MALAYSIAN STUDIES 3

MS3 - CHAPTER 2
 PART 2

MS3 – CHAPTER 1
 INDEPENDENCE
LOCAL COMMUNITY REACTION TO BRITISH OCCUPATION
• The people of this country were
willing to fight and sacrifice their
lives to free their homeland
• The Melaka Sultanate also
constantly fought the
Portuguese in Melaka – to regain
what was rightfully theirs
• Johor government – constantly
been at war with the Dutch for
the same reason
• Protectorates of Siam, Kedah,
Perlis, Terengganu and Kelantan
constantly launched attacks to
fight for their freedom
• The locals uneasy with the British
interference in the Malay
Peninsula, and the Brooke family
(Sarawak) and North Borneo
British Company (Sabah)
• The early stage of resistance by
the locals was successfully
quelled by the British.
• The resistance evidenced the
formation of a nationalist spirit
among the locals who continued
their struggle to claim
independence

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 INDEPENDENCE
THE RESISTANCE IN NANING
• The Anglo Dutch Treaty – 17 March 1824 • The British proposal was opposed by Dol
put Melaka under British rule Said – Penghulu of Naning
• British claimed that Naning was part of • Naning war – July 1853 and Dol Said was
Melaka’s territory (Naning was located declared a rebel on 15 July 1931
on the border between Melaka and • British – sent soldiers to capture Dol
Negeri Sembilan) Said – force his followers to conform to
• Governor Fullerton – demanded that the British rule
residents of Naning pay one – tenth of
their profits to the British government in
Melaka
• This demand incensed the locals as their
previous payment to Melaka was only
thought of as a sign of friendship, not as
payment to the British goverment

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 INDEPENDENCE

The introduction of Rule 42 “Rules of the

Penghulu”

The anger of Dol Said and

his followers towards the The attitude of the British officer W.T.
British were caused by the Lewis (collector of Melaka’s Taxes)
following

Issues of government, land, and slave

restrictions
• Following Dol Said defeats,
Naning was declared part of
Melaka’s territories.
• February 1834 – Dol Said
surrendered and was
allowed to stay in Melaka

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 INDEPENDENCE
THE RESISTANCE IN SELANGOR
• In 1849, Raja Sulaiman, the Klang district ruler • Although the situation in Selangor was a civil
passed away. war, it was through the involvement of the
• The Sultan of Selangor then gave Klang to Raja British that Raja Mahadi started rallying for
Abdullah, effectively brushing aside Raja support against the British
Mahadi who was Raja Sulaiman’s son.
• This caused a feud between the two fractions.
• 1867 – Raja Mahadi successfully drove Raja
Abdullah out of Klang.
• When Raja Abdullah died, his son Raja Ismail
continued the feud with Raja Mahadi

• 1868 the Sultan Selangor appointed Tengku

Kudin as the Viceroy of Selangor to stop the
dispute.
• Tengku Kudin – sided with Raja Ismail and
helped him recapture Klang in 1870.
• British – offered assistance and support to Raja
Ismail and Tengku Kudin, futher fuelling
opposition against Raja Mahadi

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 INDEPENDENCE
THE RESISTANCE IN PERAK

• British Resident – J.W.W Birch, did not

receive full cooperation from Sultan
Abdullah and the Malay officials
• The dissatisfaction towards the
Resident System and Birch’s attitude
Perak
led to a plot amongst the Malay leaders
to assassinate him.
• Sultan Abdullah and Raja Ismail sent
weapons to dato Maharajalela who
ordered Pandak Indut and Seputum to
assassinate Birch in Pasir Salak on 2
November 1875

J.W.W Birch

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 INDEPENDENCE

The different of the functions of the Resident

Previously, every official had the right to collect taxes in their own
territory. The British and Birch restricted the rights of the Sultan and the
Malay officials to collect taxes and gave that right to an officer appointed
by Resident of British
The resistance due the
following reason
British Government used Birch to force Sultan Abdullah to effectively sign
away his powers to the British in 1875

