Malaysia marks 50 years of nationhood on Friday. Here are some key events since independence from Britain in 1957:

Aug 31, 1957: Malaya gains independence from Britain after peaceful negotiations with Malaysian leaders led by the ethnic Malay elite. Tunku Abdul Rahman becomes the first prime minister of the Federation of Malaya.

Sept 16, 1963: Creation of Malaysia after the incorporation of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore.

Aug 9, 1965: Singapore leaves Malaysia and becomes an independent nation.

May 13, 1969: Chinese-Malay race riots break out killing at least 196 people. The government declares a state of emergency and suspends Parliament until 1971.

Sept 21, 1970: Tunku Abdul Rahman is replaced by Abdul Razak, who in 1971 introduces an aggressive policy to address the wealth gap between Chinese and majority Malays, the effects of which are still seen.

Jan 15, 1976: Hussein Onn becomes the third prime minister after Abdul Razak dies.

July 16, 1981: Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a medical doctor, replaces Hussein. Over the next two decades Mahathir transforms Malaysia into an industrialised economy.

Sept 1, 1998: Malaysia introduces capital control measures after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, and suffers its first recession in over a decade.

Sept 2, 1998: Mahathir sacks and jails his deputy and heir apparent, Anwar Ibrahim, over allegations of corruption and sodomy. Anwar is released in 2004, and becomes an outspoken critic of the government.

Oct 30, 2003: Mahathir resigns after 22 years in power and hands over to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Mahathir soon attacks his successor for mismanagement, but in 2004 Abdullah begins a five-year term after securing a landslide victory.