nPostednAugust 31, 2013
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HappynHari Merdeka! On this date in 1957, thenRepublic of Malaya became independent of Great Britain.
HappynHari Merdeka! On this date in 1957, thenRepublic of Malaya became independent of Great Britain. n
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nBy the way, in 1963 Malaysia was formed by combining the Federation of Malayanwith Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore (although a few years later, Singaporenwas kicked out of the federation)—and that event will be celebrated in a couple of weeks!
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| Malaysia is highlighted here in green. |
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nMalaysianis an interesting nation. Part of it is located on a Southeast Asiannpeninsula (a bit of land that juts out into the ocean, sonthat it is surrounded by water on three sides). The other part isnlocated on the island of Borneo—but just the northern part of thenisland! The rest of the island of Borneo is the country ofnBrunei and part of the country Indonesia.
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n(Thenisland of Borneo is fairly large. It is the largest island in Asia,nabout the size of Texas. Still, to be divvied up into threencountries, two of which have other land as well, is a bit surprisingnto me! And check out Brunei—it is made up of two tiny, unconnectednbits of northern Borneo!)
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nAnothernreason Malaysia is interesting is that it has a parliament, which isna group of lawmakers elected by citizens, modeled to some extent onnBritain’s parliament. The nation also has a king and a PrimenMinister—again, just like Britain—but Malaysia’s king is electednto a 5-year term rather than just being born the king (or queen), and ruling for life, as almost all nations with a monarchy arrange things! As anmatter of fact, only one other modern nation—Cambodia—has an electednmonarch—and that king is chosen for a life term. n
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n(Thencitizens as a whole do not elect the king. Instead, the ninenhereditary rulers from the Malay states have a secret vote to see whonwill be the next king. There seems to be an informal decision to passnthe title around to each of the nine in turn, originally based onnseniority.)
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nMalaysianis multi-cultural, modern, and economically strong. It is onenof the most diverse countries in the world in terms of number of plant and animalnspecies. Check out this compilation of various tourism videosnfor great scenery and wildlife sequences as well as glimpses of poshncities and colorful culture!
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nAlsonon this date:
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nWhite Rose Day in Australia
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nAnniversarynof the first tennis championship in the U.S.
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IndependenceDay in Trinidad and Tobago
IndependenceDay in Trinidad and Tobagon
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nPlannahead:
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nHerenare my Pinterest pages on Augustnholidays, historicalnanniversaries in August,nand Augustnbirthdays.
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest pages on Septembernholidays, historicalnanniversaries in September, and Septembernbirthdays.
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