--- description: Google celebrates Malaysia's 60th National Day — a date known in Malay as Hari Merdeka, or the day of liberation — with a new doodle title: Google Doodle Celebrates Malaysia's 60th Independence Day image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt984d9a68a533c859/6988dbec0b72e3c2c06ef3c3/malaysia-national-day-2017-4835430515081216-2-2xa.gif?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Google Doodle Celebrates 60 Years of Malaysian Independence by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 31, 2017 6:15 AM CUT  Google by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 31, 2017 6:15 AM CUT Google celebrates Malaysia’s 60th National Day — a date known in Malay as _Hari Merdeka_, or the day of liberation — with a new doodle Thursday bearing the nation’s flag. On Aug. 31, 1957, the Federation of Malaya, a group of states known today as Peninsular Malaysia, was granted independence from British colonial rule. Chants of “Merdeka!” — which means “freedom” in Malay — resounded in the capital Kuala Lumpur, as thousands gathered to see the new nation’s flag raised for the first time. While the Malaysia of today, which counts other nearby states within its borders, was later formed in 1963, the date of independence remains a fundamentally important holiday for many. According to Google, _Hari Merdeka,_ is typically a day of vibrant festivities as parades, military displays and proud anthems abound. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4922764/google-doodle-malaysia-national-day/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4922764/google-doodle-malaysia-national-day/"},"headline":"Google Doodle Celebrates 60 Years of Malaysian Independence","datePublished":"2017-08-31T06:15:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:46:56.745Z","description":"Hari Merdeka, as it is known in Malay, is a day for vibrant festivities","url":"https://time.com/4922764/google-doodle-malaysia-national-day/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Google Doodle","Malaysia","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt984d9a68a533c859/6988dbec0b72e3c2c06ef3c3/malaysia-national-day-2017-4835430515081216-2-2xa.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt984d9a68a533c859/6988dbec0b72e3c2c06ef3c3/malaysia-national-day-2017-4835430515081216-2-2xa.gif?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"malaysia-national-day-2017-4835430515081216.2-2xa","caption":"","creditText":"Google","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4922764/google-doodle-malaysia-national-day/","name":"Google Doodle Celebrates 60 Years of Malaysian Independence"}}]}] ```