Chronology of Malaysia Independence 1400s 1400 s 1409 14 09
Fou ound ndiing of Mal alac acca ca by Par aram ames esw war ara a. Chi hine nese se Adm dmiiral Che heng ng Ho ar arri rive ves s in Mal alac acc ca.
1511
Malacca falls to the Portuguese.
1641
The Du Dutch ta take Mal Mala acca fr from th the Po Portugu gue ese
1786
The Br British oc occupy Pe Penang.
1819 1824
British oc occupy Si Singapore. Anglo-Dutch Treaty carves up Malay world into colonial spheres: Dutch cede Malacca to British and keeps Riau. Sing Si ngapo apore re,, Mala Malacc cca a Pena Penang ng and and Pro Provi vinc nce e Well Welles esle ley y beco become me Str Strai aits ts Set Settl tlem emen ents ts und under er British control. The Th e impor importan tance ce of of tin tin incre increase ases, s, brin bringin ging g an infl influx ux of of Chine Chinese se tin tin mine miners rs to to the the weste western rn coas coast. t. Jam ames es Bro rook oke e est estab abllish shed ed as Raj ajah ah of Sar araw awak ak..
1826 18 26 1840s 1840s 1841 18 41 1914-18 1941 19 41-4 -45 5 1945 1946 19 46 1948 1948 1948 19 48-6 -60 0 1952 19 52 1953 19 53 1955 1955 1956 19 56 1957
1960 1961 19 61 1963 1965 1965 1970 19 70
World War I. Japa Ja pane nese se co conq nque uest st an and d occ occup upat atio ion. n. British reoccupy Malaya. Mala Ma laya yan n Uni Union on sch schem eme e intr introd oduc uced ed but but is is oppo oppose sed, d, for forma mati tion on of of Uni Unite ted d Mala Malay y Nat Natio iona nall Organisation (Umno); Sarawak and British North Borneo become Crown colonies. Mala Ma laya yan n Unio Union n sche scheme me aba aband ndon oned ed;; Fede Federa rati tion on of of Mala Malaya ya ina inaug ugur urat ated ed.. Comm Co mmun unis istt upri uprisi sing ng - The The Em Emer erge genc ncy. y. Muni Mu nici cipa pall elec electi tion ons s in Kua Kuala la Lum Lumpu pur; r; Umn Umno o and and Malay Malayan an Chi Chines nese e Asso Associ ciat atio ion n (MCA (MCA)) part partie ies s cooperate. Alli Al lian ance ce coal coalit itio ion n comp compri risi sing ng Umn Umno, o, MCA MCA and and Mal Malay ayan an Indi Indian an Con Congr gres ess s (MIC (MIC)) form formed ed.. Firstt gen Firs gener eral al el elec ecti tion ons s in in the the pe peni nins nsul ula; a; la land ndsl slid ide e win win fo forr the the Al Alli lian ance ce.. Tunk Tu nku u Abd Abdul ul Ra Rahm hman an le lead ads s Mer Merde deka ka Mi Miss ssio ion n to to Lon Londo don n to to nego negoti tiat ate e for for inde indepe pend nden ence ce.. Malaya becomes independent, and the Union Jack is lowered for the last time. The Tunku, named the Father of Independence, becomes the first prime minister of the Federation of Malaya. The state of emergency ends. The Th e Tunku Tunku pr prop opos oses es a pol polit itic ical al ass associ ociat atio ion n call called ed Mal Malay aysi sia a that that woul would d incl includ ude e Mala Malaya ya,, Singapore, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei. Creation of Malaysia without Brunei. Singap Sing apor ore e lea leave ves s Mal Malay aysi sia a and and be beco come mes s an an ind indep epen ende dent nt na nati tion on.. Tun Tu n Abdu Abdull Raza Razak k take takes s offi office ce as as the the seco second nd Pri Prime me Min Minis iste terr of Mal Malays aysia ia,, succ succee eedi ding ng Abd Abdul ul Rahman.
