Independence Proclamation Day in Malacca Date in the current year: February 20, 2024

Malacca is a Malaysian state located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula. Its official history dates back to the early 1400s, when Parameswara (Iskandar Shah), the last king of Singapura, founded the Malacca Sultanate following the fall of his kingdom.

According to legend, Paremeswara was resting under the Malacca tree (Phyllanthus emblica, also known as amla or emblic) during a hunt when a mouse deer cornered by one of his hunting dogs pushed the dog into the river. He was impressed by the deer’s courage, saw it as an auspicious sign, and decided to found a new kingdom at that spot. Paremeswara named the kingdom after the tree that gave him shelter, and a Malacca tree and two mouse deer are now depicted on Malacca’s coat of arms.

The Malacca Sultanate grew and thrived for about a century until the arrival of the Portuguese. They conquered the city of Malacca in 1511 to gain control of trade in the region. Malacca remained a Portuguese colony until 1641, when it was conquered by the Dutch East India Company. Malacca remained under Dutch control for almost 183 years, with intermittent British occupation during the Napoleonic Wars.

The Dutch ceded Malacca to the British according to the terms of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. It was incorporated into the newly established Straits Settlements in 1826 and received the status of a Crown Colony in 1946 after the disbandment of the Straits Settlements. The Crown Colony of Malacca was soon merged into the Malayan Union that consisted of nine Malay states (Johor, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, Terengganu), Malacca, and Penang. The Malayan Union was still a British colony.

Two years later, the unpopular Malayan Union was reorganized as the Federation of Malaya, and so Malaysia’s journey towards independence began. On February 8, 1956, Malayan Chief Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and British Secretary of State for the Colonies Alan Lennox-Boyd signed the Treaty of London that provided for the independence of Malaya, scheduled for August 1957. Tunku returned to Malaya on February 20 and made the first public announcement of Malaya’s impending independence at Padan Pahlawan in Malacca.

It should be noted that Tunku Abdul Rahman’s speech was just an announcement and not a formal declaration of independence. Malaya officially declared its independence on August 31, 1957, and Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore united to becоme Malaysia on September 16, 1963.

The anniversary of Tunku Abdul Rahman’s announcement is now observed in Malacca as Independence Proclamation Day. It is a regional holiday that isn’t celebrated in other Malaysian states and territories. Other regional holidays celebrated in Malacca include the birthday of the governor of Malacca and the anniversary of the declaration of Malacca City as a historical city.