.

FEDERATION OF MALAYA

AGREEMENT
1948 . ,

- - - -.. -- -

(Reprinted January, 1952)

Inst ruc tions A 1.

FEDERATION OF MALAYA

~==...

BRITISH NATIONALITY ACT , 1948

INSTRUCTIONS AS TO APPLICATI ONS FOR CERTIFICATES
OF NATURALISATI ON BY ALIENS
(T hese instructions are flot applicable to British protected persons, who
should submit their applications on Naturalisation Form B .l).
The appl ica t ion form has been spec ially designed so that it may be
. comple ted by a n applicant for natu ralisation without assistance. The
details asked fo r a re such as he will be able to give f rom his persona l
knowledge and it is only in a case of particular diff icul ty that he may
need to consult a n agent.
QUALIFICAT IONS

1.

The normal qualifications for naturalisation are that:(a) the appli ca nt must have either resided in the Federati on
of Malaya o r been in Crown Service under Her Maj esty's
gcvernment in the United Kingdom (see note (a)
below) or part ly the one a nd part ly t he other, th roughou t the period of twelve months immed iate ly preceding
the application; and
(b) during the seven yea rs immed iately preceding t he period of
twelve months mentioned above, the a pp licant must
have resided eithe r in the Uni ted Kingdom or in a
British colony or protecto rate or a United Kingdom
mandated or trust terr ito ry , or been in Crown Service
as above, or part ly the one a nd pa rt ly t he othe r, for
per iods amountin g in full to not less tha n four years.

2.

The applicant must:(a) be twenty-one years of age o r ove r, and not of unsound
mind;
(b) be of good character;
(c) have sufficien t knowledge of the English, Mal ay o r Chi nese
language;
(el) intend , in the eve nt of naturalisation being g ranted,
eithe r: (i) to res ide in the United Kingdom or in a Colony.
protectorate or a Un ited Kin gdom trust
territory ; or
(ii) to enter or continue in Crown Service und e r Her
Majesty's govern ment in the United Kingdom
(see note (a ) below) or the governmen t of
the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, or service under
an international orga n isation of wh ich Her
Majesty 's government in the United Kingdom
is a member, or service in the employment
of a society, compa ny or body of persons
establi shed in the United Ki ngdom or established in any colony, protectorate or United
Kingdom trust territory .

10.

Fees

For every appli catio n for naturalisa tion by an alien, the a rrroclfft
of the fee is $ 20. T his sum of $20 is payable on submiss ion of the
app li cation and ca nnot be refunded in any circumstances.
For every grant of a Certif icate of Naturalisa t ion to a n alien, th e
amoun t of the fee is $80. This su m of $ 80 is not payable un ti l t he
applicant is told t hat a certi f icate w ill be gra nted .
Reduced fees f or married couples. Whe re appi.ications by a
husband and wife resident at th e same address are su bmitted
s imultaneous ly, and it is decid ed to grant certif icates in both cases ,
only one fee shal l be payable, i.e., $ 80, for the two certificates. [This
fee of $80 is additio nal to t he fees ($40 ) payable on subm issi on of the
two applicat ions] . If it is decided to grant a certificate in o ne case
only , the fu ll fee of $80 is payab le in respect of t hat certificate .
Fees may be sent by post or paid pe rsonally at the Office of
the Reg ist rar of Citizens of t he Fede rat ion of Malaya, Kuala Lumpu r.
11.

Decla ration Fees

T he usual fee ot'$l i's payable to t he Stamp Office on making the
Statu t ory Declara ti on. A fur ther fee is a lso payable on. taking the
Oath of All eg iance .

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION
12. T he appl ica tion together w ith the pre 'iminary fee of $20 and
ei th er a request for ass istance w ith regard to the pub lication of the
advert isement or on e copy of each newspaper con taining th e adve rtise men t , which should be clea rl y ma rked , should be sent, in one enve lope,
to the Regi strar of Citizens of th e Fed e rat ion of Mal aya , Kua la
Lumpur.

SUBSEQUENT ACTIO N
13 . Enqu iries abou t the progress of th e a ppl ication should not be
made except in very specia l circ umsta nces. Suc h enquir ies mere ly
impede the consideration of the a ppl ica t ion a nd t e nd t o cause d el ays.
If and when a certifica te is grant ed, instruct ions as t o t a k in g the Oath
of All egia nce w ill be sent to t he gra ntee.
14. T he Reg istrar of Citize ns of th e Fede ration of Mal aya mu st be
in fo rm ed a t o nce , by le t te r, of any change of material circumstances
w hi ch occurs befo re th e Hi gh Commissioner's decision on the applicat ion is given a nd which may affect the continued accuracy of the
parti culars se t ou t in th e app li cat ion . ,
15 . An appl ican t w ho Vi si t s' any forei gn country after he has subm itted his appl ica t ion m ust, imm ediately on h is return to Federat ion
of Ma laya , info rm t he Regi stra r of Citizens of t he Fed e ration of
Malaya , of t he coun t ries vi s ited and the dates of residence there in .
16. A certificate of naturalisation may be withdrawn if it is found to
have been obtaine~ by means of fraud, false representation or the concea lment of any. mate rial fact.
J
OFFI CE OF T HE REGI ST RAR OF CITIZENS OF THE FEDERATION
OF MALAYA, KUALA LUMPUR.
4705-10,OOO- 3-11-52- F E 5l(5- G.P ., K.L.

