1946-1957 Malaysia 1963-1981







Malaya, 1957-1965


Administration . In 1957 the Malayan Federation became independent and Tunku Abdul Rahman its first prime minister. The Federation consisted of all the Malay states on the peninsula, but did not include Singapore, which, like Sarawak and British North Borneo, remained British. The 1959 elections were won by the Alliance, a predecessor of Barisan Nasional.

Foreign Policy . The Federation of Malaya was admitted to the UN in 1957. An Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement as signed in 1957. In 1961 the Tunku proposed the formation of a wider federation called Malaysia which would include Sarawak and Sabah (North Borneo), then still under British administration. As Indonesia's President Sukarno was openly hostile to independent Malaya and the British colonies and protectorates in the region and planned the annexation of all of them, Britain supported the Malaysia plan; in 1963 the Federation of Malaysia was founded, British colonial rule in Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah (former British North Borneo) terminated.

Domestic Issues . The 1957 constitution declared Bahasa Malaysia national language. Ethnically Chinese residents (who made up a considerable part of the population and were vital to the country's economy) had to pass a difficult language test if they wanted to acquire Malaya's citizenship.
The Malaysian Emergency (Communist insurgency) was contained by 1960.

The Economy . The Malayan Federation was the world's leading producer of rubber and tin. The country's ethnic Chinese minority (c. 30 %) was firmly in control of the economy; most of the country's majority Malays were regarded as poor.
In 1957, Malaya produced 799,000 metric tons of rice, in 1963 1,0 million metric tons (IHS p.200).

Social History . According to the 1947 census, the Federation of Malaya had 4.9 million inhabitants, of whom 49.5 % were Malays, 38.4 % Chinese, 10.8 Indians and Pakistanis (BBoY 1958).






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Links on Malaysia (chapter on M. History) from Univ. Oregon, Asian Studies
Sejarah Melayu. A History of the Malay Peninsula, from malaya.org.uk
National Archives of Malaysia; Museums in Malaysia
The War against Sukarno. Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak 1962-1966, from Britain's Small Wars 1945-2001
The Virgin Soldiers. Malaya 1948-1960, from Britain's Small Wars 1945-2001
CASCON Case IMC : Indonesia - Malaysia 1963-1965, by L.P. Bloomfield, L. Moulton
CASCON Case MAE : Malayan Emergency 1948-1960, by L.P. Bloomfield, L. Moulton
Articles Elections in Malaysia, Foreign Relations of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Federation of Malaya, from Wikipedia
Economic History of Malaysia, by J.H. Drabble
Malaya : The Party System in 1950-1955 and 1956-1962, in : Kenneth Janda, Political Parties : A Cross-National Survey
DOCUMENTS Malaysian Statesmen, from World Statesmen (B. Cahoon)
Historical Population Statistics : Malaysia, from Population Statistics (J. Lahmeyer)
Malaysian Constitution of 1957, from Wikipedia
REFERENCE Article : Malaya, Federation of, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1958 p.420, 1959 pp.415-416, 1960 pp.409-410, 1961 pp.414-415
Article : Malaya, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1962 pp.414-415, 1963 pp.537-538
Article : Malaysia, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1964 pp.529-531, 1965 pp.513-514
Article : Malaya, in : Americana Annual 1961 pp.442-444, 1962 pp.452-453, 1963 pp.406-407 [G]
Article : Malaysia, in : Americana Annual 1964 pp.402-406, 1965 pp.438-439 [G]
Article : British Malaya, in : Funk & Wagnall's New Standard Encyclopedia Year Book 1961 pp.192-193 [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on May 16th 2002, last revised on September 28th 2007

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