerous white and red stripes with the Union Flag of the United Kingdom in the canton.
	1826 – 1946	Flag of the Straits Settlements	A blue ensign defaced with a white disc containing a red diamond, in which is a white inverted pall with three crowns, one on each arm.
	1946 – 1949	Flag of Penang	A blue ensign defaced with the pre-1985 lesser arms of Penang.
	1946 – 1957	Flag of Malacca	A blue ensign defaced with A Famosa motif.
	1946 – 1959	Flag of Singapore	A blue ensign defaced with a white disc containing a crown within a red inverted pall.
	1896 – 1946 1946 – 1948 1948 – 1950	Flag of the Federated Malay States Flag of the Malayan Union Flag of the Federation of Malaya	Four equal horizontal bands of white (top), red, yellow, and black overlain in the centre by a small white ellipse bearing a running tiger.
	1895 – 1946	Naval ensign of the Federated Malay States	Diagonally quartered white, red, black and yellow.
	1942 – 1945	Flag of the Empire of Japan. Used when Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Labuan were under Japanese military governing, and also used in Singapore (was renamed to Shōnantō).	Centred red disc on a white field.
		War flag of the Imperial Japanese Army	Centred red disc with 16 rays on a white field.
	1950 – 1963	Flag of the Federation of Malaya	Eleven alternating red and white stripes with a dark blue rectangle, containing a gold crescent and eleven-pointed star, in the canton.
	1841 – 1848	Flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak	The first flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak (1841–1848) using the St George's Cross, after the territory been ceded by the Sultanate of Brunei.
	1848 – 1870	Flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak	The second flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak used from (1848-1870), with red and blue cross in the style of St. George's Cross. The Crown in the centre symbolises the Rajah of Sarawak.
	1870 – 1946 1963 – 1973	Flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak and later Flag of the state of Sarawak	The third flag of the Kingdom of Sarawak, with red and black cross in the style of St. George's Cross. The black symbolises the ruling class, and the red the people. Similar as on the second flag, the Crown in the centre symbolises the Rajah. This flag was reintroduced upon independence.
	1946 – 1963	Flag of the Crown Colony of Sarawak	After World War II Sarawak becomes a crown colony. A blue ensign defaced with the former Kingdom Badge was adopted.
	1882 – 1948	Flag of North Borneo	A blue ensign defaced with the badge of North Borneo Chartered Company.
		Civil ensign of North Borneo	A red ensign defaced with the badge of North Borneo Chartered Company.
	1948 – 1963	Flag of Crown Colony of North Borneo	After World War II North Borneo becomes a crown colony. A blue ensign was adopted with the new badge instead that of North Borneo Company.
	1912 – 1946	Flag of the Crown Colony of Labuan	A blue ensign defaced with a ship.

State flags

Flag	Date (century)	Use	Description
	1949 – 1957	State flag of Penang (1949-1957)	Similar with the current flag except with a blue and white breakwater.
	1973 – 1988	Flag of the state of Sarawak (1973-1988). The 'Trisakti' Flag introduced to replace the colonial era flag	A horizontal bicolour of red and white with a blue triangle on the hoist.
	1963 – 1982	Flag of the state of Sabah	Four equal horizontal bar of red, white, yellow and blue, with the brown silhouette of Mount Kinabalu in a green canton.
	1982 – 1988		A horizontal bicolour of blue and white with a red triangle on the hoist.
	1959 – 1965	Flag of the state of Singapore (Negeri Singapura). When Singapore exited the federation, the flag was maintained as the National flag of the Republic of Singapore.	A horizontal bicolour of red over white, charged in white in the canton with a crescent facing, towards the fly, a pentagon of five stars.

See also

• List of Malaysian coats of arms

References

Flag dates published references

• (Ben Cahoon) Malay States on worldstatesmen.org

External links

• Malaysia at Flags of the World
• Information on the Flag of Malaysia at the Malaysian Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture - Department of Information (Malay)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flags of Malaysia.