April 1951 – the British Government introduced the Member System in the Federal Legislative council to provide local people the opportunity to be involved in the administrative system.
UMNO National United Malay Organisation (1946). Founded by Dato’ Onn Jaafar Opposed the Malayan Union and united the Malays to fight for independence.
MCA Malayan Chinese Association (1949) Founded by Tan Cheng Lock Protected the interest of the Chinese, and cooperated with other communities to achieve independence.
MIC Malayan Indian Congress (1947) Founded by John Thivy Took care of the interest of the Indians and fought for independence with the other communities.
MCP(PKM) Malayan Communists Party (1930) Oldest political party in Malaya Wanted to achieve independence through revolution, and to establish the Communist Republic of Malaya.
AWAS Angkatan Wanita Sedar (1946) Founded by Shamsiah Fakeh The struggle for independence was influenced by the nationalist struggle in Indonesia.
API Angkatan Pemuda Insaf (1946) Founded by Ahmad Boestamam Its main struggle was independence with Indonesia to form Melayu Raya.
PKMM National Malay Party of Malaya Founded by Dr. Burhanuddin Al- Helmi PETA Ikatan Pemuda Tanah Air (1947 )
PAS Islamic Party of Malaya (1951) Founded by Ahmad Fuad Hassan Its cause – to set up an Islamic government Fought for Islam as the official religion and Malay as the official language.
HISBUL MUSLIMIN Hizabul Muslimin (1948) Founded by Haji Abu Bakar Aim to establish an Islamic government in Malaya.
IMP Independent Malayan Party (1951) Founded by Dato’ Onn Jaafar after leaving UMNO. Fought for independence for 10 years.
PARTI NEGARA National Party (1954) Founded by Dato’ Onn after IMP was dissolved in 1953 for lack of support Fought for independence for 5 years.
February 1956 Tunku Abdul Rahman as the Chief Minister led a team to London to negotiate for Malaya’s independence. The team consisted of: 4 Malay rulers Alliance (perikatan)
Datuk Panglima Gantang Dato’ Ahmad Kamil Abdul Aziz Majid Dato’ Mohd Seth
Tunku Abdul Rahman Dr. Ismail Abdul Rahman Dato’ Abdul Razak Hussein Colonel H.S. Lee
18 January – 8 February 1956 Lord Lennox Boyd – the Secretary of British Colonial Territories chaired the negotiations. The day the London Agreement was signed.
The British promise to grant independence on condition that a commission is formed to outline and draw up Malaya’s new Constitution. Tunku Abdul Rahman announced 31 August 1957 as the date for independence in Padang Hilir Malacca as agreed by the British government.
1956 – Lord Reid headed the commission to draw up a constitution for independent Malaya. Members: Britain: Lord Reid, Sir Ivor Jennings Australia : Sir William Mckell India: B. Malik Pakistan: Judge Abdul Hamid
The commission received suggestions and views from various organizations and individuals in Malaya. The memorandum of 131 written received from the Malay rulers and Alliance. The Constitution was accepted and approved by the Federal Legislative Council on 15 August 1957 and came into effect on 27 August 1957.
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the head of Malaya while the rulers are heads of their respective states. The Malays are recognized as the ‘sons of the soils’ and their special rights are guaranteed in the Constitution.
The Malaya language is to become the national language; English however can still be used in the Legislative Council for a period of 10 years after independence. A person born in Malaya on or after Independence is automatically a Malayan citizen. Islam is made the official religion of the Federation of Malaya, but freedom of worship is guaranteed for non-Muslims.
31 August 1957 at the Selangor Club Green (as known as Dataran Merdeka or Independence Square), the Union Jack (the British flag) was brought down and the flag of independent Malaya (known as Jalur Gemilang) was flown.
The British Cabinet had discussed the idea in order to protect British Interest. 1955 – David Marshall suggested that Singapore unite with Malaya. 1954 – Ghazali Shafie suggested the idea of coalition( bergabung) 1955 – Tan Cheng Lock suggested the idea. 1959 – Lee Kuan Yew said Singapore and Malaya should join together. 1955 – Tunku Abdul Rahman voiced the idea during the UMNO conference.
Ahmad M.Azhari of Brunei and Ahmad Boestamam of Malaya gave the opposite idea to form Malaysia. 27 May Tunku revealed(dedahkan) his aspiration to form Malaysia at a dinner gathering for South East Asian journalist in Singapore.
Tunku announced the idea of unification after had several meetings with important leaders, including Lee Kuan Yuew (January 1961), Senu Abdul Rahman discussed the outcome of his survey in Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei (1960) and Mac Millan in London (February, 1961)
Independence Through Unification Understanding For Development Ethnic Balance and Unity Collective Fight Against Communism Economic Cooperation United in International Relations
Among the 5 potential member countries, only Malaya was free from any outside power after its independence on 31 August The other 4 countries, Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak & Singapore were still under British rule and the entry into Malaysia would enable them to become independence. The case of “freedom through unification” was a primary factor for the future member countries.
