Malaya (Joan of What?)

Malaya, officially the United Republics of Malaya (: Republik Bersatu Melayu), is a federal constitutional republic located in Southeast Asia. It consists of five federal republics and has a total landmass of 1.48 million square kilometres. The political centre of the country,, shares a land and maritime border with , and maritime borders with and. The capital city and seat of government is Kuala Lumpur. With a population of almost 140 million, Malaya is among the most populous countries in the world, and is the most populous Muslim-majority country in the world. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaya. Located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species.

Malaya has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the, and later , Empires. The first British/Cygnian territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming Cygnian protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaya were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Less than a month later, Borneo and Sulawesi were granted independence; both voted to join the Federation of Malaya. A was held in January 1958, and a new constitution adopted, reconstituting the newly-expanded nation as a union of federated republics. The pre-existing Federation of Malaya became the central political hub of the country, and was renamed Semenanjung (literally "Peninsula"). Borneo and Sulawesi became separate republics within the union. In 1962, the Alexandrines also voted to unify with Malaya following its own independence, becoming the Federal Republic of the Alexandrines within Malaya.

The country is multi-ethnic and is ethnically diverse. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with large minorities of Malayan Chinese, Malayan Indians, Malayan Alexandrinos and indigenous peoples; Alexandrinos make up the majority within the Alexandrines. The constitution allows for freedom of religion, although the majority of the population follows Sunni Islam. Malaya is led federally by a democratically elected, who serves as both the head of state and government of Malaya. The lead the numerous federal republics, and also act as advisors to the President.

Since its independence and unification, Malaya has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6.5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism. Today, Malaya has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia and 29th largest in the world. It is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the East Asia Summit and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and a member of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement.