CHP 1: Malaysia Gov System

Colonial Malaysia (1511-1957)

Srivijaya Empire ● Before 600 CE, controlled by dozens of small local kingdoms.
● 671, incorporated into the Srivijaya Empire (Sumatera indo)
○ A Maritim empire
○ Control Indian ocean trade route (Malacca and Sunda Straits)
○ 1100s, control point as far as ph
○ 1288, fell to Singhasari invaders

Malacca ● 1402, Parameswara (descendant of the Srivijayan royal family) founded a

new city-state at Malacca.
● Name after Melaka tree
● Malacca Sultanate- the first powerful state centered in modern-day
Malaysia.
● Parameswara converted from Hinduism to Islam (changed his name to
Sultan Iskandar Shah)
● 15th century, the new settlement grew and become a major trading port.
● Era later, known as Golden Age of Malacca.
● The 1400s, gained control over much of Malay Peninsula and Sumatera
● become the most powerful and wealthiest kingdoms in the region and
attract Portuguese attention.
Portuguese ● Malacca was one of the first cities that attract the Portuguese eye
● 1511 after sustained bombardment, Alfonso de Albuquerque took the city
● Malays counterattacked the Portuguese repeatedly, and fail
● Sultan fled to Johor
● A Famosa - reason for the strength of the Portuguese defense
● Control for one hundred and fifty years

Dutch ● 1640, Dutch invested Malacca after an eight-month of battle

● 1641, Dutch East India Company (VOC) allied with the Sultanate of Johor, and
drove Portuguese from Melaka
● VOC funnel trade away from that city to its own ports on Java.
● Left Johor allies in control
● British see potential of Malaya
● Malayan sultans welcomed British, hoping to stave off Siamese expansion
● 1824, Anglo-Dutch Treaty gave the British East India Company economic
control over Malaya
● 1857, British took direct control

British ● 1771, attempt to colonize Borneo

● 1786, foothold in Malaysia (British East India Company procured Penang)
● 1786, Francis Light occupied Penang and founded Georgetown
● 1795, threw out the Dutch and overtime conquest by made deals with sultans
● 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles founded trading post at Singapore (an imp port)
● 1824, British and Dutch divided the region between them
Treaty of London
○ British- Melaka
○ Dutch- Sumatra and all the area below the Malay Peninsula

The Straits ● East India Company (EIC) established outposts

Settlement in Penang, Singapore and Malacca between
1786-1867
● later transferred to the British Crown and formed
into the colony of the Straits Settlements under
the responsibility of the British Colonial Office.

The Federated ● 1874-1895, Britain entered into treaties with the

Malay States State Rulers of
(FMS) ○ Perak
○ Selangor
○ Negeri Sembilan
 ○ Pahang
● Exchange of British recognition of their claims
to be rulers of these states, each agreed to accept
a British Resident whose advice had to be asked
for and acted upon on all matters other than
those touching on Islam and adat.
● 1895, states formed a federation known as the
Federated Malay States (FMS) which was
administered under the advice of the British
government

The Unfederated ● 1909-1923, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan,

Malay States Terengganu, and Johor came under British
(UFMS) protection by separate treaties with the Rulers of
these states
● each agreed to accept a British Resident whose
advice had to be asked for and acted upon on all
matters other than those touching on Islam and
adat.

Japanese ● December 8, 1941, Japanese invaded Malay Peninsula

● January 31, 1942, British last troops withdrew across the straits into Singapore
● February 8, 1942, Japanese invaded Singapore
● February 5, 1942, British last troops surrendered

Reasons For Japanese Invasion

1. Natural resources
a. Eyed by the Japanese militarists and industrialists
b. 1939, Malaya was the resource 40% of the world's rubber and 60% of
the world's tin
2. United States
a. Japan's potential cross-ocean rival
3. Oil
a. Navy alone needed 400 tons of oil an hour to maintain its war
readiness
b. Perfect staging point to launch and support further invasion for the
oil-rich islands of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra
4. “Outline Plan for the Execution of the Empire's National Policy
a. plan to expand the outer perimeters so wide that the enemies would
not be able to attack by air against the home islands
Effects Of Japanese Occupation
1. Social
a. Worsened the relationship among the races (Japan hates Chinese)
b. Chinese seek refuge at the edge of the jungles
c. Continued even after the Japanese had surrendered
d. Malays appointed as the Japanese “Kempeitai” assigned to catch the
Chinese (resulting in thicker inter-ethnic hostility)
e. Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) by Malayan
Communist Party (MCP) fight against the Japanese
2. Political
a. Combine Malaya and Sumatera as an attempt of union
b. Made few changes in government in the Peninsula, most Malays
neither opposed nor actively aided the invaders
3. Administrative
a. Civil servants had slightly more authority during the war than before
b. The result was that the return of the British was felt to be a loss
4. Socio-economic
a. malnutrition among the Malayan people (cessation of rice imports)
5. Economic
a. Economic infrastructure was destroyed
b. Economic activities were disrupted
c. Worsen the people live
d. Inflation continued
Route of independence
Malayan Union ● After the Japanese forces surrender in Malaya, the Malay States were
placed under the British Military Administration (BMA)
BMA:-
○ A move intended as a transitional phase prior to the
reintroduction of civilian rule
○ Last seven months

