<P> Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country located on a strategic sea - lane that exposes it to global trade and foreign culture . An early western account of the area is seen in Ptolemy's book Geographia, which mentions a "Golden Khersonese," now identified as the Malay Peninsula . Hinduism and Buddhism from India and China dominated early regional history, reaching their peak during the reign of the Sumatra - based Srivijaya civilisation, whose influence extended through Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula and much of Borneo from the 7th to the 13th centuries . </P> <P> Although Muslims had passed through the Malay Peninsula as early as the 10th century, it was not until the 14th century that Islam first firmly established itself . The adoption of Islam in the 14th century saw the rise of a number of sultanates, the most prominent of which was the Sultanate of Malacca . Islam had a profound influence on the Malay people, but has also been influenced by them . The Portuguese were the first European colonial powers to establish themselves on the Malay Peninsula and Southeast Asia, capturing Malacca in 1511, followed by the Dutch in 1641 . However, it was the British who, after initially establishing bases at Jesselton, Kuching, Penang and Singapore, ultimately secured their hegemony across the territory that is now Malaysia . The Anglo - Dutch Treaty of 1824 defined the boundaries between British Malaya and the Netherlands East Indies (which became Indonesia). A fourth phase of foreign influence was immigration of Chinese and Indian workers to meet the needs of the colonial economy created by the British in the Malay Peninsula and Borneo . </P> <P> Japanese invasion during World War II ended British domination in Malaysia . The subsequent occupation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak from 1942 to 1945 unleashed nationalism . In the Peninsula, the Malayan Communist Party took up arms against the British . A tough military response was needed to end the insurgency and bring about the establishment of an independent, multi-racial Federation of Malaya on 31 August 1957 . On 22 July 1963, Sarawak was granted a self - governance . The following month on 31 August 1963, both North Borneo and Singapore were also granted self - governance and all states began to formed Malaysia on 16 September 1963 . Approximately two years later, the Malaysian parliament passed a bill without the consent of signatory of Malaysia Agreement 1963 to separate Singapore from the Federation . A confrontation with Indonesia occurred in the early - 1960s . Race riots in 1969 led to the imposition of emergency rule, and a curtailment of political life and civil liberties which has never been fully reversed . Since 1970 the "Barisan Nasional coalition" headed by United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) has governed Malaysia until the </P> <P> Stone hand - axes from early hominoids, probably Homo erectus, have been unearthed in Lenggong . They date back 1.83 million years, the oldest evidence of hominid habitation in Southeast Asia . The earliest evidence of modern human habitation in Malaysia is the 40,000 - year - old skull excavated from the Niah Caves in today's Sarawak, nicknamed "Deep Skull". It was excavated from a deep trench uncovered by Barbara and Tom Harrisson (a British ethnologist) in 1958 . this is also the oldest modern human skull in Southeast Asia . The skull probably belongs to a 16 - to 17 - year - old adolescent girl . The first foragers visited the West Mouth of Niah Caves (located 110 kilometres (68 mi) southwest of Miri) 40,000 years ago when Borneo was connected to the mainland of Southeast Asia . The landscape around the Niah Caves was drier and more exposed than it is now . Prehistorically, the Niah Caves were surrounded by a combination of closed forests with bush, parkland, swamps, and rivers . The foragers were able to survive in the rainforest through hunting, fishing, and gathering molluscs and edible plants . Mesolithic and Neolithic burial sites have also been found in the area . The area around the Niah Caves has been designated the Niah National Park . </P>

When did malaysia gain independence from great britain