Malayan independence

The British were convinced that racial unity was necessary before the country could
be given independence.

Problems of unity
Because of the diversity of origin, culture, language and religion, every community
wanted its mother tongue to be made the national language. Non-Malays felt worried
when the Malays wanted Islam to be made the official religion, and demanded they
be granted citizenship
The British government tried to overcome the problems through the educational
system. The Barnes Report suggested that the same medium of instruction be used
in the schools (English at the secondary level & Malay at the primary). The Chinese
objected to the policy through the Fenn-Wu Report, demanding Chinese schools be
continued, while the Malays wanted Malay to be the medium of instruction at all
levels.
In 1949, the British Government set up the Inter-Ethnic Relations Committee for the
purpose of open discussions of racial problems. The committee suggested:

 providing facilities to the Malays to involve themselves in business and

industry
 giving political rights to non-Malays
 providing greater flexibility in giving citizenship to non-Malays
 encouraging the Malays to be involved in the economy
 introducing the system of general elections.

The communities got to discuss and to compromise for the nation’s peace and
prosperity.
In April 1951, the Member System in the Federal Legislative Council was introduced
to provide local people the opportunity to be involved in the administrative system.
Local representatives were appointed to the post of head of department in the
central government, and some wereappointed as ministers. Local leaders received
training in administrative matters, preparing them with the skills to administer when
granted independence later.
These steps created a spirit of cooperation among the races through joint
administration, demonstrating that unity could be achieved through cooperation and
compromise

 City Council Elections

The British Government used elections as a test of unity in the country with the
promise that independence would only be granted if the citizens of the country were
united.
The first election was the George Town City Council election in December 1951. In
terms of communal relationship, the most important was the Kuala Lumpur City
Council election in February 1952;.in this election, UMNO teamed up with MCA and
won nine out of 12 seats contested. These parties, along with MIC, formed the
Alliance Party (Parti Perikatan) in 1951.
City Council elections were also held in Johore Bahru, Seremban, Ipoh and Malacca.

 The General Elections

The first general election was held on 27 July 1955 throughout Malaya. Parties that
contested were: Alliance (UMNO, MCA, MIC), PAS, Parti Negara, Labour Party and
People’s Progressive Party. The Alliance Party won 51 out of the 52 seats contested.
The System of Members was changed to the the System of Ministers, and Tunku
Abdul Rahman was appointed the first Chief Minister of Malaya.
With their landslide victory, the Alliance was given the mandate to start negotiation
for independence.

 Negotiations for Independence

Tunku Abdul Rahman led a team to London in 1956 to negotiate for Malaya’s
independence. The team consisted of 4 representatives of the Malay rulers and
representatives of Alliance: Tunku Abdul Rahman, Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman, Dato
Abdul Razak Hussein and Colonel H.S. Lee, and British representatives.
Negotiations lasted three weeks, from 18 January to 8 February, the day the London
Agreement was signed.
Britain promised to grant independence on condition that a commission be formed to
outline and draw up Malaya’s new Constitution. Britain. agreed to declare
independence for Malaya on 31 August. 1957. Tunku Abdul Rahman announced the
date for independence in Padang Hilir Malacca as soon as the team returned from
London.
Lord Reid headed the Reid Commission, set up in 1956 to draw up a constitution for
independent Malaya. The members were: Lord Reid (Britain), Sir Ivor Jennings
(Britain), Sir William Mckell (Australia), B. Malik (India), and Judge Abdul Hamid
(Pakistan). The constitution was accepted and approved by the Federal Legislative
Council, and came into effect on 27 August 1957 based on the concepts of
constitutional monarchy and democracy

 Proclamation of Independence
On 31 August 1957, the declaration of independence and the official signing of the
declaration of independence took place in the newly built stadium later known as
Merdeka Stadium.
Federation’s first Cabinet of Ministers was announced with Tunku Abdul Rahman as
the first Prime Minister. The Yang di Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan was chosen
the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of the Federation of Malaya.
Dataran Merdeka (2005) <http://bit.ly/1Er1CnM>
Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) in central Kuala Lumpur, where the
independence of Malaya was declared in 1957.