THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA The formation of Malaysia was on 16 September 1963. Tunku Abdul Rahman proposed the formation of Malaysia with British colonies Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. Initially all the four colonies agreed to join the federation. However, the proposal was opposed by the Philippines as they asserted a claim over Sabah. The proposal also received opposition from Indonesia where it was viewed as a neo-colonialist plot by Sukarno and the powerful Indonesian Communist Party. Sometime in 1955, and later in 1959, Singapore had suggested that it be merged with Malaya. This proposal, however, however, was rejected by Malaya. At the time, Singapore’s population comprised mainly Chinese and Malaya feared that this would affect its racial composition, which was predominantly Malay. There was also the fear that the Communists, whose activities were still rampant in Singapore, might influence Malaya and impede its struggle to be rid of the threat of Communism. Four years after Malaya’s independence, however, Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman took the region by surprise on 27th May 1961, when he made a speech stating his proposal to merge Malaya, Singapore and the Borneo territories of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. His sudden change of mind was influenced by the state of politics and economy in Singapore and the other territories. The proposal also had an immediate effect of accelerating constitutional development in Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei. Elections were held for the first time in Brunei and in Sabah in 1962. However, continued Philippine and Indonesian opposition led to the sending of a United Nations mission to Borneo in 1963, which also reported that the public opinion was in favoured of
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA joining Malaysia. Brunei then pulled out due to an armed revolt staged to oppose its entry to Malaysia. Singapore was part of the newly formed Malaysia in 1963 but withdrew in 1965.
Th e f actors that aff ected the form ation of M alaysia ?
The factors leading to the proposal of a Merger, that Tunku Abdul Rahman was keen on a merger with Singapore was for economic purposes. Singapore had a large number of industrial firms and a large population, which complemented its position as one of the more important trading ports in this region. Tunku Abdul Rahman was also seeking to liberate these colonies from colonization. Malaya had already achieved its independence four years earlier. While Singapore practiced to a large extent, a self-governing policy, Sabah and Sarawak were still very much under British control. In Brunei, the Sultan maintained his autocratic powers but was compelled to receive advises from a British Resident. Tunku Abdul Rahman felt that a merger of these colonies with Malaya would speed up independence from the British. Another factor was the stronghold of Communism over Singapore. As time passed, their activities did not cease. Singapore was then led by Lee Kuan Yew, who, frustrated with the constant disputes and strikes in the mid-1950s, decided to woo some of the Communists into his government, hoping to find favour with them and eventually soften their blows. However, the Communists were adamant about continuing their activities and eventually formed their own party, known as the Barisan Socialis, after they were forced to resign from the government.
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA Fearing that Malaya would be in grave danger should the Communists decide to support their allies in Malaya from across the straits, Tunku Abdul Rahman felt that a merger with Singapore would make it easier to deal with the Communists. Apart from Singapore, Communism was also thriving in Sarawak, where the communists formed an underground association, which exerted its influence on workers’ associations, students and farmers. There also existed cultural similarities between these territories. Singapore comprised a large Chinese population, while Malaya had a mixed array of Malays, Chinese and Indians. The initial fears expressed by some UMNO members about the Malays being outnumbered by the Chinese, were dispelled when they were convinced that ethnic balance would be restored once the Borneo Territories, which comprised most Malays and indigenous groups, merged with Malaya. The factors that affect the formation of Malaysia were also to avoid the threats and communist influence by other territories. More and more, the independence of Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Singapore also need to cover up. The defense of indigenous communities and the safeguard the interest of indigenous rights in Sabah and Sarawak are very important for Tunku Abdul Rahman to take care and concern about it.
Who i s givin g the issues the for mation of M alaysia?
That is Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Singapore. Their response are very important when formation of Malaysia. And also the process of formation of Malaysia is important too. The process is Malaysia solidarity committee, Cobbold Commission, inter-governmental committee, and Singapore referendum.
