A Chronology Of Key Events Malaysia

A chronology of key events:

14th century - Conversion of Malays to Islam begins.

1826 - British settlements of Malacca, Penang and Singapore combine to form the Colony of Straits Settlements, from where the British extend their influence by establishing protectorates over the Malay sultanates of the peninsula.

1895 - Four Malay states combine to form the Federated Malay States.

1942-45 - Japanese occupation.

1948 - British-ruled Malayan territories unified under Federation of Malaya.

1948-60 - State of emergency to counter local communist insurgency.

1957 - Federation of Malaya becomes independent from Britain with Tunku Abdul Rahman as prime minister.

1963 - British colonies of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore join Federation of Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia.

1965 - Singapore withdraws from Malaysia, which is reduced to 13 states; communist insurgency begins in Sarawak.

1969 - Malays stage anti-Chinese riots in the context of increasing frustration over the economic success of the ethnic Chinese.

1970 - Tun Abdul Razak becomes prime minister following Abdul Rahman's resignation; forms National Front (BN) coalition.

Positive discrimination for Malays

1971 - Government introduces minimum quotas for Malays in business, education and the civil service.

1977 - Kelantan chief minister expelled from Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), triggering unrest, a national emergency and the expulsion of PAS from the BN coalition.

1978-89 - Vietnamese refugees benefit from unrestricted asylum.

1981 - Mahathir Mohamad becomes prime minister.

1989 - Local communist insurgents sign peace accord with government.

1990 - Sarawak communist insurgents sign peace accord with government.

1993 - Sultans lose legal immunity.

Financial crisis

1997 - Asian financial crisis spells end of decade of impressive economic growth.

1998 - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sacks his deputy and presumed successor, Anwar Ibrahim, on charges of sexual misconduct, against the background of differences between the two men over economic policy; Ibrahim arrested.

2000 - Ibrahim is found guilty of sodomy and sentenced to nine years in prison. This is added to the six-year jail sentence he was given in 1999 after being found guilty of corruption following a controversial trial.

2001 February - Government decides to proceed with construction of huge Bakun hydroelectric power project on island of Borneo despite serious environmental concerns.

2001 March - Dozens arrested during Malaysia's worst ethnic clashes in decades between Malays and ethnic Indians.

2001 April - Demonstrations against the Internal Security Act following the detention without trial of supporters of Anwar Ibrahim.

2001 September - Malaysia, Singapore resolve long-standing disputes, ranging from water supplies to air space. They also agree to build a new bridge and tunnel.

Mahathir bows out

2002 August - Tough new laws against illegal immigrants come into effect, providing for whipping and prison terms for offenders. Laws prompt exodus of foreign workers.

2003 October - Abdullah Ahmad Badawi takes over as prime minister as Mahathir Mohamad steps down after 22 years in office.

2004 March - Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi wins landslide general election victory.

2004 September - Former deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim freed after court overturns his sodomy conviction.

2004 December - Scores of people in Malaysia are killed in the Asian tsunami disaster. Malaysia delays planned deportations of many thousands of illegal immigrants, most of them from Indonesia.

2005 January - Malaysia, Singapore settle a bitter dispute over land reclamation work in their border waters.

2005 March - Round-up of illegal immigrants follows a four-month amnesty which sees an exodus of hundreds of thousands of illegal workers. Those remaining risk jail, a fine, or whipping.

2005 August - Acrid smoke, from forest fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, engulfs central areas and prompts a state of emergency.

2006 April - Malaysia shelves the construction of a controversial bridge to Singapore.

2006 December - 60,000 displaced by flooding in the south.

2007 January - Some 70,000 evacuated as second wave of floods hits south of country.

2007 February - Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam sign deal to protect 200,000 square kilometres of rainforest on the island of Borneo.

2007 March - US tells Malaysia it will not be able to conclude free-trade deal in summer of 2007.

2007 May - Anwar Ibrahim's Parti Keadilan Rakyat loses a bitterly contested by-election to the government. The result is seen as a blow to his efforts to revive his political career.

2007 May - Malaysian, Indonesian and Saudi Arabian partners move a step closer to building a 193 mile (310km) pipeline to bypass the Malacca Strait, so oil tankers can load crude away from the busy and often dangerous waterway.