1976 19 76 1981 19 81
2003 200 3
Tun Tu n Huss Hussei ein n Onn Onn appo appoin inte ted d as the the thi third rd Pri Prime me Min Minis iste terr of Mal Malay aysi sia a on Jan Jan 15, 15, a day day aft after er the the passing of Abdul Razak. Tun Tu n Huss Hussei ein n Onn Onn ste stepp pped ed dow down n and and appoi appoint nted ed Dat Dato’ o’ Ser Serii Dr Dr Mah Mahat athi hirr Moha Mohama mad d to ta take ke ove over r as Fourth Prime Minister Malaysia' Malays ia's s long longest est-se -servi rving ng Pr Prime ime Mi Minis nister ter Dr Mah Mahath athir ir re retir tires. es. He is suc succee ceeded ded by his dep deputy uty Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Related Links: - Merdeka 50 Years Golden Anniversary - Current Malaysian Prime Minister's Website - Jalur Gemilang - National Flag of Malaysia
OPINION: Merdeka and Malaysia Day Sunday, 08 April 2007 09:07AM
©The Sunday Star (Used by permission) Point of View by Tun Hanif Omar We are celebrating our 50th Merdeka Day a mere 21 weeks away, but there are still doubts about when Malaysia actually gained independence from the British. OUR 50th Merdeka Day is just 21 weeks away. On this blessed day in 1957, the Federation of Malaya became independent of Britain. Malayan soil was, for the first time since 1511, completely independent! On this great day of Aug 31 in 1963, against the imploration of our first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman for patience, Sabah and Sarawak respectively and unilaterally declared their independence of Britain but in “adherence to Malaysia” (Ghazali Shafie’s Memoir on the Formation of Malaysia, p438). The late President Wee Kim Wee of Singapore, then a young Straits Times reporter, covered Sabah’s Merdeka Day and filed a report that, from all the obvious evidence, it was a declaration of independence within Malaysia. Tunku Abdul Rahman and the parliament of independent Malaya had agreed with Britain and the representative leaders of the British colonies of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore to establish the new federation of Malaysia in 1963 on Malaya’s Merdeka anniversary. Both Sabah and Sarawak had held their elections with “Malaysia” as a major issue and the pro-Malaysia parties had clearly won. Singapore had had a referendum which overwhelmingly endorsed the plan for merger with Malaya but, in the face of Philippine opposition and Indonesian hostility, the protracted tripartite Maphilindo Summit, bringing together the Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Presidents of the Philippines and Indonesia, was held in Manila from July 31, 1963. I was the youngest of five police officers attached to Tunku
on this occasion and felt privileged to listen to President D. Macapagal’s Maphilindo speech and to observe President Soekarno at close hand on three occasions, including once in Tunku’s suite which was under my charge. At this summit, Malaya was forced to agree to subject the date of establishing Malaysia to the finding of an ascertainment process by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as to the true wishes of the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak. This agreement greatly dismayed the pro-Malaysia leaders of the three colonial territories of Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak and, in the event, Sabah and Sarawak unilaterally declared their independence in adherence to Malaysia on Aug 31 and Singapore declared on the same day that “External Affairs and Defence should be in the hands of Singapore” (ibid). Thus, there is no question at all that Aug 31 is the correct Merdeka anniversary for Malaysia and all its territories, including Sabah and Sarawak. This is not to confuse it with Malaysia Day, which remains Sept 1 6. This date was set when the UN Secretary-General indicated on Aug 26 that he could possibly come out with his fact-finding report on Sept 14. It could not be made ready earlier as Indonesia’s delaying tactics had forced the UN team to postpone the start of its mission from Aug 22 to Aug 26. Thus it was decided by Tunku and endorsed by his Cabinet that Malaysia would be formed on Sept 16. Apart from the Indonesian and Philippines opposition to Malaysia, three other events could have had a fateful effect on Malaysia. One was the Kelantan government’s opposition to the concept. They took their case to the Federal Court for a ruling that, if my memory is correct, the decision to establish Malaysia was ultra-vires as the state was not consulted. In the event, the Federal Court dismissed the application on Sept 14. Another event, so graphically described by Tun Ghazali at p440 - 444 of his “memoir” was a livid Tunku’s decision on Aug 24 to exclude Sarawak from Malaysia because the British colonial officials had prevailed upon The Malaysian Bar http://www.malaysianbar.org.my Powered by Joomla! Generated: 15 September, 2009, 16:54