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA Sabah is giving the issue about the party pro-anti Malaysia, Sarawak is giving the issue about there are no economic different, Brunei is giving the issue about believe that they can independence by their own, no need depend with others, while Singapore is giving the issue about the party people of Singapore. The chairman of Malaysia solidarity consultative committee is Tun Haji Mohammad Fuad Stephens, previously known as, Donald Stephens. He played a key role in negotiating the independence of Sabah. He collects the data from the citizen to form the formation of Malaysia. Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee (MSCC) to inform the people of the benefits of the merger. The chairman of Cobbold Commission is Lord Cobbold. He is going to Sabah and Sarawak to collect the data from the citizen when formation of Malaysia. He is going to investigate the reaction of the people in Sabah and Sarawak towards the merger. Two months later, after receiving thousands of letters, conducting thousands of interviews with the people of Sabah and Sarawak and countless public meetings, a conclusion was reached. Only one third of the population rejected the merger, hoping to join Malaya only after they achieved their independence. The other two thirds either supported the merger wholeheartedly or supported it on the grounds that their rights be maintained. Since the merger won the favour of the majority, it was approved by the British. The chairman of Inter-governmental committee is Lord Landsdowne and Tun Abdul Rayak. The function of inter-governmental committee is forming a Federation of Malaya. It is concentrated on Islam, Malay, education and integration. Singapore still retained its initial interest in Malaya and was therefore, eager to merge with Malaya when Tunku Abdul Rahman made the proposal in 1961. His efforts paid off and a
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA referendum held on 1 September 1962 indicated that 71.1% of the population of Singapore supported the merger. Singapore was promised autonomy in education, revenue and labour while the central government would be operating in Kuala Lumpur. Its free entreport status would also be maintained. Like Singapore, Brunei was equally keen on the merger, since its ruler, Sultan Ali Saifuddin was hoping to gain protection from a larger country like Malaya. A.M. Azahari, the leader of the opposition party, Party Rakyat, however, strongly opposed the merger and led a revolt against the government of Brunei, in which he was defeated. Azahari had an ulterior motive – to merge all the North Borneo territories and place them un der the reins of Brunei. When Malaysia was formed, Indonesia and the Philippines disapproved of the new establishment due to their own ulterior motives. The Philippines claimed ownership of Sabah, stating that Sabah came under the Sulu Sultanate which belonged to the Philippines. As such, the Philippines did not acknowledge Malaysia as an independent country or the official declaration that took place on16th September 1963.
Racial issue
Malaya consists of a nation which was formed by different races with various backgrounds and customs. In The Malaysian Development Experience, Changes and Challenges book that was published by INTAN, it states that Malaya is a colonial creation with ethnic groups living side by side but never mixed quota. Many factors have caused this situation.
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA The first can be traced back to the quota divide and rule quota policy during British colonization. This kind of administration greatly limited interaction and communication among the different ethnic groups and segregated them according to their economic functions. The Malays were known to be farmers and fishermen and lived in the rural areas or Kampung. Since there were also Malays who were involved in the government sector as ordinary officers and clerks, they were perceived to be dominant in politics and the first group of people that the British negotiated with. Most of the Chinese were involved in the commercial and mining sectors and were found mainly in urban areas. The Indians, on the other hand, worked as laborers in estates and plantations. Hence, these two races were perceived to be more dominant in the economics of the country. The education system, as it was long before we know it today, also varied according to the different ethnic groups in terms of syllabus, curriculum and methods of dissemination. There was no such thing as a standardized education system back then. While the Malays and Indians felt that a minimal amount of literacy was sufficient, the Chinese were vying to strengthen their bond with China through education, since most of the teachers and textbooks were imported from China. The same concept was practiced in Tamil schools. Since these vernacular schools comprised a single race, lessons were conducted in its respective language, such as Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. Due to the inconsistencies and differences in the education system, there existed barriers and gaps among the different races in Malaya. The Japanese occupation only widened the rift between the races, especially the Chinese and Malays. While the Malays were given better treatment by the Japanese who were in need of their support, the Chinese were tortured and brutally mistreated. This led to the formation of the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) to fight the Japanese.
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA To ward off attacks from resistance groups which comprised mainly Chinese, the Japanese instigated the anti-Chinese feeling by forming paramilitary units which consisted mainly of Malays, and thus, further widened the gap among the two races. When the Communists began their violence in the 1948, the British were forced to declare a state of Emergency throughout Malaya. It was during this period that inter-racial relations became worse since the British had formed forces, comprising mostly Malays, to fight the guerilla groups led by the Communists, who were mainly Chinese. All of these factors caused a great division in the Malayan society and much effort had to be taken to resolve the problem.
