The Flag of Malacca consists of two horizontal bands of equal width in red and white, with a yellow crescent and five-pointed star in a blue canton. Red, white, yellow and blue – the colours of the flag of Malaysia, are used in the flag of Malacca to emphasize that Malacca is a member state of Malaysia. The star and crescent represents Islam, the official religion of the State and of the nation. This flag was adopted by the then Settlement Council on 16 July 1957 in preparation for the independence of Malaya.
History
Prior to the British rule in 1824, there was no known flag representing Malacca. The first known representation of Malacca on a flag was as one of the three crowns on the flag of the Straits Settlements in use between 1877 and 1946. Following the dissolution of the Straits Settlements and the admission of Malacca as a Crown colony within the Malayan Union, there appears to be little clarity as to what flag Malacca used between Straits Settlement dissolution in April 1946 and the eventual adoption of a blue ensign defaced by the 1951 arms.
Timeline of flags Flag Duration Political Entity Description 1868–1877 Straits Settlements Adopted as part of the Straits Settlements. 1877–1904 Straits Settlements Continued under Straits Settlements administration. 1904–1925 Straits Settlements Updated colonial flag. 1925–1942 Straits Settlements Pre-Japanese WWII administration. 1945–1946 Straits Settlements British returned post-Japan. 1946–1951 Crown Colony of Malacca Standard Union Jack for administration. 1951–1957 Crown Colony of Malacca Adopted in 1951 alongside the coat of arms granted to the settlement by a Royal Warrant of King George VI dated 14 August 1951. 1957–present Malacca State flag after Malayan independence.
References
External links Malacca State Flag in Malay Malacca State Flag in English