Half a century ago, a glorious vision of a new Malaya; a country with people from a multitude of cultural and racial backgrounds becoming a nation that would shape its own destiny prompted a forthright bid for independence.

Malaysia has never looked back since. For fifty years of being independent, the country has made tremendous strides towards economic progress and prosperity. Malaysians had never been in doubt that their country would prosper, and in five decades, it has come to occupy a special place in the region and rest of the world.

The 31st of August 2007 marks the golden anniversary of this spectacular journey. Malaysia celebrates its 50th National Day. To mark this auspicious occasion and milestone in the history of Malaysia, the National Day celebrations are being observed on a grand scale throughout the country.

Exhibitions depicting Malaysian history, fireworks displays, open-air concerts, parades in every city, with the grandest one of them all in the proud capital, Kuala Lumpur, graced by the King and Queen of Malaysia, are all part of this splendid celebration.

The Malaysian authorities have spared no effort to share this illustrious moment of their history with their neighbours and the rest of the world, with Tourism Malaysia launching a high profile, sustained campaign with travel packages and offers galore, inviting visitors from Asia and all over the world to come and celebrate this special milestone with them.

Phuket, as a province of Thailand that lies very close to Malaysia, shares a very special relationship with the country. On the occasion of Malaysia's 50 years of Nationhood, Alan Morison chronicles the changes over the years, and brings to light some of the very special links between Phuket and Malaysia.

Malaysia truly . . .
Love, war, money and religion link Phuket to Malaysia, which is celebrating its 50th birthday.

By Alan Morison

MALAYSIA was my first destination in Asia. In 1972, the concept of international travel for everyone was in its infancy, and Asia lay close to bottom of the list of must-see continents.

After a one-night stopover in Kuala Lumpur, my flight was supposed to continue on to London. But it was a charter flight – a primitive precursor to the low-cost budget global travel of today.

The aircraft had mechanical problems, the charter company went hunting but failed to track down a replacement plane, and so we were stuck in KL . . . for five long, steamy days and nights.

One young mother on the stalled flight, travelling with a six-month-old baby, undertook the long journey from Australia with less than $10 in cash. Other passengers had to help her out.

KL then was dusty and dirty, full of street vendors and bad smells and with little to excite the imagination. The concierge at the two-star hotel sidled up and asked if we wanted the company of local girls after dark.

I bought a no-name cassette tape player from a street vendor. A few days after arriving in London, then the most exciting city in the world, the player stopped working.

I unscrewed the casing and discovered that its most important moving part, a large rubber band, had perished.

THAT WAS Malaysia then. Malaysia now, celebrating its 50th birthday on August 31, is a vastly different place, reborn on decades of admirably steady and stable progress.

In a turn-around tinged with irony (for me at least) it's now a leader in low-cost international flights and accommodation, through the Air Asia and Tunes hotels brands.

Air Asia is helping to open tourism within the region and the benefits mostly flow back to Malaysia.

The Tunes concept, where guests pay for and keep towels or any extra products they need (except for the king-size bed), is likely to bring imitators and revolutionize budget travel.

So although I suspect the concierges at two-star hotels remain much the same, perhaps rubber bands are no longer found in Malaysian music players.

The Phuket-Malaysia connection

There's a lot to bond the Thailand and Malaysia, with Phuket's own links to Malaysia even stronger.

The connection goes way, way back – the name Phuket is believed to have sprung from the Malay word "bukit," meaning mountain.

These days, as a rival for tourism and foreign investment, Malaysia gives Thailand a consistent headache.

While Thailand has been restrained under a coup government, Malaysia has been enjoying a bumper year for tourism, aiming to top 20 million visitors.

Because expats can own land, Malaysia is an attractive destination for retirees, too, with some large Dubai-style projects underway.

A colonial background has also given most Malaysians a better grasp of spoken English.

Not many Thais are going to say that a period of foreign occupation would have been a good thing, but better English language skills? Yes, that would help.

On the money side, the huge $2.42 billion Trans Thai Malaysia Gas Pipeline is due eventually to run 255 kilometres across the south, from the Gulf of Thailand to the west coast, a cooperative venture between Thailand and Malaysia.

There has been concern about this project, about its environmental effects and the possible dangers of terrorism, but this is a birthday party, so let's not dwell on this.

MUCH, MUCH nicer to talk of love . . . and it's hard to beat the story of how Phuket got its white beaches, thanks to a Malay princess whose heirs now live in Kamala.

Sirinthara Yayee is a university student and the seventh generation descendant of Princess Mahsuri.

Legend has it that the lovely princess was executed for committing adultery, that her blood flowed white and pure and formed Phuket's beaches, and that her young family fled to the Thai island, where the lineage flourished.

The Malaysian Government investigated and was satisfied that indeed Khun Sirinthara is of royal blood and descended from the Malayan princess.

Khun Sirinthara has paid official visits to Langkawi, where the good citizens were relieved to have Princess Mahsuri's curse of seven generations lifted.

"My family and I were invited to meet the Sultan of Kedare State and his wife," says the down-to-earth royal descendant, at home in Kamala.

So now we know that Phuket has Malaya and a tale of bitter love to thank for its white beaches . . .

But even if the curse is lifted, there's no way Phuket is going to give back its white sand.

THE LINKS between Phuket and Malaysia are clearly long-standing and intense, with refugees and revolutionaries moving both ways.

It was on the island that peace talks were held in the 1980s to finally settle the longstanding Communist insurgency in Malaya.

At the time of the party's dissolution in 1987, more Thais than Malays were among the communist ranks.

And the Muslim connection is perhaps the strongest and most enduring link of all. Phuket, with 51 mosques and about 25 percent of local residents of Islamic faith, shares Malaysia's main religion.

"We have a very good relationship with each other," says Bamrung Sampaorat, President of the Phuket Islamic Committee and President of the Phuket Muslim Education Foundation.

In his office is a miniature of KL's Petronas Twin Towers, a souvenir of a visit to Malaysia.

"Their society is good, they work so hard," he says, adding that the way Malaysians provide Islamic banking and organise pilgrimages to Mecca provides a role model for Phuket Muslims.

He even hopes the cooperative banking system can be introduced on the island one day.

Malaysian money has long been invested in the island tourism industry, with the Impiana Cabana Phuket on the beachfront in Patong one of a batch of Malaysian-owned resorts.

The era of the rubber band economy seems to be long gone. Today Thailand's go-getting neighbour -- and friendly rival -- is close to being classed as a developed country.

Happy birthday, Malaysia.

Additional reporting: Maewmong

Tourism Malaysia can be contacted on 076-220192-3.