The changes introduced by Birch were seen as too drastic

MS3 – CHAPTER 1
 INDEPENDENCE
THE RESISTANCE IN PAHANG

• Pahang was required to accept

the British Consul – Hugh
Clifford • The Resident System
• Clifford – initiate many
received strong opposition
changes, such as setting
boundaries to control the
from the people and rulers Pahang
power of the local officials and of Pahang, and this sparked
forming more midern written off a rebellion led by three
laws. prominent local figures :
• J.P Rodger became the first Dato Bahaman, Tok Gajah,
British resident in Pahang and Mat Kilau in 1891
• Resident has more authority
than the Consul

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1. The Sultan and local
officials losing their rights
and privileges with the
formation of the State
Council
3. Malay officials were no
longer able to preside as
judges over criminal and
civil disputes
FACTORS THAT LED TO
THE MALAY REBELLION IN
PAHANG
INDEPENDENCE
2. The British introduced
Land Laws, which
restricted the freedom of
Malay leaders and their
resources of income The British forced Sultan Ahmad
to sigh papers handing over his
5. The dissatisfaction of Sultan power to his son, Tengku
Ahmad, Dato Bahaman and Tok Mahmud who was more favoured
Gajah by the British. The British also
4. Important decision refused to increase Dato
Bahaman allowance
were wholly made by the
British Residents in the
State Council 6. The dissatisfaction of the local They were forbidden to wear
people heightened when the keris, which was traditionally part
British introduced systems that of their everyday attire. The
requires licences and permits for British also introduced a land tax
those who wished to collect and conscription system for civil
jungle produce such as wood and projects which involved the local
sago leaves people
MS3 – CHAPTER 1
 INDEPENDENCE
THE RESISTANCE IN KELANTAN
• Through the Bangkok Treaty in 1909,
Siam handed its control over Kelantan • Dissatisfaction among the people
to the British government and James eventually gave rise to arevolt that was
Scott Mason was appointed the first led by Tok Janggut in pasir Puteh on 19
British adviser in Kelantan on July 1909 April 1915. However, with the help of the
• Resistance in Kelantan broke out, led by Sultan of Kelantan, the British successfully
a local trader, Haji Mat Hassan Bin broke the resistance and Tok Janggut was
Munas who was also known as Tok
killed on 24 June 1915
Janggut
• He was joined by individuals such as
engku Besar Jeram Tun Ahmad, Haji
Said Cherang, Encik Adam (The village
headman of Jeram), Encik Ishak and
Khatib Abu Bakar
Kelantan

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 INDEPENDENCE
THE RESISTANCE IN TERENGGANU
• The resistance in Terengganu in 1928, which was also known as the Farmers Revolt due to the
involvement of many farmers, was led by Haji Abdul Rahman
• The revolt accoured during the reign of Sultan Sulaiman. Agriculture and land issueswere cited
• Before the arrival of the British, there were no documents relating to land ownership and land
ownership was restricted

Terengganu

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 INDEPENDENCE
1. The British gov
tax collection of
land, land crops,
and head taxes
TERENGGANU from the people,
which caused anger
among the local
towards the British

2. The British
3. The British also required
introduced a western- those who wished to
style education which
was different from the cultivate land for farming
traditional, Islam- and collect forest produce
based education the to have permit, contrary to
locals were the lack of any restriction
accustomed to previously
Among the 4. Other new laws
factors that that were
sparked this introduced
introduced included
included
forbidding
forbidding the
the
rebellion were : exploration
exploration of
of
forests that were
less tha seven years
old
old

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 THE FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE
• Began to spread throughout the country beginning the early 20 th century following the
rise of nationalism among the population
• The nationalism and the struggle were evident through local newspapers and the
formation of various associations.
• When the British introduced the Malayan Union, the struggle intensified and saw the
emergence of various political parties after the Second World War

