---
title: "Flag of Malaysia: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the Malaysia flag stands for, its official 1:2 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/malaysia/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of Malaysia

**The flag of Malaysia: Fourteen alternating red and white horizontal stripes with a blue canton bearing a yellow crescent and a fourteen-pointed yellow star.**

Ratio 1:2 · current design adopted 1963

The Jalur Gemilang has fourteen stripes and fourteen star points because Malaysia had fourteen states in 1963; when Singapore left in 1965 the count was kept and the fourteenth element reassigned to the federal territories. The stripe-and-canton layout is modelled on the United States flag, which the 1949 competition winner, Mohamed Hamzah, acknowledged. The result is that Malaysia is one of the flags most often mistaken for the American one in small reproductions. Yellow is specifically the colour of Malay royalty and appears for that reason.

## Flags it gets confused with

| Flag | How to tell them apart |
| --- | --- |
| United States | The US has thirteen stripes and fifty white stars; Malaysia has fourteen stripes and a yellow crescent and single star. |
| Liberia | Liberia has eleven stripes and one white star on blue. |

## What the colours mean

*Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.*

- **Red** (#CC0001) — Courage
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — Purity
- **Blue** (#010066) — The unity of the Malaysian people
- **Yellow** (#FFCC00) — The royal colour of the Malay rulers

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Fourteen stripes and fourteen star points | The thirteen states and the federal government |
| Crescent | Islam, the state religion |

- **Ratio:** 1:2
- **Current design adopted:** 1963
- **Colours:** red, white, blue, yellow

## Common questions

### What does the flag of Malaysia look like?

Fourteen alternating red and white horizontal stripes with a blue canton bearing a yellow crescent and a fourteen-pointed yellow star.

### What do the colours of the Malaysia flag mean?

Red: courage. White: purity. Blue: the unity of the Malaysian people. Yellow: the royal colour of the Malay rulers.

### How do you tell the Malaysia flag from the United States one?

The US has thirteen stripes and fifty white stars; Malaysia has fourteen stripes and a yellow crescent and single star.

### When was the Malaysia flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1963, and its official ratio is 1:2.

## Related pages

- [Malaysia](https://atoneplace.net/country/malaysia/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [Every flag with red in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/red/)
- [The flag of United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-kingdom/)
- [The flag of Canada](https://atoneplace.net/flag/canada/)
- [The flag of France](https://atoneplace.net/flag/france/)
- [The flag of China](https://atoneplace.net/flag/china/)
- [The flag of Germany](https://atoneplace.net/flag/germany/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)
- [The flag of Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/flag/mexico/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]