/ '
AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERATION OF MALAYA
AGREEMENT, 1948, UP TO AND INCLUDING L .N . 28 OF
FEBRUARY 2nd, 1952.
Sub-clause (1) of Clause 10 is hereby amended by-

L.N. 28/52.

(a) the insertion of the words "as the High Commissioner

has appointed to be his Deputy under Clause 11 of
this Agreement for purposes which are referred to in
that clause as , emergency purposes, or if there is no
such person in the Federation so appointed and
capable of discharging the duties of administration,
such person" between the words "then such person"
and the words "as His Majesty may under His Sign
Manual and Signet appoint" which occur therein;
and
(b) the substitution of the words " or when there is under
Clause 11 of this Agreement a subsisting appointment
of a person to be Deputy to the High Commissioner
for purposes which are referred to in that clause as
general purposes" for the words "or when there is
a subsisting appointment of a D eputy under the next
succeeding clause of this Agreement" which occur
at the end of the proviso thereto,

Clause 11 of the Agreement

I:S

hereby amended by~

(a) the substitution of the following sub -clauses for subclause (1) thereof :

"(1) Whenever the High Commissioner(a) has occasion to be absent from the seat
of the F ederal Government bujj not
from the Federation or to be absent
from the Federation for a period
which h e has reason to believe will be
of short duration, or being ill has
reason to believe his illness will be of
short duration,
and consequently
considers that a person should be
appointed as his Deputy for the
purposes (in this clause referred to as
'general purposes ') of periorp1ing
any of the functions of the High
Commissioner during such absence or
illness ; or
(b) is of the opinion that an emergency
exists in the Federation and consequently considers that a person should
be appointed as his Deputy for the
purposes (in this clause referred to as
' emergency purposes ') of assisting
the High Commissioner by performing
anyo the fLmctions ofth'e High Commission er dining such ' emergency ;

L.N.28/52.

2
then, sub ject to the provisions of sub-clauses (IA)
and (IE) of this clause, the High Commissioner may
by Instrument under the Public Seal appoint
any person to be his Deputy for such purposes and
in that capacity to perform on behalf of the High
Commissioner, but subject to any conditions or
limitations prescrib ed in the I nstrument by which
such p erson is appointed, all such functions or the
High Commissioner as m ay be specified in such
Instrument.

(IA) 'rhere shall not at anyone time be more

than one subsisting appointment of a person as
Deputy to the High Commissioner under sub -clause
(1) of this clause but .t he High Commissioner may
under that sub-clause appoint a person to be his
Deputy either for general purposes or for emergency
purposes and a . person may be so appointed for
both general and emergency purposes eith er by the
same Instrument or by separate Instrum en t s
executed on. the same date or different dates.
(IB) A person ,who is appointed a Deputy to
th e H igh Commission er under sub-clause (1) of this
clause shall not, unless h e is appointed for general
purposes, be authori ed to perform any of the
functions of the High Commissioner m entioned in
Clauses 8, 48, 52 , 54, 71 , 72 , 77, 84 or 85 of this .
Agreement;"
.
(b) the substitution of the words " under this clause" for
t he words " as ' afo resaid" which occur immediately
~fter the words " By the appointment of it D eputy "
fit the beginning of sub-clause (2) th ereof ; and
(0) the ~ub s titution of the following sub-clauses for subclause (3) thereof:

"(3) Any appointment under this clause may at

any t ime be revoked by the High Commissioner or
by ft Secretary of State; and in any case such an
appointment sh all, to the extent that it authorises
the appointed person to perform any of the functions
of the High Comm issioner during the High Commissioner' s 'absence from t he seat of the F ederal
Government or from t he Federation, cease and
determine upon the return of the High Commissioner to the seat of the Federal Government or to
th ~ ;F ederation , as the case may be.

e4) Th e terms of any appointment under this

clau se may be varied by the High Commissioner by
further Instrument under the Public Seal and
references in this clause to the Instrumen t by which
any person is appointed as Deputy t o the H igh
Commissioner include references to anv such Instrument as varied by any furth er Instr~mel1t. "

Clause 21 of the Agreement is h ere by amended-

F.M. 31/50 .

