Malaysia was formed from the combination of several states of Malaya. States in Malaya were colonized by several countries during the colonial era. The figure above shows the countries that had invaded Malaya which was then known as Malaysia. However, after resistance occurred throughout the Malayan spirit and a strong spirit of struggle, it was finally obtained independence for the peninsula in 1957 (31st August) under the name of the Federation of Malaya. New federal created under the name of Malaysia on 16 September 1963 through the unification of Federation of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo (later renamed Sabah) and Sarawak.