Proclamation Of Malaysia, The Nation's Very Own "Birth Certificate"

Proclamation of Malaysia

On 16 September 1963, Malaysia was born as a new federation, bringing together the Federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. According to Arkib Negara Malaysia, the Malaysia proclamation ceremony was held at Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, on 16 September 1963, where Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra read the proclamation before more than 30,000 people.

The original Proclamation of Malaysia measures 74.5 by 50 centimetres. A recent account by Yap Kok Sun, the senior technician who worked on the document, records that specially selected parchment was imported from the United Kingdom for its durability, so that the proclamation could endure for generations.

The document exists in three versions: English, Malay in Jawi and Malay in Roman script, all preserved at the National Archives. More than six decades later, the Proclamation of Malaysia stands as the nation’s very own “birth certificate”, solemnly declaring to the world: “Malaysia is born!”

A Document Of Skin And Ink

As a designer, I am drawn first to the physical document itself. The Proclamation of Malaysia was not an ordinary piece of official paperwork. Its borders, lettering and decorative elements were designed by Yap Kok Sun, a senior technician with the former Department of Survey, whose contribution to the document has been preserved through Arkib Negara Malaysia's Oral History Programme.

The New Straits Times reported in July 2026 that Yap designed the decorative borders and calligraphy for the Proclamation of Malaysia. Looking at the document today, I am struck by the elaborate borders, formal lettering and careful balance between ornament and text. The composition has the presence of an illuminated manuscript, giving the words a visual dignity equal to the occasion they record. There is also something deeply human in the lettering. It carries the presence of the hand rather than the sterile precision of modern printing.

To my eye, the visual style intriguingly carries echoes of Art Nouveau. The symmetry of the elements within the borders, the rhythmic repetition of floral forms and the flowing vegetal curves recall the organic ornament of fin-de-siècle Europe. In the English version, however, the calligraphic lettering lends the design an almost medieval character. Framed by dense ornament, the text has the presence of an illuminated manuscript, as if the proclamation belonged to an older tradition of important words being written, decorated and preserved by hand.

Words That Formed A Nation

The words themselves are remarkably direct. The Proclamation refers to the agreement made on 9 July 1963 between the Federation of Malaya, the United Kingdom, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore. It declares that Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore would be federated with the Federation of Malaya, and that the federation would thereafter be called Malaysia.

It goes on to affirm the Constitution of Malaysia as the supreme law, safeguarding the rights and prerogatives of the Rulers, the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people, and the peace and harmony of the new federation. Malaysia, it declares, would be a constitutional monarchy based on parliamentary democracy. Arkib Negara Malaysia reproduces the full text of the Proclamation in its historical record of the formation of Malaysia.

At its heart is a declaration of what Malaysia was intended to be: “...an independent and sovereign democratic State founded upon liberty and justice, ever seeking to defend and uphold peace and harmony among its peoples and to perpetuate peace among nations.”

The Proclamation names the fourteen states that made up Malaysia at its formation: Pahang, Trengganu, Kedah, Johore, Negri Sembilan, Kelantan, Selangor, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Malacca, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak.

It then declares Malaysia an independent and sovereign democratic state, founded upon liberty and justice and committed to peace and harmony among its peoples and among the nations of the world. The words are constitutional in form, but they also carry the optimism of a country setting out its hopes for the future.

The Proclamation was made at Kuala Lumpur on 16 September 1963, with Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, making the declaration with the concurrence and approval of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the constitutional heads of the states concerned.

A Country Comes Together

The creation of Malaysia was neither simple nor hurried. The idea had been publicly proposed by Tunku Abdul Rahman on 27 May 1961, when he spoke at a luncheon held by the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of Southeast Asia at the Adelphi Hotel in Singapore. According to Arkib Negara Malaysia, he spoke of the need for closer political understanding between the Federation of Malaya and territories including Singapore, Brunei, North Borneo and Sarawak.

What followed was more than two years of discussions, negotiations, investigations and consultations. The Cobbold Commission was established to ascertain the views of the people of North Borneo and Sarawak. The Malaysia Agreement was eventually signed in London on 9 July 1963.

Arkib Negara Malaysia notes that Tunku Abdul Rahman had originally hoped Malaysia could be established on 31 August 1963, the sixth anniversary of Malaya’s independence. Opposition from Indonesia and the Philippines meant that the date had to be postponed while further steps were taken, including the United Nations assessment of public opinion in North Borneo and Sarawak. Malaysia finally came into being on 16 September 1963.

Brunei, which had been considered as part of the proposed federation, ultimately did not join.

So when Malaysia finally came into being, it represented the culmination of years of discussion, negotiation and constitutional preparation. The Proclamation gave that complicated process a single, solemn voice.

The Joyous Celebrations

The celebrations of 16 September stretched across the territories that were becoming Malaysia. In Kuala Lumpur, Stadium Merdeka became the setting for the reading of the Proclamation. According to Arkib Negara Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra read the proclamation there on 16 September 1963, before thousands of people.

The contemporary press captured the atmosphere of that extraordinary day. The Straits Times, in its 17 September 1963 edition, carried the headline: “HAIL MALAYSIA!” Beneath it came the words: “Midnight, and the new nation is born.” The newspaper described intermittent cracker-firing at midnight and crowds filling the decorated streets as people across the new federation stayed up to welcome the arrival of Malaysia.

Across the sea in Sarawak, The Borneo Post reported on 16 September 1963 that thousands gathered at Padang Merdeka in Kuching to witness the celebrations, while Governor Sir Alexander Waddell read the Proclamation. In Jesselton, the Sabah Times described flotillas of boats festooned with bunting and reported that the Proclamation was read in English, Malay and Kadazan. In Singapore, The Straits Times carried images of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew leading his people in the celebrations.

Newspapers spoke of fireworks, parades and 21-gun salutes. For the people who witnessed them, these were moments of celebration and anticipation. For us, more than six decades later, they have become history. Looking at those newspapers today, what strikes me most is how history is born in such moments, before time turns them into memories we inherit.

The Proclamation itself remained after the celebrations had ended. Today, it rests in the vaults of Arkib Negara Malaysia, a fragile witness to the birth of a nation and, in the words of this story, its very own “birth certificate”.

Every year, Hari Malaysia is marked with flags and fireworks. Yet at the heart of it all, in a secure vault in Arkib Negara, rests these remarkable documents carrying the words that gave the birth of Malaysia a formal voice.

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Proclamation of Malaysia

Proclamation of Malaysia, 16 September 1963. Source: Perdana Leadership Foundation Library.

The Proclamation of Malaysia, 16 September 1963

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Praise be to God, the Lord of the Universe, and may the benediction and peace of God be upon Our Leader Muhammad and upon all His Relations and Friends.

WHEREAS by an Agreement made on the Ninth day of July in the year one thousand nine hundred and sixty-three between the Federation of Malaya, the United Kingdom, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore it was agreed that there shall be federated the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore with the Federation of Malaya comprising the States of Pahang, Trengganu, Kedah, Johore, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak, Perlis, Penang and Malacca, and that the Federation shall thereafter be called “Malaysia”;

AND WHEREAS the parties to the said Agreement have agreed that from the establishment of Malaysia, the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore shall cease to be colonies of Her Majesty the Queen and Her Majesty the Queen shall no longer have sovereignty and jurisdiction over those three States;

AND WHEREAS the Constitution of Malaysia has been established to be the supreme law of Malaysia;

AND WHEREAS the said Constitution has made provision for the security of the rights and prerogatives of Their Highnesses the Rulers and for the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people and for the promotion of peace and harmony within Malaysia as a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy;

AND WHEREAS the said Constitution has been brought into force by legislation passed by the Parliament of the Federation of Malaya and the Parliament of the United Kingdom on the Sixteenth day of September in the year one thousand nine hundred and sixty-three;

NOW THEREFORE I, TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN PUTRA AL-HAJ IBNI ALMARHUM SULTAN ABDUL HAMID HALIM SHAH, Prime Minister of Malaysia, with the concurrence and approval of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, His Excellency the Yang di-Pertuan Negara of Singapore, His Excellency the Yang di-Pertua Negara of Sabah and His Excellency the Governor of Sarawak, do hereby declare and proclaim on behalf of the people of Malaysia that with effect from the Sixteenth day of September in the year one thousand nine hundred and sixty-three corresponding to the Twenty-eighth day of the month of Rabiulakhir in the year one thousand three hundred and eighty-three of the Hijra, Malaysia comprising the States of Pahang, Trengganu, Kedah, Johore, Negri Sembilan, Kelantan, Selangor, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Malacca, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak shall by the Grace of God, the Lord of the Universe, forever be an independent and sovereign democratic State founded upon liberty and justice, ever seeking to defend and uphold peace and harmony among its peoples and to perpetuate peace among nations.

Signed at Kuala Lumpur, this Sixteenth day of September, 1963.
(signed)
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Prime Minister of Malaysia