2008 March - Elections. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's National Front coalition suffers its worst election result in decades. It loses its two thirds parliamentary majority and control of five state assemblies.

2008 July - Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is arrested over allegations of sodomy, in a move that exacerbates political tensions.

Economic downturn

2008 October - The government unveils a raft of measures to prop up the stock market and attract more foreign investment in expectation of slower growth in 2009.

2009 January - Malaysia bans the recruitment of foreign workers to protect its citizens from unemployment during the economic downturn.

2009 March - The government unveils a $16bn economic stimulus plan as it seeks to stave off a deep recession.

2009 April - Mr Badawi steps down as prime minister and is replaced by his deputy, Najib Abdul Razak.

2010 January - Religious tensions increase following a court decision allowing non-Muslims to use the word Allah to refer to God.

2010 February - Malaysia announces extradition of nine foreigners arrested on terror charges in January. Rights activists say the men are from Jordan, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen and are being held under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial.

Three Malay women are flogged for extra-marital sex in the first case of this Islamic punishment being meted out to women in the country.

2010 August - Decision by Malacca state to allow underage marriages draws criticism from women's groups.

A Chronology Of Key Events Indonesia

A chronology of key events:

1670-1900 - Dutch colonists bring the whole of Indonesia under one government as the Dutch East Indies.

1928 - A youth conference pledges to work for "one nation, one language, one people" for Indonesia.

1942 - Japan invades Dutch East Indies.

1945 - The Japanese help independence leader Sukarno return from internal exile and declare independence.

1949 - The Dutch recognise Indonesian independence after four years of guerrilla warfare.

1950s - Maluku (Moluccas) declares independence from Indonesia and fights an unsuccessful separatist war.

1962 - The Dutch agree to transfer West Papua to Indonesia after a period of UN administration.

Suharto comes to power

1965 - Failed coup: In the aftermath, hundreds of thousands of suspected Communists are killed in a purge of leftists which descends into vigilantism.

1966 - Sukarno hands over emergency powers to General Suharto, who becomes president in March 1967.

1969 - West Papua formally incorporated into Indonesia, becoming Irian Jaya Province.

1975 - Portugal grants East Timor independence.

1976 - Indonesia invades East Timor and incorporates it as a province.

1997 - Asian economic crisis: Indonesian rupiah plummets in value.

1998 - Protests and rioting topple Suharto; B J Habibie becomes president.

East Timor independence vote

1999 - Ethnic violence breaks out in Maluku. Free elections are held in Indonesia.

East Timor votes for independence in UN-sponsored referendum, after which anti-independence militia go on the rampage. East Timor comes under UN administration. Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) becomes president.

2000 - Two financial scandals dog the Wahid administration: Buloggate (embezzled funds from the state logistics agency), and Bruneigate (missing humanitarian aid funds from the Sultan of Brunei).

The corruption case against former President Suharto collapses.

Irian Jaya separatists become more vocal in demanding a referendum.

2001 - Ethnic violence in Kalimantan as indigenous Dayaks force out Madurese transmigrants. Mass political demonstrations by Wahid's supporters and opponents. IMF stops further loans citing lack of progress in tackling corruption.

Megawati sworn in

2001 July - Parliament dismisses President Wahid over allegations of corruption and incompetence. Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri is sworn in as his replacement, even as Wahid refuses to leave the presidential palace.

2002 January - Indonesia inaugurates human rights court which is expected to test government's willingness to hold the military accountable for atrocities in East Timor after the 1999 independence vote.

Irian Jaya province granted greater autonomy by Jakarta, allowed to adopt locally-preferred name of Papua.

2002 May - East Timor becomes independent.

2002 August - Constitutional changes are seen as a step towards democracy. For the first time, voters will be able to elect a president and vice president.

Bali attacks

2002 October - Bomb attack on the Kuta Beach nightclub district on Bali kills 202 people, most of them tourists.

Muslim Cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is arrested shortly after the bombings. He is accused of plotting to overthrow the government as the alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the group thought to be behind the Bali bombing.