Another reason felt by all the future member countries was the question of fostering (membela) regional understanding and creating one united nation for the progress of the country and the people.
This factor was not emphasized by Singapore but was important to the authorities in Kuala Lumpur Tunku wanted a Malaysia Federation, a large union encompassing Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak & Singapore. It is to ensure the preservation(terpelihara) of ethnic balance
Maintaining a balance between non- Bumiputras and Bumiputras would ensure peace & stability in the region. Malay language decided as national language
The communist threat was a source of worry to many including the British.. Malaya was constantly expose to the communist threat even the era of Emergency was over. With formation of Malaysia, the influence of communist can be frail (lemah)
Before formation of Malaysia, the economic between the region of Borneo, Malaya and Singapore are not balance. By formation of Malaysia, it will benefit each other to develop a strong economic.
If the countries within the plan were to unite under one government & political system, their position as one new nation would be stronger in the international era.
Lee Kuan Yew was the most interested with the idea of Malaysia. Initially, the people of Singapore gave their full support but political changes in Singapore in early 1961 changed the mind of part of the Singapore population.
The people of Brunei were not unanimously agreed to Malaysia, many of them preferred to be independent on their own first. Ahmad M.Azahari, leader of Parti Rakyat Brunei (Brunei People’s Party) opposed the idea because he wants Brunei uniting with British North Borneo and Sarawak under the name of North Kalimantan.
The reaction of the people was very encouraging because they want to free from British imperialism. They also worried with the communist’s threat. They also felt anxiety and were apprehensive about losing their position because of ‘Malayan domination’.
In Malaya, the Malaysia concept was generally accepted but there were also people who thought differently. Another group in Malaya strongly against the formation of Malaysia was PAS (Malayan Islamic Party).
On the whole, the British accepted that the countries in the region merge and set up a new nation, even though the change would mean that the countries under the protection of the British would be handed back to the people.
Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddin’s action to cancel the plan to join Malaysia took many by surprise including Britain and other external observes. The failure to carry out the proposal to come together and share within a new federation occurred because of differences in opinion and the reluctance to compromise on the part of Brunei and Kuala Lumpur.
The speeding up of independence The strengthening of the wall of defense against the communist threat The provision of help to the less developed parts
The number of seats in the Legislature and in Parliament The control on oil and other minerals Monetary autonomy Brunei’s earlier investments Method of taxation
Authority in the area of education and welfare Matters of religion Citizenship The security of Brunei (needs to be guaranteed) The position of the Sultan and the status of Brunei within Malaysia
The position of the Sultan Brunei within the Council of Malay rulers The status of Brunei within Malaysia The matter of finance which hinges on the issue of royalty from oil.
He felt disappointed about his positions from the point of view of the constitution. He refuse to pay petrol taxation to Malaysia for 10 years- (Kuala Lumpur was seen as “hungry octopus”) Brunei’s people refuse to join Malaysia
Two countries namely Indonesia and the Philippines opposed the issue of Malaysia. The Philippines were against the formation of Malaysia while Indonesia tries to prevent its formation and immediately became hostile to Malaysia after the new country was established.
President Macapagal claimed Sabah was originally a part of Filipino territory. Indonesia’s opposition to Malaysia was called confrontation that was launched by President Sukarno on 20 January 1963 with slogan “GANYANG MALAYSIA”.
Sukarno claimed Malaysia to be new kind of political structure that would ignore Indonesia’s interest and weaken the spirit of the Malay Archipelago.
Singapore’s profound interest to join Malaysia did not last. About two years after Malaysia was formed, the Malays and Chinese in Malaya and Singapore experienced dangerous racial polarization(pembahagian) The split in Singapore-Kuala Lumpur relations arose initially in the first Malaysian general election in 1964 in which the PAP was one of the many contesting parties.
Lee Kuan Yew and several PAP leaders belittled MCA, again and again saying the MCA leaders lacked with the caliber and were over-friendly with UMNO. The attitude of Lew Kuan Yew and PAP was interpreted by MCA and UMNO as a PAP tactic over the role of the MCA in protecting the interests of the Chinese Community.
The first Malaysian general election campaign was an event that brought serious repercussions. The Malays were generally suspicious of Lew Kuan Yew. By July 1964, relations between the races became obviously strained. The tenseness exploded into riots twice, on 21 July 1964 and 2 September 1964.
For the first 4 months of 1965, relations between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were marked by dispute with more and more leaders joining in the fray. The Malays considered this statement a direct challenge to their status.
The situation grew increasingly critical after UMNO extremist under Jaafar Albar reacted against “Malaysian Malaysia” campaign with the call “Malays Unite”. On 7 August 1965, Lee Kuan Yew and Tunku signed the separation agreement and on 9 August 1965, the Parliament passed the Separation Act.