Iban leaders to demand the post of Sarawak Governor whilst also keeping the post of Chief Minister, thus reneging on an earlier understanding that for the first two years, the post of either the Chief Minister’s or Governor’s should go to a Malay if the other was given to an Iban. Apparently, all the Malayan ministers except for Tun Razak backed the Tunku, who was determined that if the Iban leaders could not keep their side of a bargain so early in the day, then they were not worth the trouble. A participant in the event, Tun Ghazali Shafie, observed that, in all of this, “... Razak made a firm stand. He said he could not imagine a situation without Sarawak in Malaysia ... (He thought that the problem could still be resolved.) Razak looked glum ... I could not help thinking that here was a man who was truly committed to Malaysia and I could see that he would have walked out of the meeting if there was pressure on him.” Razak’s stand emboldened Ghazali, perhaps the only non-minister present, to ask for permission to try and resolve the problem within three hours. How he did this makes for riveting reading and is a case for intimate bonding in diplomacy. In the event, the Iban leaders fell in line and the crisis was averted. A third event was related over television in the latter part of 1980s by the late Chief Minister of Sabah Tun Datu Mustapha Datu Harun, who was also the state’s first g overnor. His interview was given to deny the claim by certain Sabah quarters then that a reluctant Sabah was courted by a persistent Malayan suitor
to join Malaysia. He claimed that, on the eve of Malaya’s independence, he and Donald Stephens (later known as Tun Fuad Stephens, Sabah’s first chief minister) decided to ask Tunku to take Sabah into the n ew Federation. Tunku declined on the ground that he already had enough on his plate for the moment but that he could possibly reconsider later. Almost four years later, Tunku floated the “Malaysia” idea in a speech at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Singapore. It was greatly welcomed by Mustapha and Fuad Stephens. Thus, when Sabah declared its independence in Malaysia on Aug 31 instead of accepting Tunku’s advice to wait for the UN report and to make the declaration on Sept 16, an angry Tunku rebuked Mustapha and told him that Sabah need not join Malaysia on Sept16. Tun Mustapha said he rushed to see Tunku a nd begged him to understand the situation: the people of Sabah were determined to be in Malaysia; they were not prepared to leave their fate to the outcome of the UN findings; that all preparations including banners and bunting had been made to celebrate their joining Malaysia on Aug 31as previously agreed, and Sabah was so large with many parts so inaccessible that it was impossible for Sabah leaders to call off the planned celebrations in time. Obviously, his pleas and a rguments melted Tunku’s heart. Tun Ghazali and Tun Mustapha’s accounts have further helped us to understand our great past leaders much better. Ghazali Shafie’s Memoir on the Formation of Malaysia should be compulsory reading for students in Malaysian history. It helps us to understand the interplay of national and regional forces which is still relevant today. It also helps us to realise how much we owe this towering former civil servant and Malaysia’s first diplomat for ou r existence as a nation we know today. It would be a well-deserved tribute to our great leaders of old in Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak if we can get our act together towards more progressive nation-building. Let’s have a forward movement all the time. Let’s avoid all the unnecessary regressions. Let’s look at each other as full-fledged fellow Malaysians. Let’s heed His Highness Raja Dr Nazrin Shah’s widely acclaimed seven recommendations of the things we must do to enhance nation-building. But there is also the need for us to be able to communicate with each other, otherwise we will be in a Babel-like endeavour. As someone has said following a study and poll of Malaysia’s young, in a country like Malaysia, it is imperative that we satisfy the need to The Malaysian Bar http://www.malaysianbar.org.my Powered by Joomla! Generated: 15 September, 2009, 16:54
communicate well at the international, national as well a s ethnic levels. Our education system should meet this requirement. Here is where the new education programme, the Pelan Induk Pembangunan Pelajaran, particularly its cluster schools programme, comes in. It is a timely renewal programme for our education system. The Malaysian Bar http://
3. To understand understand the bilateral linkage linkage between between the United Kingdom Kingdom and Malaysia, Malaysia, it may be best to put in some historical perspective. 4. The United United Kingdom Kingdom,, since the end of the Second Second World World War has given up its imperial role and many of its territories and dependencies have emerged as
sovereign and independent nations.Malaysia is one of them. Today, the United Kingdom is an integral part of the European Union, yet retaining its distinctive identity. Malaysia since gaining independence on 31 August 1957 has developed into a robust nation-state with a vibrant economy and a society characterised by diversity in terms of ethnicity, language and religion. Since independence, Malaysia has moved away from being a dual based plantation and extractive economy, based on rubber and tin, to one that is varied and vibrant with hydrocarbons, manufactured and agricultural items constituting its export base. 5. A number number of disti distinc nctiv tive e geop geopoli olitic tical al and and geo-e geo-econ conom omics ics factor factors s distin distingu guish ish the United United Kingdo Kingdomfro mfrom m Malaysi Malaysia. a. For one, the United United Kingdom Kingdom is a nuclearnuclearweapons weapons state. This is reflecte reflected d by the deterre deterrent nt capabil capability ity of the “Trident”. “Trident”. Secondly, the United Kingdom is a member of the Permanent Five of the U.N. Security Council having a veto power. Thirdly, the United Kingdom is an integral element of the European Union, one of the largest economic and trading blocs. And And final finally, ly, as a coro corolla llary ry to the last last state stateme ment nt is the fact fact that that the Unite United d Kingdom is the fifth largest in the global economy. 6.
