Located on the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia, the Unfederated Malay States (UMS), were Johor, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, and Terengganu. The main difference between the five UMS and the four Federated Malay States (FMS) was that British control was somewhat looser in the unfederated states. While British influence extended to all of the nine Malay states, which were ruled by sultans, internal government remained largely under the control of the traditional rulers. In each state, a British adviser was responsible to the British high commissioner. The four northern states of the UMS (except for Johor) were originally under the sphere of influence of Siam (now Thailand) and were among the poorest on the peninsula. In 1909, the king of Siam signed a treaty transferring the states to British control, but the sultans refused to join the FSM for fear of losing their de facto executive power; hence they maintained a modicum of independence. Johor also remained outside the FMS because its sultan, Abu Bakar, insisted on remaining independent.
The Union of Malaya, composed of the nine states of the USM and the FSM, was set up in 1946 and became the Federation of Malaya in 1948. In 1957, it achieved independence from Britain and joined the commonwealth. The next year, the name was changed to the Federation of Malaysia.
Further Reading
Ryan, N. J. (1969) The Making of Modern Malaysia and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Oxford University Press.
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