Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a British protectorate (1948-1957) and later a country (1957-1963) in Southeast Asia. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca. It was established on the 1st of February 1948.

Initially a self-governing colony of the United Kingdom, Malaya became fully sovereign on 31 August 1957, and on 16 September 1963, Malaya was superseded by Malaysia when it united with Singapore, North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak. Singapore left on 9 August 1965, leaving the original states of Malaya along with Sarawak and Sabah – now collectively known as East Malaysia – to form modern-day Malaysia, while the former Federation of Malaya is now referred to as Peninsular Malaysia or West Malaysia.

History

From 1946 to 1948, the eleven states formed a single British crown colony known as the Malayan Union. Due to opposition from Malay nationalists, the Union was disbanded and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the symbolic positions of the rulers of the Malay states and introduced greater restrictions on the attainment of citizenship status.

Within the Federation, while the Malay states were protectorates of the United Kingdom, Penang and Malacca remained British colonial territories. Like the Malayan Union before it, the Federation did not include Singapore, despite its traditional connections with Malaya.

The Malaya Agreement was formulated by the British–Malay Pleno Conference between June and December 1946. At the end of the meeting, the Pleno Conference produced a 100-page "Blue Book." It was signed on 21 January 1948 at King House by the Malay rulers, and by Sir Edward Gent as the representative of the British government. The Agreement superseded the Agreement creating the Malayan Union, and prepared for the establishment of the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948. The position of the Malay rulers was also restored.

The Federation became independent from British colonial rule and became an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957. In 1963, the Federation was reconstituted as "Malaysia" when it federated with the British territories of Singapore, Sarawak, and North Borneo; a claim to the latter territory was maintained by the Philippines. Singapore separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic on 9 August 1965.

List of member states

Separation of powers of the federal and state governments

The federation agreement (Perjanjian Persekutuan) set the powers of the federal and state governments. Financial matters must be handled by the respective states. The Sultan was given full power on religious issues and Malay customs. Foreign policy and defence continued to be administered by the British government. The federation agreement was made the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya and officially declared on 1 February 1948.

Registration of PKMM rejected

In 1950, the Federation of Malaya Government rejected the registration of the Malay Nationalist Party of Malaya (Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya, PKMM) as a legitimate political party. PKMM had two wings, namely Angkatan Pemuda Insaf and Angkatan Wanita Sedar. Initially, PKMM did not have communist leanings. After Mokhtaruddin Lasso was elected as the first PKMM president in October 1946, this party was influenced with communism. The Young Malays Union (Kesatuan Melayu Muda, KMM) merged with PKMM, and Burhanuddin al-Helmy became the second PKMM president. Burhanuddin led PKMM toward the formation of Melayu Raya, a merger of Indonesia and Malaya. In December 1947, Ishak Haji Mohamed became the third PKMM president and PKMM switched from communism to nationalism. PKMM tended against United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and colonisation. PKKM established the Pusat Tenaga Rakyat (PUTERA), a conglomeration of radical Malay Political Parties and then merged with the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA) which thoroughly opposed the 1948 Federation Agreement for the foundation of the Federation of Malaya. PKMM accused officials selected in the Federation of Malaya of being "puppets" of the "Colonial Office". For PKMM, there was no basis in "preparing Malaya as a democratic government".

Judiciary

The judicial system was a typical hierarchical structure consisting of lower courts, a High Court and a Court of Appeal. Successive chief justices were Sir Stafford Foster-Sutton (1950–1951) (afterwards Chief Justice of Nigeria, 1955), Sir Charles Mathew (1951–1956) and Sir James Beveridge Thomson (1957–1963).

Demographics

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Federation of Malaya Population

|-

! Ethnic Group

! colspan="2" | 1948

! colspan="2" | 1951

|-

! Malay

| align="right" |

| align="right" |

|-

! Chinese

| align="right" |

| align="right" |

|-

! Indian

| align="right" |

| align="right" |

|-

! Other

| align="right" |

| align="right" |

|-

!Total

|align="right" | 4,987,427

|

|align="right" | 5,517,222

|

|}

Evolution of Malaysia

700px|Evolution of Malaysia

See also

  • Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957
  • Federal Legislative Council
  • Peninsular Malaysia
  • Malayan Emergency
  • Reid Commission

Notes

References

  • Colonial administration records (migrated archives): Malaya at The National Archives (Pg. 52)
  • The UK Statute Law Database: Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 (c. 60)
  • United Nations Treaty Collection: No.10760: Agreement relating to Malaysia
  • FEDERATION OF MALAYA AGREEMENT OF 5 AUGUST 1957