By contrast, Malaysia since its independence independence in 1957 has been actively involved in the entire gamut of activities involved in nation-building. This has not always been an easy or a happy experience. Nonetheless, I believe we have succeeded in forg forging ing a viable viable nation nation-st -state ate out of a multi multitu tude de of langu languag ages, es, races races and and religious beliefs. Although Malaysia is a relatively small nation it was ranked as the the 19th amon among g the the top top trad tradin ing g nati nation ons s of the the worl world d by the the Worl World d Trad Trade e Organisation in 2006.
7. For almost almost a decade decade after independence, independence, the most important important bilateral bilateral relationship relationship that that Malay Malaysia siahad had was was with with the Unite United d Kingd Kingdom om.. And And this this bilat bilatera erall linkag linkage e provided the ‘cordon sanitaire’ of the British Royal Navy during the period of Konfrontasi launched by President Sukarno of Indonesia. The Anglo-Malaysian Defe Defenc nce e Agre Agreem emen entt guar guaran ante teed ed the the viab viabil ilit ity y of the the emer emerge gent nt Mala Malays ysia ian n Feder Federati ation on when when it was was form formed ed on 16 Septe Septemb mber er 1963 1963.. Defe Defence nce ties ties and and cooperat cooperation ion between between the United United Kingdom Kingdom and Malaysia Malaysia have been been the “core” “core” elem elemen entt in the the bila bilate tera rall link linkag age e betw betwee een n the the two two nati nation ons. s. Sand Sandhu hurs rstt and and Darthmouth were the points of excellence where we sent out military and naval cadets to be shaped as officers and gentlemen. Today, the defence linkage is sym symboli bolise sed d by the the Five ive Powe Powerr Defen efence ce Arra Arran ngeme gement nt,, whic hich incl includ ude e also Singapore, Australiaand New Zealand. 8. Aside ide from rom the defen fence link inkage, the system tem of gove overnm rnment and law that that Mala Malays ysia ia inhe inheri rite ted d from from the the Unit United ed King Kingdo dom m has has serv served ed it well well.. Parliamentary Parliamentary democracy based on the Westminstermo Westminstermodel del and the common common law syste system m has has grow grown n in the the Malay Malaysi sian an socia sociall and and polit politica icall envir environ onme ment nt,, with with appropriate modifications and change. Malaysia has had a system of governance base based d on a coal coalit itio ion n patt patter ern n know known n init initia iall lly y as the the Alli Allian ance ce,, whic which h was was
transformed into the Barisan Nasional or the National Front, made up of fourteen component political parties. Over a period of half a century, Malaysia has had fair and free free elect election ions s ever every y four four or five five years years in accor accorda dance nce with with the feder federal al constitution. ……………
Independence and the Birth of Modern Malaysia The Communist insurrection had the positive effect of spurring the movement for Malayan independence, and in 1957 the federation became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations and was admitted to the United Nations. The first prime minister was Tunku (Prince) Abdul Rahman, the leader of the Alliance Party, a loose coalition of Malay, Chinese, and Indian parties. The constitution guaranteed special privileges for Malays. In 1963 Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak were added to the federation, creating the Federation of Malaysia. Since Singapore has a large Chinese population, the latter two states were included to maintain a non-Chinese majority. Brunei was also included in the plan but declined to join. Malaysia retained Malaya's place in the United Nations and the Commonwealth, and in 1967 it became one of the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The new state was i mmediately confronted with the hostility of Indonesia, which described the federation as a British imperialist subterfuge and waged an undeclared war against it. In the struggle Malaysia received military aid from Great Britain and other Commonwealth nations. Hostilities continued until President Sukarno Sukarno's 's fall from f rom power in Indonesia (1965). Nonviolent opposition came from the Philippines, which claimed ownership of Sabah until early in 1978. Malaysian Borneo (or East Malaysia) occupies the northern part of the island of Borneo of Borneo,, bordering Indonesia and surrounding the Sultanate of Brunei of Brunei.. It consists of the states of Sabah of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal territory of Labuan of Labuan.. The name "Malaysia" was adopted in 1963 when eleven states of the Federation of Malaya (Malay: ''Persekutuan Tanah Melayu''), Singapore Singapore,, Sabah and Sarawak formed a larger federation.