MALAY NATIONALISM CHINESE NATIONALISM INDIA NATIONALISM

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 THE FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE
THE RELIGIOUS
STAGE
• Influenced by – Islamic Reformation
Movement in the Middle East
• Started by Sheikh Muhammad Abduh
• This belief influenced the Malays
students in Cairo
• Led by Sheikh Tahir Jalaludin and Syed
Syeikh Ahmad al-Hadi and called their
group Kaum Muda
• Published magazines – Al-Imam, Al-
Ikhwan and Saudara
• Kaum Muda was opposed by the
Kaum Tua who comprised the elite
Malay traditionalists and scholars
• They were more conservative
MALAY NATIONALISM
THE SOCIO
ECONOMIC STAGE
• At this stage – more secular
• More emphasis was given to the socio
economic status of the Malays
• This stage started when the Malays
realized they were left behind
economically and politically compared
to the other races in the country
• This movement at this stage was
started by a small number of elite
Malays who had English education
• The struggle culminated in the
formation of associations such as
Kesatuan Melayu Singapura
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THE POLITICAL
STAGE
• Political motivated struggles appeared
in the Malay community in the 1920
as a result of pressure from other
races and the issue of power
distribution amongst races
• Malay associations started appearing
in every state, most of them having
some motives. However, the more
radical groups formed Kesatuan
Melayu Muda
 THE FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE
CHINESE NATIONALISM

• The Renewal Movemnent in China known as the 100-day Renewal Plan. Initiated by Kang Yu wei
• The movement aimed modernize China
1

• The revolutionary movement in China was led by Dr Sun Yat Sen to oppose the cruelty of the Manchu government.
• Many Chinese in in the Malay Peninsula supported this movement because they themselves had migrated to Malaya from
2 China to escape the Manchu government and the movement was successful in the overthrowing the Manchu government

• The Kuomintang Party from China was also another major influence. In China, the KP fought for the unification of China
and the strengthening of the country through industry and modernization
3 • 1913 – Many branches of the KP appeared in Malaya which gave assistance to the main party in China

• The founding of the Malayan Communist Party in 1930 was aimed towards establishing the Malayan Communist Republic
4

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THE FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE
INDIAN NATIONALISM
• The anti colonial activities among the Punjabi. The activities were influenced by the Ghadr

1
movement aimed at usting the British from India
• The newspapers published by the movement were also distributed in Malaya and influenced
the local Indian nationalism

• Parties that looked after the interests of the Indians included the Taiping Indian Association,

2
which was founded in April 1906 the Selangor Indian Association, which was founded in 1909
• These associations were responsible for improving the socio-economic status of the Indians by
building schools, helath centres and starting Hindi language classes

• The central Indian Associaion of Malaya which was an alliance of 12 other Indian associations

3
and four India Chambers of Commerce, was founded in October 1936
• The CIAM fought for progress and the political rights of the Indians in Malaya

• The Indian community in the Malay Peninsula was also influenced by the National Movement

4
led by Mahayma Gandhi.

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THE FEDERATED STATES OF MALAYA
• After the Malayan Union was abolished, the British formed a committee to draft a new constitution for Malaya
• This committee comprised four representatives of the Malay Sultans, two representatives from UMNO and six
British officers.
• The committee was chaired by the former Head Secretary of the Malayan Union
• Following negotiations, this committee submitted their report which was published in December 1946

• After the report was published, the non-Malay community expressed their disapproval of
the draft. The non-Malay community formed the All Malaya Council of Joint Action
(AMCJA) led by Tan Cheng Lock. The AMCJA combined several non Malay organizations.
The AMCJA made six new proposal
• 1. Singapore be reunited with Malaya
• 2. Formation of a central legislature whose members were elected by the people
• 3. Equal rights for everyone who lived in Malaya (residents who acknowledged
Malaya as their homeland
• 4. The sovereignty of the Malay rulers be retained but under a system of
Constitutional Monarchy
• 5. Malays to have authority over Malay customs and matters of the Islamic faith
• 6. Malays to be given special attention so as to be able to achieve progress

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Emergence of Major Political Parties
UNITED MALAYS NATIONAL ORGANISATION (UMNO)

• UMNO was formed on 11 May 1946 The Objective of The Formation

• Founder – Dato Onn Jaafar
• He held the post until the year 1951.

