The University of Malaya (UM; Malay: Universiti Malaya) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and most esteemed university in Malaysia. The university's name was abbreviated as Malaya during the pre-independence period. University of Malaya has its roots in Singapore with the establishment of King Edward VII College of Medicine in 1905. University Malaya was established on 1949 October in Singapore with the merger of the King Edward VII College of Medicine and Raffles College (founded 1929). The growth of the University was very rapid during the first decade of its foundation and this resulted in the setting up of two autonomous Divisions on 15 January 1959, one located in Singapore and the other in Kuala Lumpur. In 1960, the government of the two indicated that the two divisions of the University of Malaya should become autonomous separate national universities, one located in Singapore (later becoming the National University of Singapore) and the other in Kuala Lumpur (retaining the name University of Malaya). Legislation was passed in 1961 and the University of Malaya was established on 1 January 1962.