● 1946, Colonial Office in London, and certain Malayan Civil Service

enthusiastic about amalgamating all of Britain’s protectorates and
colonies in Malaya and Borneo under one generic administration
● Became reality as British decided to join all the Malayan states (except
Singapore) into a single unified, known as Malayan Union
Malayan Union:-
○ Created on 1 April 1946
○ Merger of the nine Malay states with Penang and Malacca
○ Plan to improve its administrative efficiency and security
○ To prepare Malaya for self-government.

The Reasons Malayan Union was Rejected

● Malayan people were not prepared for the changes.
● Malays opposition to the Malayan Union led to the birth of the United
Malays National Organization (UMNO)
UMNO:-
○ Inaugurated on May 11, 1946 in Johor Bharu
○ Datuk Onn Jaafar as its first president
○ Obtained support from all Malay society. Include Parti
Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (MNP), Islamic groups, villages
head, and ex-service personnel
Reason Malay rejected MU
● Restricted the Malay rulers’ powers
● Restricted Malay special privileges
● Granted citizenship and equal rights to non-Malays who qualified on
birth and residential (scared non-Malay citizens are the majority of
citizens as 1930s, Chinese immigrants had already outnumbered the
Malays)
● Ruler being mere figureheads in their respective states.
● As a result, Colonial Office in London was under pressure to abandon
the plan
 How Malayan reacted in rejecting MU's
● Refuse to attend the installation of Edward Gent as the first Governor
● Refuse to attend the Advisor Council.
● Protest against the Union, start a mass movement

Federation of Malaya ● formed in 1948 after negotiations conducted between UMNO,

Agreement 1948 (FMA) representatives of the Malay Rulers and the British
● Consists of 11 federal states in Peninsular Malay (include P and M)
● British High Commissioner headed the Federal Legislative and
Federal Executive Councils
● February 1 1948, declaration of the Federation of Malaya
● marks the return of the sovereignty of the Malay states and the
institution of the Malay Rulers
● issue of citizenship for non-indigenous peoples get a clear place in
this new Federation
● become the basic framework of the establishment of the 1957
Federation of Malaya

Period between 1948-1955

● 1946-1951, three major political parties were formed
○ The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in 1946
○ The Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) in 1949
○ The Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) in 1951
● 1951, there was already a semblance of collective government,
participated by some local leaders.
● 9 April 1951, British administration appointed a number of notable
personalities from a select background and the public service to head
essentially government departments and limited ministries. (imp date)
● 1951, ‘member system’ (the advent of local members of the various
departments) could be regarded as a step in the direct participation in
government.
● in line with the tenor of 1948 Agreement
● after the 1955 Federal Council elections., Malaya had the first taste of
cabinet government
● The alliance Party (UMNO, MCA, and MIC) won the first-ever
general election
● win of 51 out of 52 Federal Legislative seats and convinced the
British that Malaya needed to be returned to the Malayan people
● Tunku Abdul Rahman become Chief Minister and nominate elected
alliance members as ministers under the new system of
 self-government
Tunku Abdul Rahman:-
○ Umno president who succeeded Onn
○ Alliance leader

Creation of the Federal ● Constitutional Conference with the British government

Constitution ○ held in London
○ in January and February of 1956.
● Agreement that the Commonwealth should reach full self-government
by August 1957, if possible.
● Constitutional Commission headed by Lord Reid was appointed to
make recommendations for a suitable constitution
● Report of the Commission was completed on 11 February 1957
The Report:-
○ offers development in the areas of legal history, the
Constitution, and government.
○ provides extensive proposal, consonant with the main thrust of
the previous FMA 1948 (citizenship, emergency rule, and
state-federal relationship)
● A Working Party (appointed by the British Government, the
Conference of Rulers, and the Government of the Federation of
Malaya) examined the Report and on the basis of its
recommendations
● The Federal Constitution was proclaimed.
● 31 August 1957 the Federation of Malaya as an independent nation
was born
The Formation Of Malaysia
Challenges in ● 1961, Tunku Abdul Rahman proposed the formation of Malaysia
Establishing Malaysia include
○ the territories of Malaya
○ Singapore
○ British North Borneo (Sabah)
○ Sarawak
○ Brunei
● disapproval opposition to Malaysia
○ Brunei
○ Indonesia
○ Philippines
● July 1963, Brunei decided to leave the merger over oil revenue
control issue
● Reason condemned
○ Indonesia- proposal on the formation of Malaysia on the
ground that it is a neo-colonialist plot, hence in January 1963
announced a policy of “Confrontation” against Malaysia.
○ Philippines- claiming that North Borneo belonged to them.
● The new Federation of Malaysia was signed in 1963 by the UK,
Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore.
● Malaysia came into being on 16 September 1963