Federation of Malaya

Federation of Malaya
Persekutuan Tanah Melayu
ڤرسكوتوان تانه ملايو
←
1948–1963 →
Flag (1950–1963) Coat of arms
Capital Kuala Lumpur
Languages Malay
English
Government Constitutional monarchy
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
 •  1957–1960 Tuanku Abdul Rahman
 • 1960 Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah
 • 1960–1963 Tuanku Syed Putra
Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman
History
 •  Established 1 February 1948[1]
 • Independence 31 August 1957
 •  Malaysia Agreement 16 September 1963
Area
 •  1963 132,364 km² (51,106 sq mi)
Currency Malaya / British Borneo dollar
Today part of  Malaysia
Part of a series on the
History of Malaysia
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The Federation of Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi: ڤرسكوتوان تانه ملايو) was a federation of 11 states (nine Malay states and two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca)[2] that existed from 1 February 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957,[3] and in 1963 was reconstituted as Malaysia with the addition of Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak.[4] The combination of states that formerly made up the Federation of Malaya is currently known as Peninsular Malaysia.

History

From 1946 to 1948, the 11 states formed a single British crown colony known as the Malayan Union.[5] 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.

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 Federation achieved independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957.[2] 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.[6][7] Singapore separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic on 9 August 1965.[8]

The Federation of 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."[9]

The Federation of Malaya Agreement was signed on 1 April 1946 at King House by the Malay rulers, and by Sir Edward Gent as the representative of the British government.[10] 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.

As with the Malayan Union, the Federation excluded Singapore, despite its traditional links to Malaya.

List of member states

System of government

The government of the Federation of Malaya was headed by a British High Commissioner with executive powers, assisted and advised by the Federation of Malaya Executive Council and the Federation of Malaya Legislative Council.

Conditions of citizenship

The conditions of citizenship of the Federation of Malaya were further tightened using law enforcement and naturalisation by application. Under the laws, the following were automatically granted citizenship:

  1. Citizens of the Sultan of any state
  2. British citizens born in Penang or Malacca who have lived continuously for 15 years in the federation
  3. British citizens born in the federation whose fathers were born or lived continuously for 15 years in the federation
  4. Anyone born in the federation, conversant in the Malay language and following Malay traditions in his or her daily life
  5. Anyone born in the federation whose parents were born and lived continuously for 15 years in the federation

Via naturalisation (by application), one could achieve citizenship, given these criteria:

  1. Born and lived for at least 8 of 12 years in the Federation of Malaya before the application was made
  2. Lived in the Federation of Malaya for at least 15 of 20 years before the application was made

In both cases (via naturalisation), applications must be well-behaved, swear allegiance and clarify their reasons for living in the federation, and are fluent in either the Malay or the English language.

The Federation of Malaya, through its constitution, guarantees the rights and special position of the Malay people as well as rights, powers and sovereignty of the Malay rulers in their respective states.[12]

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.[13]

Federation of Malaya Legislative Council

The Federation of Malaya Legislative Council held its first meeting in the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Hall, Kuala Lumpur in 1948. It was opened by the British High Commissioner Sir Edward Gent. Attendees included the British Minister of State for Colonial Affairs, Lord Listowel. The membership of the Council was structured to include:

The unofficial members were required to be either Federation citizens or British subjects.

In 1948 the ethnic composition of the Council was made up as follows:

Dato' Onn Jaafar stressed at the first meeting that the citizens of the Federation of Malaya did not want the interference of external powers in the affairs of the Federation; the Chinese representative Dr Ong Chong Keng asserted that the Chinese people would be loyal to the Federation of Malaya. At this first Council meeting, several minor committees were formed:

The first session passed the Kuala Lumpur City Bill, the Transfer of Power Bill, and the Loan and Debt Bill.[14]

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 Dr Burhanuddin al-Helmy became the second PKMM president. Dr 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 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".[15]

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 (1952–1953) (afterwards Chief Justice of Nigeria, 1955), Sir Charles Mathew (1953–1956) and Sir James Beveridge Thomson (1957–1963).

Demographics

Federation of Malaya Population[16]
Ethnic Group 1948 1951
Malay 2,457,014 2457014
 
 2,631,154 2631154
 
Chinese 1,928,965 1928965
 
 2,043,971 2043971
 
Indian 536,646 536646
 
 566,371 566371
 
Other 64,802 64802
 
 75,726 75726
 

Evolution of the Federation of Malaya

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Federation of Malaya is inaugurated". http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg. External link in |journal= (help)
  2. 1 2 See: Cabinet Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 21 February 1956 Federation of Malaya Agreement
  3. ↑ The UK Statute Law Database: Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 (c. 60)
  4. ↑ "No.10760: Agreement relating to Malaysia" (pdf). United Nations Treaty Collection. United Nations. July 1963. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
  5. ↑ "Multinational federation". https://books.google.ch. External link in |journal= (help)
  6. ↑ United Nations Treaty No. 8029, Manila Accord between Philippines, Federation of Malaya and Indonesia (31 July 1963)
  7. ↑ Exchange of notes constituting an agreement relating to the implementation of the Manila Accord of 31 July 1963
  8. ↑ See: the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 and the Proclamation of Singapore.
  9. ↑ Perlembagaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu Diumumkan
  10. ↑ "Massacre in Malaya: Exposing Britain's My Lai". https://books.google.ch. External link in |journal= (help)
  11. 1 2 See: The UK Statute Law Database: Formation of the Malay States and of the Settlements of Penang and Malacca into a new independent Federation of States under Federation of Malaya Constitution
  12. ↑ Persekutuan Tanah Melayu Ditubuhkan
  13. ↑ [Perlembagaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu Diumumkan]
  14. ↑ The First Conference of the Federation of Malaya Legislative Council
  15. ↑ Rejection of the registration of the Malay Nationalist Party of Malaya
  16. ↑ Annual Report on the Federation of Malaya: 1951 in C.C. Chin and Karl Hack, Dialogues with Chin Peng pp. 380, 81.

External links

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