Federation of Malaya

Federation of Malaya
Federation of Malaya
Persekutuan Tanah Melayu

19481963

Flag

Coat of arms

Capital

Kuala Lumpur

Language(s)

Malay
English

Government

Constitutional monarchy

Yang di-Pertuan Agong

- 19571960

Tuanku Abdul Rahman

- 1960

Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah

- 19601963

Tuanku Syed Putra

Prime minister

Tunku Abdul Rahman

History
-Established

31 January 1948

-Independence

31 August 1957

-Formation of Malaysia

16 September 1963

Area
-1963

132,364km2 (51,106sqmi)

Currency

Malaya / British Borneo dollar

The Federation of Malaya (Malay: Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi: ) is the name given to a
federation of 11 states (nine Malay states and two of the British Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca)[1] that
existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957.[2]
In 1963 it was reconstituted as Malaysia with the addition of Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak,.[3] Singapore later
became an independent state on 9 August 1965.

Federation of Malaya

History
From 1946 to 1948, the 11states formed a single British crown colony known as the Malayan Union. Due to
opposition from Malay nationalists, the Union was disbanded and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which
restored the symbolic positions of the rulers of the Malay states.
Within the Federation, while the Malay states were protectorates of the United Kingdom, Penang and Malacca
remained British colonial territories. Like the Malayan Union before it, the Federation did not include Singapore,
despite its traditional connections with Malaya.
The Federation achieved independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on 31August1957.[1] In 1963, the
Federation was reconstitued as "Malaysia" when it federated with the British territories of Singapore, Sarawak, and
British North Borneo (renamed Sabah); the latter territory was claimed to be a part of the Sultanate of Sulu.[4][5]
Singapore separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic on 9August1965.

The federation agreement

The Federation of Malaya Agreement was formulated by the BritishMalay Pleno Conference between June and
December 1946. At the end of the meeting, the Pleno Conference produced a 100-page "Blue Book".[6]
The Federation of Malaya Agreement was signed on 21 January 1948 at King House by the Malay rulers, and by Sir
Edward Gent as the representative of the British government. The Agreement superseded the Agreement creating the
Malayan Union, and prepared for the establishment of the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948. The position of
the Malay rulers was also restored.
As with the Malayan Union, the Federation excluded Singapore, despite its traditional links to Malaya.

List of member states

Johor
Kedah
Kelantan
Malacca
Negeri Sembilan
Pahang
Penang
Perak
Perlis
Selangor
Terengganu

Federation of Malaya

System of government
The government of the Federation of Malaya was headed by a British High Commissioner with executive powers,
assisted and advised by the Federation of Malaya Executive Council and the Federation of Malaya Legislative
Council.
The Federation of Malaya Executive Council comprised 7 official and 7 unofficial members.
The Federation of Malaya Legislative Council comprised the High Commissioner as the Council President, 14
official and 50 unofficial members representing the Straits Settlements, business groups and all races.
Additionally, 9 State Council Yang Di Pertua (heads of state), Chief Ministers and 2 representatives from the
Straits Settlements became unofficial members.
The Malay Conference of Rulers would advise the High Commissioner on immigration issues. The British
Resident was replaced with a Chief Minister in each state of the federation.

Conditions of citizenship
The conditions of citizenship of the Federation of Malaya were further tightened using law enforcement and
naturalisation by application. Under the laws, the following were automatically granted citizenship:
1. Citizens of the Sultan of any state
2. British citizens born in Penang or Malacca who have lived continuously for 15 years in the federation
3. British citizens born in the federation whose fathers were born or lived continuously for 15 years in the federation
4. Anyone born in the federation, conversant in the Malay language and following Malay traditions in his or her
daily life
5. Anyone born in the federation whose parents were born and lived continuously for 15 years in the federation
Via naturalisation (by application), one could achieve citizenship, given these criteria:
1. Born and lived for at least 8 of 12 years in the Federation of Malaya before the application was made
2. Lived in the Federation of Malaya for at least 15 of 20 years before the application was made
In both cases (via naturalisation), applications must be well-behaved, swear allegiance and clarify their reasons for
living in the federation, and are fluent in either the Malay or the English language.
The Federation of Malaya, through its constitution, guarantees the rights and special position of the Malay people as
well as rights, powers and sovereignty of the Malay rulers in their respective states.[7]