(1) by inserting the figure and brackets "(1)" between the

figures "21" and the word "The" in line one thereof ;
(2) by adding the following sub-clause :
" (2) Nothing con tained in this clause shall affect
the power of the appropriate authority in any State
or Settlement to acquire, without a r equirement by
the Hi gh Commissioner under sub-clause (1) of this
clause, in a Malay State any alienated land or in
a Settlement any land other than Crown land for any
purpose connected with any matter specified in the
first column of the Second Schedule to this Agreement in accordance with the law for the time being
in force dealing with the acquisition of land for public
purposes, or to reserve, grant or lease any State or
Crown land for the use of th e Federation; and
accordin gly it is hereby declared that no acquisition
of land in any State or Settlement for any such
purpose before the commencement of this Ordinance
shall be deemed to be, or to have been, invalid by
reason only of the fact that the High Commissioner
had not required t he appropriate authorities in such
State or Settlement to acquire such land under the
provision of Clause 21 of the Federat ion Agreem ent."

Th e foll owing clatlse is hereby su bstituted for Clause 23 of

the Agreement-

"23. (1) The Federal Executive Council shall consist of

the following ex officio Members, that is to say, any person
who is for the time being Deputy to the High Commissioner
by virtue of his h aving been appointed as such under
Clause 11 of this Agreem ent for purposes which are referred
to in that clause as emergency purposes , the Chief
Secretary, the Attorney-General and the FiMncial Secretary,
together with such other persons holding office of emolum ent under the Federal Government or under the Crown
(who shall be called Of:ficial Members) and such other
persons not holding office of emolument under any Government in jihe F ederation (who shall be called Unof:ficial
Member ) as the High Commissioner may from time to time
by Instrument under the Public. Seal appoint:
Provided that the High Commissioner m ay appoint as
Unof:ficial Members persons holding of:fice of emolument as
aforesaid whom he considers suitable for such appointment :
Provided also that there shall not at any time be more
than sixteen Members of the Federal Executiv e Council in
addition to the ex officio Memb ers.
(2) An Unof:ficial Member of the Federal Executive
Council may be appointed either by name or by reference
to his office."
.

L.N.28/32.

4
F.M.70/49.

Olause 125 of the Agreement is hereby amended by the

substitution of the word "three" for the word "two" where it
appears in the third line of the proviso to sub-clause (1) and in
the second line of paragraph (i) of the definition of "adequate
knowledge" in sub-clause (5).

F .M. 17 /51.

Sub-clause (1) of Olause 125 of the Agreement is h ereby

amended by the substitution of the words "three years and six
months" for th e words "three years" which occur in the proviso
thereto.

L. N.461/ 5l.
Amendment
of Item 43
in the Second
Schedule.

The Second Schedule to the

1948, is hereby amended by
"naturalisation , to the extent
for the word "naturalisation;"

L.N.279/49.
Amendment
of Second
Schedule.

The Second Sch edule to th e Federation of Malaya Agreement, 1948, shall be and is hereby amended(a) by th e deletion in column (1) of Item 79 of the words
"high er education; technical education; training of
t achers;" and the substitution therefor of the words
"higher education , t echnical education and . training
of teachers, except State and Settlement scholarships and State and Settlement ed ucational endowments relating to such matters;"
(b) by the deletion in column (2) of Item 79 of the words
"State and Settlement scholarships; State and
Settlement educational endowments" .

F ederation of Malaya Agreement,

t he substitution of the words
of ensuring a common policy; "
which occurs in Item 43 therein.

Government Press, l\uala Lumpur ..

2713-1,500- 23-2-52.

THE

FEDERATION OF MALAYA
AGREEMENT, 1948.