2002 December - Government and separatist Free Aceh Movement (Gam) sign peace deal in Geneva, aimed at ending 26 years of violence. The accord provides for autonomy and free elections in the Muslim oil-rich province of Aceh; in return the Gam must disarm.

2003 May - Peace talks between government and Gam separatists break down; government mounts military offensive against Gam rebels. Martial law is imposed.

2003 August - Car bomb explodes outside the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, killing 14 people.

2003 August-October - Three Bali bombing suspects are found guilty and sentenced to death for their roles in the 2002 attacks. A fourth suspect is given life imprisonment.

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is cleared of treason but jailed for subversion and immigration offences. The subversion charge is later overturned.

2004 April - Parliamentary and local elections: Golkar party of former President Suharto wins greatest share of vote, with Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDI-P coming second.

2004 July - First-ever direct presidential elections; first round narrows field to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri.

2004 September - Car bomb attack outside Australian embassy in Jakarta kills nine, injures more than 180.

Former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wins second round of presidential elections, unseating incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri.

2004 November - End of two-year process under which 18 people were tried by Indonesian court for human rights abuses in East Timor during 1999 crisis. Only one conviction - that of militia leader Eurico Guterres - is left standing.

Tsunami; Aceh deal

2004 December - More than 220,000 people are dead or missing in Indonesia alone after a powerful undersea earthquake off Sumatra generates massive tidal waves. The waves devastate Indian Ocean communities as far afield as Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and Somalia.

2005 March - Court finds Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir guilty of conspiracy over 2002 Bali bombings, sentences him to two-and-a-half years in jail. He is freed in June 2006.

A powerful earthquake off Sumatra kills at least 1,000 people, many of them on the island of Nias. The quake triggers tsunami alerts around the Indian Ocean.

2005 August - Government and Free Aceh Movement separatists sign a peace deal providing for rebel disarmament and the withdrawal of government soldiers from the province. Rebels begin handing in weapons in September; government completes troop pull-out in December.

2005 September - Airliner crashes on take-off from Sumatran city of Medan, killing more than 100 passengers and around 50 people on the ground.

2005 October - Three suicide bombings on the resort island of Bali kill 23 people, including the bombers.

2006 January - East Timorese report accuses Indonesia of widespread atrocities during its 24-year occupation, holding it responsible for the deaths of more than 100,000 people.

2006 February-March - Deadly protests at a major US-owned gold and copper mine in Papua province follow attempts to remove illegal prospectors from the site.

2006 May - A powerful earthquake kills thousands of people on Java.

2006 July - A tsunami, triggered by a large undersea earthquake, kills more than 500 people on Java.

2006 December - First direct elections held in Aceh province, consolidating the August 2005 peace accord. Former separatist rebel leader Irwandi Yusuf elected governor.

Counter-terror campaign

2007 June - Police capture the alleged head of the militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI), Zarkasih, and the leader of the group's military wing, Abu Dujana.

2007 August - Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir holds international conference in Jakarta calling for creation of single state or caliphate across Muslim world.

2007 December - Alleged JI leader Zarkasih goes on trial in Jakarta.

2008 January - Former President Suharto dies.

2008 July - Final report by joint Indonesian-East Timorese Truth Commission blames Indonesia for the human rights violations in the run-up to East Timor's independence in 1999 and urges it to apologise. President Yudhoyono expresses "deep regret" but stops short of an apology.

2008 November - Three Islamic militants convicted of carrying out the 2002 Bali bombings are executed.

2009 April - President Yudhoyono's Democrat Party increases its vote in parliamentary elections, making it the strongest party in terms of forming a viable coalition.

2009 July - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wins re-election.

Twin suicide bomb attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta kill nine people and injure scores of others.

Pressure mounts on militants

2009 September - Police shoot dead Indonesia's most-wanted Islamist militant Noordin Mohammad Top, thought to be responsible for a series of deadly attacks across the archipelago.

2010 February-March - Several suspected militants are arrested in series of raids on alleged training camps of groups thought to be linked to Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in Aceh province. Fourteen men are charged with plotting to launch terrorist attacks.

2010 March - Police shoot dead Dulmatin - an alleged leading member of JI and the last main suspect in the 2002 Bali bombings still at large - during a raid on a Jakarta internet cafe.