Flag anthem

The Jalur Gemilang flag anthem was introduced in 1997. The lyrics were written by Pak Ngah.

Original lyrics

Merahmu bara semangat waja

Putihmu bersih budi pekerti

Kuning berdaulat payung negara

Biru perpaduan kami semua

Puncak dunia telah kautawan

Lautan luas telah kauredah

Membawa semangat jiwa Merdeka

Semarak jaya kami warganya

Empat belas melintang jalurnya

Semua negeri dalam Malaysia

Satu suara satu semangat

Itu sumpah warga berdaulat

Jalur Gemilang di bawah naunganmu

Jalur Gemilang kami semua bersatu

Perpaduan ketaatan

Amalan murni rakyat Malaysia

Jalur Gemilang megah kami terasa

Jalur Gemilang kibarkanlah wawasan

Merah, putih, biru, kuning

Jalur semangat kami semua

(3x)

Berkibarlah!, berkibarlah!, berkibarlah!,

Jalur Gemilang!

English translation

Your Red represents steely will

Your White represents clean and kind character

Yellow of the Sovereign, the country's protector

Blue for all of us in unity

You have reached the heights of the world

You have traveled the wide waters

Bearing the spirit of independence

We are members of its successful will

Fourteen stripes across

For each of the states of Malaysia

One voice, one spirit

So its sovereign citizens solemnly swear

Jalur Gemilang, beneath your care

Jalur Gemilang, we unite

Sovereign unity

Malaysian citizens' good charity

Jalur Gemilang, how proud we feel

Jalur Gemilang, proclaim our vision

Red, white, blue, yellow

Are the stripes of our resolve

Flutter-on, flutter-on, flutter-on

Jalur Gemilang!

Other ensigns and flags

Government vessels use the Jalur Gemilang as the state ensign. The following is a table of the other ensigns used in Malaysia.

Flag	Type	Description	Flag ratio
	Civil ensign	The civil ensign of Malaysia used by civilian vessels has a red background with the Jalur Gemilang in a blue-fimbriated Fimbriation In heraldry and vexillology, fimbriation refers to small stripes of colour placed around common charges or ordinaries, usually in order for them to stand out from the background, but perhaps just because the designer felt it looked better, or for a more technical reason to avoid what would...  canton.	1:2
	Army ensign	The flag used by the Army of Malaysia Malaysian Army The Malaysian Army is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ as do the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Navy...  has a red background with the Jalur Gemilang in the canton and the army emblem in the fly.	1:2
	Naval ensign	The flag used by the Royal Malaysian Navy Royal Malaysian Navy The Royal Malaysian Navy is the naval arm of Malaysian Armed Forces. All commissioned ships of the RMN have the prefix KD , which means Royal Ship.-Straits Settlement Naval Volunteer Reserve:...  has a white background with the Jalur Gemilang in a red-fimbriated canton and an emblem consisting of an anchor and two crossed traditional kris Kris The kris or keris is an asymmetrical dagger or sword nowadays most strongly associated with the culture of Indonesia, but also indigenous to Malaysia, Southern Thailand and Brunei. It is known as kalis in the southern Philippines. The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade , but many have... (daggers) in the fly. Naval ships of the Royal Malaysian Navy use this flag as the naval ensign.	1:2
	Air Force ensign	The flag used by the Royal Malaysian Air Force has a pale blue background with the Jalur Gemilang in the canton and the Bintang Persekutuan (14-point star) in the fly.	1:2
	Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency blue ensign	The flag used by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency , the Malaysian Coast Guard version, is the principal government agency tasked with maintaining law and order and coordinating search and rescue operations in the Malaysian Maritime Zone and on the high seas. It is in effect the Coast Guard of Malaysia...  has a dark blue background with the Jalur Gemilang in the canton and the logo of the agency in the fly.	1:2

Federal Star (Bintang Persekutuan)

The Federal Star, which is similar in concept of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

's Commonwealth Star

Commonwealth Star

The Commonwealth Star is a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia which came into force on 1 January 1901....

, represents the close federation of the States of Malaysia and its Federal government. It is also used on the Royal Malaysian Air Force roundel

Roundel

A roundel in heraldry is a disc; the term is also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of different colours.-Heraldry:...

, the Malaysian Chinese Association

Malaysian Chinese Association

Malaysian Chinese Association is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that represents the Malaysian Chinese ethnicity; it is one of the three major component parties of the ruling coalition in Malaysia called the Barisan Nasional in Malay, or National Front in English.Along with the largest...

 (MCA) flag and the former United Malayan Banking Corporation

RHB Bank

RHB Bank Berhad is a bank based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It specializes in commercial banking, corporate and investment banking and international banking services...

 (UMBC) logo.

Similar flags

The flag of Malaysia is very similar to the flag of the United States

Flag of the United States

The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...

, which has one less stripe and 50 stars in the Blue Canton. However, the Malaysian flag is based on the flag of the British East India Company

East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

; which, in turn, may have influenced the US flag. Because of this, flags based off the US flag, such as those of Liberia

Flag of Liberia

The Liberian flag bears close resemblance to the flag of the United States, showing the ex-American slave origins of the country. The Liberian flag has similar red and white stripes, as well as a blue square with a white star in the canton.- Symbolism :...

 and Bikini Atoll

Flag of Bikini Atoll

The flag of Bikini Atoll, a member of the Marshall Islands, is a flag closely resembling the flag of the United States and was adopted in 1987. The flag is symbolic of the islanders' belief that a great debt is still owed by the United States to the people of Bikini because in 1954 the United...

, also bear a resemblance to the flag of Malaysia.

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