{{History of Malaysia}}
The '''Federation of Malaya''', or in Malay '''''Persekutuan Tanah Melayu''''', was a federation of 11 states formed in 1948 from the nine Malay_states and the British settlements of Penang and Malacca.
From 1946 to 1948, the 11 states formed a single Crown_colony known as the Malayan_Union. Due to opposition from Malay nationalists, the Union was disbanded and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the symbolic positions of the rulers of the Malay states.
Within the Federation, while the Malay states were Protectorates of the United_Kingdom, Penang and Malacca remained British colonial territories. Like the Malayan Union before it, the Federation did not include Singapore, which before this time had usually been considered to be part of '''Malaya'''.
The Federation achieved independence within the Commonwealth_of_Nations on August_31, 1957. In 1963, the federation was enlarged to form Malaysia through the admittance of Singapore, Sarawak and British_North_Borneo (which was renamed Sabah). Singapore separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic on August_9, 1965.
==See also==
* History_of_Malaysia
* Peninsular_Malaysia
Category:History_of_Malaysia
De:Föderation_Malaya
Id:Federasi_Malaya
It:Federazione_della_Malesia
Pl:Malaje