Separation of powers of the federal and state governments

The federation agreement Perjanjian Persekutuan set the powers of the federal and state governments. Financial
matters must be handled by the respective states. The Sultan was given full power on religious issues and Malay
customs. Foreign policy and defence continued to be administered by the British government. The federation
agreement was made the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya and officially declared on 1 February 1948.[8]

The Federation of Malaya Legislative Council

The Federation of Malaya Legislative Council held its first meeting in the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Hall, Kuala
Lumpur in 1948. It was opened by the British High Commissioner Sir Edward Gent. Attendees included the British
Minister of State for Colonial Affairs, Lord Listowel. The membership of the Council was structured to include:
the British High Commissioner (as President);
3 ex-officio members (namely the Chief Secretary, the Financial Secretary, and the Attorney General);
11 "State and Settlement Members" (the President of the Council of State of each Malay state, and a member
elected by each of the Settlement Councils)
11 official members; and

Federation of Malaya

34 appointed "unofficial" members.

The unofficial members were required to be either Federation citizens or British subjects.
In 1948 the ethnic composition of the Council was made up as follows:

28 Malay representatives, including all the Chief Ministers,

14 Chinese representatives,
6 Indian representatives, and
14 Europeans (the ex-officio and official members).

Dato' Onn Jaafar stressed at the first meeting that the citizens of the Federation of Malaya did not want the
interference of external powers in the affairs of the Federation; the Chinese representative Dr Ong Chong Keng
asserted that the Chinese people would be loyal to the Federation of Malaya. At this first Council meeting, several
minor committees were formed:
the Standing Committee on Finance;
the Election Committee; and
the Committee of Privileges.
The first session passed the Kuala Lumpur City Bill, the Transfer of Power Bill, and the Loan and Debt Bill.[9]

Registration of PKMM rejected

In 1950, the Federation of Malaya Government rejected the registration of the Malay Nationalist Party of Malaya
(Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya, PKMM) as a legitimate political party. PKMM had two wings, namely Angkatan
Pemuda Insaf and Angkatan Wanita Sedar. Initially, PKMM did not have communist leanings. After Mokhtaruddin
Lasso was elected as the first PKMM president in October 1946, this party was influenced with communism. The
Young Malays Union (Kesatuan Melayu Muda, KMM) merged with PKMM, and Dr Burhanuddin Helmi became
the second PKMM president. Dr Burhanuddin led PKMM toward the formation of Melayu Raya, a merger of
Indonesia and Malaya. In December 1947, Ishak Haji Mohamed became the third PKMM president and PKMM
switched from communism to nationalism. PKMM tended against UMNO and colonisation. PKKM established the
Pusat Tenaga Rakyat (PUTERA), a conglomeration of radical Malay Political Parties and then merged with the
All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA) which thoroughly opposed the 1948 Federation Agreement for the
foundation of the Federation of Malaya. PKMM accused officials selected in the Federation of Malaya of being
"puppets" of the "Colonial Office". For PKMM, there was no basis in "preparing Malaya as a democratic
government".[10]

