Understanding the Federation of Malaysia

You may well know that Malaysia is a federation. Our country is made up of 13 individual states, forming a federation of states known as the Federation of Malaysia.

But what is a federation? A federation is a geopolitical entity in which smaller entities, such as territories or states, come together to form a bigger entity. A ‘federal’ government will govern this bigger entity, while the smaller entities will retain jurisdiction to enact laws and govern in certain defined areas.