• Slogan – Hidup Melayu

1 • To oppose Malayan Union

• The rallying cry was voiced

by Dato Onn Jaafar
himself during UMNO
gathering in September
2 • To unite Malays and defend
the special rights of Malays

1947

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Emergence of Major Political Parties
MALAYAN INDIAN CONGRESS (MIC)

• MIC was formed – 8 August 1946 The Objective of The Formation

• First president – John A. Thivy
• Notable figures – Tun Sambanthan • To promote and protect the

•
1 political, economic and social
interest of Indians in Malaya
April 1955 – MIC entered into an
alliance with UMNO and MCA. With the
formation of the alliance, MIC
membership hit 7,000 members In
1949 and 20 000 in 1955 2 • To fight for the collective political
interest of Malaya

• To represent Indians in

3 communicating their voices to

the goverment

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Emergence of Major Political Parties
MALAY CHINESE ASSOCIATION (MCA)

• MCA was formed – 27 February 1949 The Objective of The Formation

• Brainchild of Leong Yew Koh
• President – Tun Tang Cheng Lock • To protect the rights
•

•
When it was founded, the MCA was simply a welfare
organization.
The party was declared a political party in 1952
1 and interest of the
Chinese

• To preserve
2 interracial harmony
within a united nation

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Emergence of Major Political Parties
THE ALLIANCE PARTY

• 1952 – Kuala Lumpur Municipal

• The success of this partnership
Elections – the leaders of the
Selangor UMNO and Kuala Lumpur
MCA decided to cooperate and form
a multiracial political party
1 resulted in a formula that
reflected the efforts to establish
cooperation between the races
for mutual interest
• UMNO – MCA alliance won nine out
of the 12 seats they contested
• This alliance was then expanded

2
• The multietnic cialition party led
through participation in the local to a larger alliance at the central
Town Council elections of several level.
other main towns such as Johor
Bahru, Muar and Melaka

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Emergence of Major Political Parties
INDEPENDENCE OF MALAYA PARTY

• On 16 September 1951, the first president of

UMNO, Dato Onn Jaafar left the party to form the
Independence of Malaya Party (IMP)
• The formation of IMP was to realize Dato Onn idea
that the cooperation between races could form
the basis for the creation of a single party
• Membership – open to all races
• IMP gained many members but eventually lost
support
• His idea was ahead of its time and the many
separate communities were not ready to work
Dato Onn Jaafar
together as party

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Emergence of Major Political Parties
PARTI ISLAM SE – MALAYA (PAS)

• 23 August 1951 – a group of ulama held a meeting

in Kuala Lumpur – to establish the Association of
Pan Malaya Islamic Scholars
• The origin of this party is related to UMNO and the
Hizbul Muslimin
• UMNO – formed the Islamic Religious Department
in the Party to gain more support from Islamic
leaders
• PAS registered as a political party and separated
from UMNO in 1955.
• PAS struggle for independence by making Islam
the basis for the society and the goverment

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 Negotiations for Independence
• The Alliance Party’s victory in the
1955 General Elections paved the
Entourage to
way to self-government. London
• January 1956 – Tunku Abdul
Rahman led an entourage to Tunku Abdul Rahman
London to negotiate for
independence
Secretary

• The London agreement was signed

on 8 February 1956 Four representatives of the
• According to the agreement, the Sultans
Federated States of Malaya would
be given independence on 31 Four representatives of the
August 1957 Alliance Party

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 Negotiations for Independence
• Following the negotiations, a new commission called the Reid Commission was
formed on Malayas new constitution

LORD REID REID COMMISSION MEMBERS

IVOR JENNINGS (UK)

WILLIAM MACKELL (AUSTRALIA

B. MALIK (INDIA)

HALIM ABDUL HAMID (PAKISTAN)

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 Negotiations for Independence
• The draft constitution was eventually completed and
approved by the Federal Legislative Council on 15
August 1957 and put into effect on 27 August 1957
• Important aspect – was that it was a social contract
between the Malays and non-Malays
• Malays agreed to loosen the conditions for
citizenships and extend it to include non Malays :
while non-Malays, through organization such as the
MCA and MIC acknowledged the status of the Malay
Sultans, recognized Islam as the national religion,
and also the special rights of the Malays.
• This agreement and understanding which is also
known as the social contract represented a gesture to
give and take and tolerance between the races in the
country

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Negotiations for Independence

The Malayan Independence Entourage to London

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Negotiations for Independence

1. A political system based on Constitutional Monarchy. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong would be head of
state choosen from among the nine Malay rulers

