Federal Territories (Malaysia) - History

History

The federal territories were originally part of two states - Selangor and Sabah. Both Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya were part of Selangor, while Labuan was part of Sabah.

Kuala Lumpur, the state capital of Selangor, became the national capital of the Federation of Malaya (and later Malaysia) in 1948. Since independence in 1957, the federal as well as the Selangor state ruling party had been the Alliance (later the Barisan Nasional). However, in the 1969 elections the Alliance, while retaining control of the federal government, lost its majority in Selangor to the opposition. The same election also resulted in a major race riot in Kuala Lumpur.

It was realised that if Kuala Lumpur remained part of Selangor, clashes between the federal and the Selangor state government might arise when they are controlled by different parties. The solution was to separate Kuala Lumpur from the state and place it under direct federal rule. On February 1, 1974, Kuala Lumpur became the first federal territory of Malaysia. The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Salahuddin cried after signing the cession agreement as he was very fond and proud of the city.

The cession of Kuala Lumpur had the effect of securing the Selangor state government for the Barisan Nasional until the 2008 general election. The separation of Kuala Lumpur meant that Kuala Lumpur voters, who tend to vote for the opposition, lost representation in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly and could only vote for representation in the Parliament of Malaysia.

Labuan, an island off coast of mainland Sabah, was chosen by the federal government for development into an offshore financial centre. Labuan became the second federal territory in 1984.

Putrajaya is a planned city, designed to replace Kuala Lumpur as the seat of the federal government. Sultan Salahuddin of Selangor was asked again to cede land to the federal government. Putrajaya became the third federal territory on February 1, 2001.

In the recent years, efforts were made to forge a common identity for the three federal territories. A flag of Federal Territory was introduced to represent the federal territories as a whole. During the 2006 Sukma Games in Kedah, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya merged into the unified contingent of Federal Territories.