The creation of Malaysia was the amalgamation of the Federation of Malaya ( now West Malaysia ) , Singapore and the crown colony/British protectorates of North Borneo and Sarawak ( collectively known as British Borneo , now East Malaysia ) in September 1963 .

Indonesia 's campaign Military_operation of infiltrations Attack into Borneo sought to exploit the ethnic and religious diversity in Sabah and Sarawak compared to that of Malaya and Singapore , with the intent of unraveling Resolve_problem the proposed Creating state of Malaysia .

While Commonwealth conferences were normally held Hold biennially , this conference was held Hold after an interval of only a year as the May 1960 conference due to disagreement Agree_or_refuse_to_act over South Africa and whether the country should be removed Removing from the Commonwealth due to its policy of racial segregation Removing with Malaya 's Prime Minister demanding Request South Africa 's expulsion .

South Africa 's application was opposed Agree_or_refuse_to_act by the leaders of African states under black majority rule , as well as Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru , Malaya 's Tunku Abdul Rahman , and the other non-white Commonwealth countries as well as Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker due to South Africa 's policy of apartheid .

`` Kuma '' was being escorted Patrolling by the destroyer about north-west of Penang , Malaya .

However , it is more widely accepted Receiving that the Pacific War itself began Process_start on 7/8 December 1941 , when the Japanese invaded Attack Thailand and attacked Attack the British colonies of Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong as well as the United States military and naval bases in Hawaii , Wake Island , Guam , and the Philippines .

The Kazan gas explosion occurred Presence on January 9 , 2008 , destroying Destroying an entire corner of a three-story khrushchyovka-style apartment building on Malaya Pechyorskaya Street in the Aviastroitelny District of Kazan , Tatarstan , Russia .

Malaya 's prime minister , Tunku Abdul Rahman and his government vigorously opposed Agree_or_refuse_to_act the apartheid policies of South Africa and , with the support Supporting of Pakistan , India and Ghana , demanded Request that the issue be addressed Resolve_problem by the Commonwealth .

New Zealand could not do much more—its meagre military resources were already stretched Body_movement in Malaya and conscription was out of the question .

During World War II , Operation Zipper was a British plan to capture Arrest either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson , Malaya as staging areas for the recapture of Singapore in Operation Mailfist .

Two Allied fleets set Self_motion sail from Rangoon , with the Royal Navy 's Task Force 11 headed for Penang under Operation Jurist , while the larger British and French fleet sailing on to Singapore under Operation Tiderace. < ref name= '' JAPANESE SIGN THE SURRENDER OF PENANG ABOARD HMS NELSON ( 3/9/1945 ) '' > < /ref > The earlier liberation of Penang was intended to test Testing Japanese intentions as a prelude to the eventual recapture of Singapore and the rest of Malaya .