Demographics
Federation of Malaya Population [11]
Ethnic group

1948

1951

Malay

2,457,014 2,631,154

Chinese

1,928,965 2,043,971

Indian

536,646

566,371

Other

64,802

75,726

Federation of Malaya

Evolution of the Federation of Malaya

References
[1] See: Cabinet Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 21 February 1956 Federation of Malaya Agreement
[2] The UK Statute Law Database: Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 (c. 60) (http:/ / www. statutelaw. gov. uk/ content.
aspx?LegType=All+ Primary& PageNumber=72& NavFrom=2& parentActiveTextDocId=1118475& ActiveTextDocId=1118475&
filesize=15776)
[3] "No.10760: Agreement relating to Malaysia" (http:/ / untreaty. un. org/ unts/ 1_60000/ 21/ 36/ 00041791. pdf) (pdf). United Nations Treaty
Collection. United Nations. July 1963. . Retrieved 2010-07-29.
[4] United Nations Treaty No.8029, Manila Accord between Philippines, Federation of Malaya and Indonesia (31July1963) (http:/ / untreaty.
un. org/ unts/ 1_60000/ 16/ 16/ 00030780. pdf)
[5] United Nations Treaty Series No.8809, agreement relating to the implementation of the Manila Accord (http:/ / untreaty. un. org/ unts/
1_60000/ 18/ 5/ 00034224. pdf)
[6] Perlembagaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu Diumumkan (http:/ / www. arkib. gov. my/ hids/ readarticle. php?article_id=3159& y=2010&
m=1)
[7] Persekutuan Tanah Melayu Ditubuhkan (http:/ / www. arkib. gov. my/ hids/ readarticle. php?article_id=3837)
[8] [Perlembagaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu Diumumkan]
[9] The First Conference of the Federation of Malaya Legislative Council (http:/ / www. arkib. gov. my/ hids/ readarticle. php?article_id=2278)
[10] Rejection of the registration of the Malay Nationalist Party of Malaya (http:/ / www. arkib. gov. my/ hids/ readarticle. php?article_id=3920)
[11] Annual Report on the Federation of Malaya: 1951 in C.C. Chin and Karl Hack, Dialogues with Chin Peng pp.380, 81.

External links
The UK Statute Law Database: Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 (c. 60) (http:/ / www. statutelaw. gov.
uk/ content. aspx?LegType=All+ Primary& PageNumber=72& NavFrom=2& parentActiveTextDocId=1118475&
ActiveTextDocId=1118475& filesize=15776) United Nations Treaty Collection: No.10760: Agreement relating to
Malaysia (http://untreaty.un.org/unts/1_60000/21/36/00041791.pdf)

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Federation of Malaya Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=518038142 Contributors: -Stamps95, Acecon, Adimovk5, Aelfthrytha, Aiman abmajid, Alessio, Andrew Gwilliam,
Andrew Yong, Bastin, Begoon, Best O Fortuna, Borisblue, Buaidh, Bukhrin, Cfailde, Cheong Kok Chun, Chipmunkdavis, Chroma liberator, ClaudioSantos, Cmglee, Coemgenus,
CommonsDelinker, Davshul, Domino theory, Earth, Egard89, Elijahhee, Evil saltine, Giraffedata, Good Olfactory, GraemeLeggett, Greenshed, Guroadrunner, Hayabusa future, Hikari Serizawa,
Hmains, Hugo999, Ingebjorg, Jchl97, Joseph Solis in Australia, Joshua, Kanags, Kubek15, L0b0t, Microtonal, Mr Tan, Niduzzi, Nightstallion, Nnemo, Octahedron80, Omdo, Orhanghazi,
Osomec, OwenBlacker, Panchodv, PhnomPencil, Poulpy, Rich Farmbrough, Sabre23t, Slb nsk, Tikar aurum, TrueColour, Twp, WATP, Wdcf, Woohookitty, 40 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Flag of the Federated Malay States (1895 - 1946).svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_the_Federated_Malay_States_(1895_-_1946).svg License: Public
domain Contributors: Bukhrin, Cycn, Kaiser Torikka, Ludger1961, Mattes
File:Flag of Malaysia.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Malaysia.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Achim1999, Ah Cong Strike, AnonMoos,
Arteyu, Avala, Cycn, DarknessVisitor, Duduziq, Er Komandante, Fibonacci, Fred J, Fry1989, Herbythyme, Homo lupus, Juiced lemon, Klemen Kocjancic, Ludger1961, Morio, Nick, Reisio,
Rocket000, SKopp, Sarang, Tryphon, VAIO HK, Zscout370, , 20 anonymous edits
File:Flag of Malaya.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Malaya.svg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5 Contributors: User:Huaiwei
File:Coat of arms of the Federation of Malaya.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_Federation_of_Malaya.svg License: unknown Contributors:
Government of the Federation of Malaya. SVG image retrieved by Bukhrin. Original uploader was Bukhrin at en.wikipedia
File:Federation of Malaya.PNG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Federation_of_Malaya.PNG License: Public Domain Contributors: Original uploader was Bukhrin at
en.wikipedia
Image:Malaysia Tree Diagram.png Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Malaysia_Tree_Diagram.png License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors:
Wdcf

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