Malaysia's Past and Present: a brief history

The history of Malaysia can be traced back as early as 8000 BC when people in the land of Malaya used to be hunter-gatherer communities living mainly around rivers, water streams and coastal regions. That community developed slowly and had its first interaction with outsiders, namely India, which had influenced the local culture substantially until today.

As the community grew larger and expanded the settlements, exposure to other cultures and economic endocrines expanded as well. The community became more industrialized, agriculture boomed, trade became a main source of economic development, and politics evolved.

The people of Malaya engaged in the expanding trade activities that arrived from Europe, Arabian Peninsula, China, India and other regions. This activity brought with it new cultures, new religions, new values, new languages and has influenced the lives of the inhabitants and their cultures to this date.

Malaya’s attractive and strategic location brought  invasive forces of many colonial European civilizations like the Dutch, Portuguese, and the British, as well as the Japanese.

After the second world war, Malaya sought independence and became Malaysia in 1957 and since then, the country gained a worldwide reputation for its natural beauty and resources and became one of the most attractive destination in the world.