AGREEMENT DA'I.'ED the twenty-first day of January,

1948, AND MADE BErrWE.E N Sm GERARD EDWARD
JAM}lJS GENT, KO .M.G., D.S.O., O.n.E., M.O., on behalf
of HIS . MAJESTY and His Highness IBRAHIM ibni
Abnarhum Sultan ABU BAKAR, D.R., S.P.M.J., G.O .M. G.,
R.n.E. (Mil.), G.B.E., G.O.O.O. (I), Sultan of the State
and Territory of JOHORE , His Highness ABU BAKAR
RI'AYA'rU'D-DIN AL-MUADZAM SHAH ibni Almarhum
ALMU'TASIM BI'L,L AH ABDULLAH , R.O.M.G., Sultan of
the State of PAHANG, His Highness TUANKU ABDUL
RAHMAN ibni Almarhum TUANKU MUHAMMAD, K.O .M. G.,
the Yung di-Pertuan Besar, and the Ruling Ohiefs of the
Territories which form the State known as the NEGRI
SEMBILAN, His Highness HISAMUDDIN ALAM SHAH ibni
Almarhum Sultan ALA-IDDIN SULAIMAN SHAH, IC O.M.G.,
Sultan of the State of SELANGOR, His Highness Paduka Sri
Sultan ABDUL AZIZ ALMU'TASIM BILLAH SHAH,
K.O .M.G. , ICB .E., Sultan of the State of PERAK, His Highness
TUNKU BADLISHAH ibni Almarhum Sultan ABDUL HAMID
HALIMSHAH, IC O. M.G. , K.B.E. , Sultan of the State of KEDAH,
His H ighness SYED PUTRA ibni Almarhum SYED HASSAN
JAMALULLAIL, the Raja of PERLIS, His Highness
TENGKU IBRAHIM ibni Almarhum Sultan MOHAMED IV,
D.R., ..s .P.M.K., S.J.M:IC , C. M. G. , Sultan of the State of
KELANTAN , and His Highness Sultan ISMAIL ibni Almarhum
Sultan ZAINAL ABIDIN, O.M.G., Sultan of the State of
TRENGGANU for Themselves and Their Successors:
WHEREAS it has been represented to His Majesty that fresh
arrangements should be made for the peace, order and good
government of the Malay States of J ohore, Pahang, Negri
Sembilan , Selangor, Perak , Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and
'I.'rengganu, the Settlement of Penang and the Settlement of
Malacca:
AND W IlEREAS His Majest y in token of the friendship He
bears towards Their Highnesses , the subjects of Their Highnesses,
and the inhabitants of the Malay States, is pleased to
make fresh arrangements as aforesaid to take effect on such day
as His Majesty may, by Order in Oouncil, appoint (hereinafter
.called "the appointed day") :
AND WHEREAS His Majesty has accordingly entered into a
fresh Agreement with each of Their Highnesses and in the case
of Negri Sembilan with His Highness the Yang di-Pertuan
Besar and the Ruling Ohiefs (which Agreements are hereinafter
referred to together as "the State Agreements") for the purpose
of ensuring that power and jurisdiction shall be exercised by
Their several Highnesses in their several States und it is in each
of such Agreements provided that it shall come into operation
on the appointed day:

2
AND WHEREAS it seems expedient to His Majesty and to
Their Highnesses that the Malay States, the Settlement of
Penang and the Settlement of Malacca should be formed into a
Federation with a strong central government and that there
should be a common form of citizenship in the said Federation
to be extended to all those who regard the said Federation or
any part of it as their real home and the object of their loyalty:
AND WHEREAS it is the desire of His Majesty and Their
H ighnesses that progress should be made towards eventual se1government and, as a first step to that end, His Majesty and
Their Highnesses have agreed t hat , as soon as circumstances
and local conditions will permit, legislation should be introduced
for the election of members to the several legislatures to be
established pursuant to this Agreement:
Now, THEREFORE , it is agreed and declared as follows:
PART 1:

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERATION.

Sllort title
and commence

maut .

In terpretaLloD.

l. (1) This Agreement may be cited as the .Federation of

Malaya Agreement, 1948, and shall come into opero,tion on t he

appointed day:
Provided that Clauses 112 to 123 inclusive of thi"s Agreement shall have effect in respect of the whole financial year
beginning on the first day of January , 1948, sub ject however to
any existing law making financial provision for the public service
for the year 1948 and subject to such modifications, if any, as
may be prescribed .
(2) The appointed day shall be notified in the Malayan
Union Government Gazette after which the said Ga ze lle shalT
cease to be published and there shall be published in its place
the Gazette of the Federation of Malaya.
2. (1) In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise
requires"the Attorney-General" means the Attorney-General for the
Federation referred to in Clause 84 of this Agreement;
"the Chief Justice " means the Chief Justice of the
Federation referred to in Clause 77 of this Agreement;
"Conference of Rulers" means the Majlis Raja Raja Negri
Melayu established by this Agreement;
. Constitution of the State" with reference to any State
means such constitution as may have been enacted or granted
by the Huler of that State either before the date of the execution
of this Agreement or after that date, whether before, on or
after the appointed day, and includes any amendment duly made
thereto;
.
"Council of State" means the Majlis Meshuarat Negri of iii
Malay State established pursuant to Clause 97 of this Agreement;
"the existing laws" means the common law, doctrines of
equity and all Acts of Parliament, Orders in Council other tha n
the Malayan Union Order in Council , 1946, Enactments of the
Legislature of the Federo,ted Malay States , Enactments of the
Legislature of any Malay State, Ordinances of the L egislature
of the Colony of the Straits Settlements, Ordinances of the
Malayan Union, Proclamations issued by the High Commissioner