JAPANESE

OCCUPATION &
THE
‘EMERGENCY’
Japanese forces attacked British Malaya on
8th December 1941.
Singapore, the supreme symbol of British
power in SE Asia fell on 15th February 1942.
Sarawak and British North Borneo were
occupied without a shot being fired.
Over three and a half years of Japanese
Occupation would follow, until British
military administrators would return in
August/ September 1945.
The results of the occupation were
devastation of the pre-war economy, a
much more politicized populace than
before, and a much more divided populace.
The Japanese presented themselves to
Malay-Muslims as their patron, respectful
of Islam and Malay culture.
They fostered pan-Malay consciousness and
gave Malays new opportunities in
administration.
They encouraged young Malay radicals
hoping for links with the Indonesian
nationalists, though few peninsular Malays
supported them.
Japanese regard for the Malays was thrown
into question in 1943, however, when they
handed over the four northern Malay states to
Thailand. (These states would be returned to
British control in 1945).
The Chinese were treated by the Japanese as
war enemies often with appalling brutality.
Not surprisingly, Chinese formed the
majority of the underground resistance
forces which developed in the peninsular
and the Borneo territories.
The peninsular forces were known as the
Malayan peoples’ Anti-Japanese Army
(MPAJA) and were to a large degree
controlled by members of the Communist
Party of Malaya (CPM).
The Indians of Malaya, by contrast, were
encouraged by the Japanese to focus their
political thought on India.
Many young Malayan Indians were recruited
for service in the Japanese-sponsored but ill-
fated INA (Indian National Army).
When the British returned in 1945 they
quickly subdued the open inter-communal
hostilities which had flared at the war’s end.
They were aware that there could be no going
back to the complacency of the pre-war days.
Alongside the massive reconstruction of the
economy they also set about fundamental
administrative reforms.
In 1946 Sarawak and North Borneo – the latter
particularly badly damaged by war – were
acquired from their former owners and finally
became the full responsibility of Britain.
On the Peninsula the British introduced a plan
for ‘Malayan Union’ uniting administratively
the Malay States, Penang and Melaka (though
not Singapore) and giving all residents equal
rights of citizenship.
Malays from all states were galvanized by the
blithe disregard for states’ rights and Malay pre-
eminence over the immigrant peoples.
UMNO (United Malays National
Organization) was swiftly formed in
protest, and the British were forced to
abandon the idea.
In subsequent talks UMNO agreed,
however, to a federal administrative
structure, and to citizenship for non-Malays
who filled certain strict criteria.
The Federation of Malaya was formed in
1948.
In the same year the CPM attempted a
revolution using guerilla warfare tactics and
drawing on the experience and organization
gained during the war in the MPAJA.
The British declared a state of emergency
(the event became known as the
‘Emergency’).
Developed counter insurgency policies
which, crucially, won the support of the
majority of the population.
By the early 1950s the CPM terrorism has
been reduced to a minor problem though
Emergency regulations were not lifted until
1960.
One permanent result of the Emergency
was a highly centralized federation.
The states relinquished most of their
sovereign powers so that the crisis could be
handled efficiently.
During the Emergency the British promised
self-government for Malaya, though at the
time it was not clear how this could be
achieved in a way acceptable to all
communities.
Attempts to establish multi-racial political
parties met with little success.
The largest and best organized party in
Malaya, UMNO, was exclusively for Malays.
The perils of politicized ethnic rivalry
loomed large.
Beginning in 1952, however, a formula for
potentially stable self-government was
worked out.
This was the Alliance, a coalition of three
communal based parties.
UMNO represented the Malays.
The Chinese were represented by the new
and politically conservative MCA (Malayan
– later Malaysian – Chinese Association).
The Malayan – later Malaysian – Indian
Congress (MIC) represented the Indian
community.
The Alliance testified to the pragmatic good
sense, diplomatic skills and political
generosity of its founders.
Tunku Abdul Rahman, UMNO leader and
first Prime Minister until 1970.
Hugely successful at national elections in
1955, the Alliance achieved Merdeka
(Independence) for the Federation of
Malaya in 1957.
The new nation’s democratic parliamentary
system and its legal system were broadly
derived from British models.
The Alliance was not without its flaws,
leaving many issues which Malaysia is still
working out.
It was a pact, or bargain, between three
communal elites which gave the
economically weak Malays access to
political and administrative power while
assuring the other communities of respect
for their interests.
The Malays were offered a degree of
‘positive discrimination’ but left the socio-
economic imbalances between communities
to be worked out by laissez faire forces.
In addition, questions of national cultural
integration were left largely unresolved.
Malay pre-eminence was acknowledged in
adopting Islam as the national religion, elect
a King among the hereditary rulers, and in
making Malay the national language.
The application of the national religion and
language to the daily lives of non-Malays
was extremely circumscribed.
It was believed that inter-ethnic suspicions
were running too high for such issues to be
determined at once.