The Federal Territories ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan) in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
comprise three territories—
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
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,
Labuan
Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capit ...
, and
Putrajaya
Putrajaya (), officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya), is a planned capital city which functions as the administrative capital and the judicial capital of Malaysia. The seat of the federal government ...
—governed directly by the
Federal Government of Malaysia
The Government of Malaysia, officially the Federal Government of Malaysia ( ms, Kerajaan Persekutuan Malaysia), is based in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya with the exception of the legislative branch, which is located in Kuala Lumpur. Malays ...
. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital of Malaysia, Putrajaya is the administrative capital, and Labuan is an offshore international financial centre. Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya are
enclaves
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
in the state of
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
, while Labuan is an island off the coast of
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
.
Administrations
The territories fall under the jurisdiction of the
Ministry for the Federal Territories. Originally the Federal Territory Ministry was established in 1979 and was in charge of planning and administration of Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley. In 1981, the FT Ministry has been re-established under the Prime Minister's Office which acts as the Planning Unit of Klang Valley. In 2004, FT Ministry is then again formed into a full-fledged ministry which focuses on the development of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.
History
The federal territories were originally part of two states -
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
and
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
. 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
The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...
(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
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
). 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
This is a list of ethnic riots by country, and includes riots based on ethnic, sectarian, xenophobic, and racial conflict. Some of these riots can also be classified as pogroms.
Africa
Americas
United States
Nativist period: 1700sâ ...
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 1 February 1974, the
Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Agreement was signed, and Kuala Lumpur became the first federal territory of Malaysia.
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 lost representation in the
Selangor State Legislative Assembly
The Selangor State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Negeri Selangor) is the unicameral state legislature of the Malaysian state of Selangor. The State Assembly is composed of 56 members representing single-member constituencies throughout the sta ...
and could only vote for representation in the
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia ( ms, Parlimen Malaysia) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, Literal translation, lit. "People's A ...
.
Labuan, an island off coast of mainland Sabah, was chosen by the federal government for development into an
offshore financial centre
An offshore financial centre (OFC) is defined as a "country or jurisdiction that provides financial services to nonresidents on a scale that is incommensurate with the size and the financing of its domestic economy."
"Offshore" does not refer ...
. Labuan became the second federal territory in 16 April 1984.
Putrajaya is a
planned city
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
, designed to replace Kuala Lumpur as the seat of the federal government. Sultan Salahuddin, who was serving as the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...
at that time, was asked again to cede land to the federal government. Putrajaya became the third federal territory on 1 February 2001.
In the recent years, efforts were made to forge a common identity for the three federal territories. A
flag of Federal Territory
The flag of the Federal Territories of Malaysia consists of three horizontal bars of yellow, blue, and red, with the coat of arms of Malaysia in the middle. It was officially adopted on 23 May 2006.
History
Prior to the adoption of the fla ...
was introduced to represent the federal territories as a whole. During the 2006
Sukma Games
The Sukma Games ( ms, Sukan Malaysia, lit.: Malaysian Games) is a biennial national multi-sport event involving young athletes from Malaysian 13 member states and the Federal territory. The games is regulated by the National Sports Council of M ...
in
Kedah
Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...
, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya merged into the unified contingent of Federal Territories.
Symbols
Maju dan Sejahtera () is the official anthem of the Federal Territories.
Apart from the flag of Federal Territories, each federal territory has its own individual flag.
Image:Flag of Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.svg, Flag of Kuala Lumpur
The flag of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was officially adopted on 14 May 1990 to commemorate the ''Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur'' (DBKL) or Kuala Lumpur City Hall's 100 years as the local authority of Kuala Lumpur. The flag was designed as a variant t ...
Image:Flag of Labuan.svg, Flag of Labuan
Image:Flag of Putrajaya.svg, Flag of Putrajaya
Sports
Sport activities in all the three Federal Territories are governed and coordinated by the Federal Territory Sports Council ( ms, Majlis Sukan Wilayah Persekutuan, WIPERS), a federal statutory body.
Holidays
In addition to Federal public holidays, all three Federal Territories celebrates Federal Territory Day. Labuan, with a significant
Kadazan-Dusun
Kadazan-Dusun (also written as Kadazandusun or Mamasok Kadazan-Dusun) also less-known as "Mamasok Sabah" are two indigenous peoples of Sabah, Malaysia—the ethnic groups Kadazan and Dusun. The Kadazandusun is the largest native group of Bumip ...
community, celebrates
Kaamatan
Kaamatan or Pesta Kaamatan is a form of harvest festival celebrated on 30 and 31 of May annually in the state of Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan in Malaysia. It is normally celebrated by the ethnic Kadazan-Dusuns, as well as by other ...
with the neighbouring state of Sabah.
Federal Parliament Seats
List of Federal Territories representatives in the Federal Parliament (Dewan Rakyat) since the
15th general election:
References
External links
Malaysian Ministry of Federal Territories
{{States and Federal Territories of Malaysia