Ef forts towards Racial U ni ty
In 1949, the Inter-Racial Relations Committee (Jawatankuasa Hubungan Antara Kaum) was formed, to enable leaders of various ethnic groups to find a solution to the existing racial problems. The committee, comprising Dato' Onn bin Jaafar, Tan Cheng Lock, E.E.C Thuraisingham and 12 other members proposed that non-Malays be involved in local politics and more opportunities be given to the Malays in the business and industrial sectors. The committee also proposed that greater racial tolerance and understanding be fostered in the hope of achieving racial unity. In 1951, the British government formed the Member System, with the hope of achieving racial unity. The member system was similar to the Cabinet system as we know it today, and enabled people from various ethnic groups to get involved in the administration of the government and
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA hold portfolios in areas such as Home Affairs, Agriculture, Land, Mines and Communication, Education, Health, Forestry, and Works and Housing. Although the more important portfolios in areas of finance and defense were still dominated by the British, the involvement of leaders of various ethnic groups enabled co-operation among the different races. Education also played an important role in paving the way towards racial unity in Malaya. In 1949, the Central Advisory Committee took form with the main purpose of unifying the local education system and implementing it. However, the committee failed to achieve its goal and its proposal that English be made the sole medium of education in schools in the Holgate Report was vehemently opposed by the Federal Legislative Council. Although the committee did not achieve much, it was a clear indication that the British were indeed making an effort to unify the multiracial society through education with one medium of instruction. Another committee which was established one year later produced the Barnes Report, which recommended in 1952, that the syllabus of all primary schools be standardized and taught in English and Malay, while secondary schools retain En glish as their mode of instruction. Led by Dr W.P.Fenn and Dr Y.T. Wu, the British formed yet another committee to study the status of Chinese vernacular education in Malaya to incorporate it into a unified education system. The result was the Fenn-Wu report, which agreed to a national education system, but at the same time, proposed that Chinese medium schools be maintained. Finally, in 1952, the Education Ordinance based on the Barnes Report was approved. The Chinese and Indians were not in the least bit happy and resisted the new ruling. However, the long-awaited decision on the national education system was only seen in the Razak Report after
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA much deliberation and ethnic bargaining. The report was subsequently approved by the Federal Legislative Council on 16th May, 1956.
Th e reactions of the dif ferent countr ies.
Forming Malaysia was not an easy task. The idea received various reactions from the leaders and the people. Let us see the reactions towards the idea:
a) Malaya The idea was generally accepted but there was also disagreement about the idea. There was fear among UMNO leaders about the interests of the Malays if Singapore be part of Malaysia. However, the fear was rested by the suggestion to include Sabah and Sarawak in the merger. While, PAS (Malaysian Islamic Party) was said to disagree with the idea because the Malays would be left out if Malaysia was established.
b) Singapore The idea was well-accepted. The leaders and people were interested with the idea as Singapore would be free from the British control if they joined Malaysia. However, there was also apposition posted by United People’s Party (UPP), a socialist party but it did not Lee Kuan Yew to proceed with merger.
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA c) Brunei Its leaders interested however the people did not unanimously support the idea. The people preferred Brunei to get independence on its own rather than joining Malaysia. As a result of armed rebellion that was led by Ahmad M. Azahari, the king of Brunei had to forget the idea in order to restore peace in the country.
d) Sabah and Sarawak The reaction was most encouraging. The idea was well-accepted by the leaders and the people as they realized that they would be free from the British imperialism if they joined the Federation. However, there were concerns surrounded them. Firstly, there was fear that the people from the Peninsular would dominate them politically. Secondly, the non-Malays feared that they would be discriminated. Thirdly, the Chinese feared that they would be left out in the economic competition with the Chinese from Singapore. However, all the fears were removed after Tunku himself made series of rally to explain the concept of the formation.
e) British Government In general, the British accepted the idea even though they realized that they would lose some more countries under their control. Behind their acceptance, they actually wanted to secure their investments and economic interests in this region.
Reaction from Indonesia and Philippines
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA Indonesia and Philippines strongly opposed the idea. Indonesia through its president, Sukarno, opposed the idea because it would fail his scheme to form a greater Indonesian empire or known as Indonesia Raya. He also looked at the formation of Malaysia as a new political structure introduced by the British to strengthen their position in this region. This new political structure would ignore Indonesia’s interests. The peak of Indonesia’s opposition was when it launched confrontation against Malaysia on 20 January 1963.
The Philippines, on the other hand, opposed the idea because it claimed Sabah as its territory. By the merging of Sabah with Malaysia, it would complicate its effort to claim Sabah. Its president, Macapagal, broke off diplomatic ties with Malaysia as a sign of protest to the idea.
CONCLUSION
Nevertheless, North Borneo and Singapore declared sovereignty on August 31, 1963. Indonesian’s opposition later escalated to a military conflict with Malaysia. Indonesia considered Malaysia as a new form of colonization on the provinces of Sarawak and Sabah in the island of Borneo (bordering Kalimantan, Indonesia), which they laid claim on. To assure Indonesia that Malaysia was not a form of neo-colonialism, a referendum, organized by the United Nations and the Cobbold Commission, led by Lord Cobbold, was formulated to determine whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak wished to join Malaysia. Their eventual findings which indicated substantial support for Malaysia among the people of Sabah and Sarawak, paved the way for the final proclamation of Malaysia.
THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA The formation of the Federation of Malaysia was then announced on September 16, 1963 as Malaysia Day. The Independence Day celebration is still held on August 31, the original independence date of Malaya. Malaysia has now been enjoying independence for 53 years and is known to the world as a sovereign country. We are able to achieve economic, political and social stability and move rapidly towards a developed country. Although Malaysia is a plural society that consists of various races, they are able to live, co-operate and co-exist in harmony to build a strong and developed country. The understanding among the races, which creates unity in the country, plays a
very
important
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in
molding
Malaysia
to
be
a
politically
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country.
