1997 in Malaysia

Federal level

• Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Tuanku Jaafar
• Raja Permaisuri Agong: Tuanku Najihah
• Prime Minister: Dato' Sri Dr Mahathir Mohamad
• Deputy Prime Minister: Dato' Sri Anwar Ibrahim
• Chief Justice: Eusoff Chin

State level

• Sultan of Johor: Sultan Iskandar
• Sultan of Kedah: Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah
• Sultan of Kelantan: Sultan Ismail Petra
• Raja of Perlis: Tuanku Syed Putra
• Sultan of Perak: Sultan Azlan Shah
• Sultan of Pahang: Sultan Ahmad Shah
• Sultan of Selangor: Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah (Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong)
• Sultan of Terengganu: Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah
• Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan: Tengku Naquiddin (Regent)
• Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of Penang: Tun Dr Hamdan Sheikh Tahir
• Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of Malacca: Tun Syed Ahmad Al-Haj bin Syed Mahmud Shahabuddin
• Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of Sarawak: Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce Mohammed Noor
• Yang di-Pertua Negeri (Governor) of Sabah: Tun Sakaran Dandai

January

• 1 January – Petronas Twin Towers (452 metres) become the world's tallest buildings.
• 1 January – Visit Terengganu Year 1997 officially began.
• 1 January – Compulsory self-service at petrol stations in Klang Valley comes into operations for the first time.
• 3 January – Proton Putra, Malaysia's first coupé car is launched.
• 10 January – Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) is established.

February

• 3 February – The opening of Aborigines Museum in Ayer Keroh, Malacca.

March

• 2 March – The Chairman of DRB Hicom Group, Tan Sri Yahaya Ahmad and his wife Puan Sri Rohana Othman were killed in a helicopter crash in Kuala Lipis, Pahang.^[1]
• 18 March – The Touch 'n Go Electronic Payment System (EPS) is launched.

April

• 3 April – Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM) change its name to Universiti Putra Malaysia

May

• 23 May – M. Magendran (11.55 am) and N. Mohanadas (12.10 pm) were the first Malaysians who reached the peak of Mount Everest.
• May – Dato' Sri Anwar Ibrahim was appointed Acting Prime Minister until August.
• May – Official launching of Cyberjaya by the prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

June

• 14 June – A Bell 206L-4 helicopter broke up and crashed at the Bandar Sri Damansara light industrial area, Selangor killing three on board the aircraft and two on the ground.
• 16 June - 5 July – The FIFA World Youth Championship is held in Malaysia. Argentina wins World Youth Championship after beating Uruguay, 1-2 in the final at Shah Alam Stadium.

July

• July – Sunway Pyramid, Subang Jaya's new attracttions is officially opened.
• 13 July – Official opening of the Exchange Square, the new headquarters of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE).
• 21 July – Economic crisis in Malaysia. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) Composite Index fell below 200 points.

August

• 3 August – 1997 Southeast Asian haze :
  • A state of emergency is imposed in Kuching, Sarawak after Air Pollution Index reached extremely.^[2]
• 31 August – The flag of Malaysia is renamed Jalur Gemilang.

September

• September – Genting Skyway, the longest cable car in South East Asia is opened.
• 27 September – 1997 Southeast Asian haze :
  • Twenty-nine crewmen were missing, some people trapped in India Vikraman cargo ship when it ship collided with Caribbean Mount 1 supertanker in the Strait of Malacca near Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.^[3]

October

• 6 October – The Malaysian Exchange of Securities Dealing & Automated Quotation (MESDAQ) is launched.
• 14 October – Highland Towers collapse :
  • Former president of the Architect Malaysia Association (PAM), Henry Lee Inn Seong, told the Kuala Lumpur Coronary Court that the planner of the collapsed Highland Towers apartment plan had no qualification for a 12-storey building. He said the planner, Wong Tin Sang, only had the qualifications to build a building not more than 300 square meters or 3,000 square feet or not more than two floors.^[4]
• 28 October – The Seventh Non-Aligned Summit Meeting G15 is held in Kuala Lumpur.

November

• 14 November – Highland Towers collapse :
  • Coroner Mohd Radhi Abas of the Kuala Lumpur Coronary Court ruled that the Highland Towers tragedy was not due to any crime and natural disaster, but was a series of crashes and multiple injuries that hit them after the apartment collapsed. It "is not a natural disaster".^[4]

December

• 19 December – 10 Malaysians died when SilkAir Flight 185 from Jakarta, Indonesia to Singapore crashed into the Musi River near Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia killing all 97 passengers and seven crew on board.^[5]

Main theme

Akhlak Mulia Masyarakat Jaya