 Penang, as part of the Federation of Malaya, gained independence from the British Empire on 31 August 1957, and subsequently became a member state of Malaysia in 1963.Penang's political landscape immediately after the independence of Malaya became relatively fractured.The new Penang state government was dominated by the Alliance coalition (now succeeded by Barisan Nasional), the same ruling coalition that controlled the Malayan federal government.