[4] Singapore was expelled from the federation in 1965 and subsequently became an independent country.[5] Although politically dominated by the Malays Malays,, modern Malaysian society is heterogeneous, with substantial Chinese Chineseand and Indian minorities.[6] Malaysian politics have been noted for their allegedly communal nature; [7] the three major component parties of the Barisan Nasional each restrict membership to those of one ethnic group. However, the only major intercommunal violence the country has seen since independence was the May 13 racial riots of 1969 that occurred in the wake of an election campaign that was dominated by racial issues.[8]
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British arrival Britain established its first colony in the Malay peninsula in 1786, with the lease of the island of Penang of Penang to the British East India Company by the Sultan of Kedah. In 1824, the British took control of Malacca following the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 which divided the Malay archipelago between Britain and the Netherlands, with Malaya in the British zone. In 1826, Britain established the crown colony of the Straits Settlements, Settlements, uniting its three possessions in Malaya: Penang, Malacca and Singapore. The Straits Settlements were administered under the East
India Company in Calcutta Calcuttauntil until 1867, when they were transferred to the Colonial Office in London. During the late 19th century, many Malay states decided to obtain British help in settling their internal conflicts. The commercial importance of tin of tin mining in the Malay states to merchants in the Straits Settlements led to British government intervention in the tin-producing states in the Malay Peninsula. British gunboat diplomacy was employed to bring about a peaceful resolution to c ivil disturbances caused by Chinese gangsters, and the thePangkor Pangkor Treaty of 1874paved 1874paved the way for the expansion of British influence in Malaya. By the turn of the 20th century, the states of Pahang of Pahang,,Selangor , Perak Perak,, and Negeri Sembilan, Sembilan, known together as the Federated Malay States (not to be confused with theFederation theFederation of Malaya), Malaya), were under the ''de facto'' control of British Residents appointed to advise the Malay rulers. The British were "advisers" in name, but in reality they exercised substantial influence over the Malay rulers.
Malaysia Day celebration in 1963. (''Majulah Malaysia'' means Forward Malaysia in Malay.)
The remaining five states in the peninsula, known as the Unfederated Malay States, States, while not directly under rule from London, also accepted British advisors around the turn of the 20th century. Of these, the four northern s tates of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu had previously been under Siamese under Siamese control. On the island of Borneo of Borneo,, Sabah was governed as the crown colony of British of British North Borneo, Borneo, while Sarawak was acquired from Brunei as the personal kingdom of the Brooke family, who ruled as White Rajahs. Rajahs. 11]] Following the Japan Japanese ese occupation of Malaya during World War II, II, popular support for independence grew.[11 Postwar British plans to unite the administration of Malaya under a single crown colony called the Malayan Union foundered on strong opposition from the Malays Malays,, who opposed the emasculation of the Malay rulers and the 12]] granting of citizenship to the ethnic Chinese. Chinese.[12 The Malayan Union, established in 1946 and consisting of all the British possessions in Malaya with the exception of Singapore, was dissolved in 1948 and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, Malaya, which restored the autonomy of the rulers of the Malay states under British protection. During this time, rebels under the leadership of the Communist Party of Malaya launched guerrilla operations designed to force the British out of Malaya. The Malayan Emergency, Emergency, as it was known, lasted from 1948 to 1960, 13]] and involved a long anti-insurgency campaign by Commonwealth troops in Malaya.[13 Against this 14]] backdrop, independence independencef f or or the Federation within the Commonwealth was granted on 31 August 1957 1957..[14
