Malayan Union
Prior to World War II, Malaya (now Malaysia) comprised three different administrative governments: the Federated Malay States (Perak, Selangor, Pahang, and Negeri Sembilan), the Unfederated Malay States (Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, Terengganu, and Johor), and the Straits Settlements (Melaka, Penang, and Singapore). During the Japanese occupation of Malaya, British authorities prepared a plan proposing a centralized government comprising these peninsular possessions, to be known as the Malayan Union.
The official arrangement of the Malayan Union was announced in a 1946 White Paper. Under this new system the Federated and Unfederated Malay States, and Melaka and Penang, were to be centralized under a British governor. Singapore, however, because of its strategic location, rapid economic development, and large Chinese population, was to remain a separate British colony. The centralized government was to consist of a governor, a legislature, and an executive board. The position of the Malay sultans would remain, although their sovereignty would be ceded by the British. Citizenship under the scheme offered equality of rights to all irrespective of race or creed, and also allowed dual citizenship.
The plan received widespread criticism and opposition from the Malays, the sultans, and also British officers who had served in Malaya, including Frank Swettenham and Sir George Maxwell. The Malays were reluctant to share their rights and political power with other peoples, namely the Chinese and the Indians. The sultans were dissatisfied with the way Sir Harold MacMichael, the British officer in charge, handled the negotiations: the sultans were coerced, threatened, and blackmailed.
As a result of this opposition about two hundred Malays representing forty-one associations gathered in Kuala Lumpur and formed the United Malays National Organization to protest the proposed Malayan Union. As a result of their efforts and criticism at home the British government decided to scrap the proposal, replacing it with a milder plan to form the Federation of Malaya. The new proposal was seen as more palatable because citizenship is given to immigrants who have stayed more than ten years in Malaya. Apart from that, the sultans remain as leaders of Islam and Malay society.
Further Reading
Emerson, R. (1964) Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: University of Malaya Press.
Ryan, N. J. (1974) The Making of Modern Malaysia and Singapore. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Oxford University Press.
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