2. The Head of the government is the Prime Minister elected from the House of Representatives

3. The Federation to be governed as a Parlimentary Democracy. A Parliament would be formed

comprising members from the House of Representatives and the Senate

4. Refined conditions of citizenship. (granted to all those born in Malaya after independence, granted
to those aged at least 18, born in Malaya and have resided in the country for at least 5 years

MS3 – CHAPTER 1
 The Formation of Malaysia
BACKGROUND ON MALAYSIA’S FORMATION

• The federation of Malaya (Persekutuan Tanah Melayu)

was a federation of what previously was British
Malaya comprising 11 states (nine Malay states and
two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and
Melaka) that existed from 1 February 1948 – 16
September 1963)
• The Federation became independent on 31 August
1957 and in 1963 Malaysia was formed with the
Federation of Malaya Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak.
• 9 August 1965, Singapore separated from Malaysia to
become an independent and sovereign state

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 The Formation of Malaysia
BACKGROUND ON MALAYSIA’S FORMATION

• The idea behind the formation of Malaysia

ignited on – 27 May 1961
• Through a speech delivered by the Federation of
Malaya Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman.
• In his speech, Tunku Abdul Rahman had raised
an idea to generate a form of economic and
political alliance involving the Federation of
Malaya with the British colonised regions of
Singapore, North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak and
Brunei
TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN

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Factors Affecting Malaysia’s Formation
1. Communist threat and Influence

2. Granting Independence to Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei

and Singapore

3. The Sharing of Economic Benefits

4. Championing the Bumiputera in Sabah and Sarawak

5. Preserving the Rights of the Bumiputeras in All the

regions Involved

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The Formations Process of Malaysia
1. The Malaysia Solidarity Consultative
Committee

2.The Cobbold Commission

4. Inter-government Committee (IGC)

5. The Singapore Referendum

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 The Issues of Brunei and Singapore
• Malaysia was finally established on 16 September 1963
• Brunei which was previously part of the affiliation plan withdrew
• Singapore, on the other hand, was with Malaysia during its establishment but left
after two years

MS3 – CHAPTER 1
 The Issues of Brunei and Singapore
BRUNEI

• Brunei initially agreed to Brunei’s participation in the

Federation of Malaysia, towards the end, he shocked
everyone by withdrawing from arrangement.
• This was because several of its requests were not agreed to
by the government of Malaya.
• Among the request
• Brunei to have 10 Parliamentary seats
• Full control over all of Brunei’s oil resources
• Autonomy in financial matters during the early stages following the formation of Malaysia
• Retention of all its investments
• Retention of low tax rates
• Continuation of its education and welfare programs
• Explicit guarantee of security in terms of Brunei’s position in Malaysia
• Requesting that the Sultan of Brunei’s seniority in the Royal Council be determined from the date of his
reign as a Sultan, and not from the date Brunei joined with Malaysia

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 The Issues of Brunei and Singapore
SINGAPORE
• Before the formation of Malaysia, Lee Kuan Yew had
affirmed that although Sinapore had agreed to join
Malaysia, the matters contained in the unification had to be
determined together with the people of Singapore
• This affirmation was to ensure the people ‘s welfare after
the affiliation
• 23 August 1961 – an official meeting was held between Singapore and the
Federation of Malaya and they came to an agreement on several issues
• The White Paper agreement stated that matters of defence, external relations
and security would be responsibility of the Federation of Malaya, while education
and labour would come under jurisdiction of the Singapore government
• After joining Malaysia for two years – the relationship between Malaya and
Singapore became strained.
• When Singapore was still a part of Malaysia, a lot of disputes and
misunderstandings arose between Singapore and Malayan Government

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 CONCLUSION
• An understanding and appreciation of the rich History
of the Malay Sultanates is extremely important to
create an awareness of an ancient advanced Malay
civilization, a sovereign state and its equal standing with
other ancient civilizations of the World

• The history has shown how the nation was once

invaded and occupied by foreign powers, and how the
Malay community as natives of the land has sacrificed
much in its efforts to restore the nations sovereignty.
The struggle was also joined by other races which
cooperated to gain independence as a country

MS3 – CHAPTER 1