Pangkor Treaty
The Pangkor Treaty (1874) set the stage for the establishment of British colonial rule in the Malay States (present-day peninsular Malaysia). Under terms of the treaty, the chieftains acknowledged the ascension of Abdullah (reigned 1874–1875), one of several claimants to the Perak sultanate. Abdullah, in turn, accepted the appointment of a British officer to be known as the resident, whose advice had to be sought and acted upon in all matters except those relating to Malay customs and practices and the Islamic religion. Sir Andrew Clarke, governor of the Straits Settlements (1873–1875), initiated the meeting that resulted in this treaty.
A combination of economic, geopolitical, and humanitarian considerations prompted the British to seek the Pangkor Treaty. Tin production and trade had been disrupted by a chaotic state of affairs in the western Malay States—caused by disputes among warring chiefs over control of tin fields—and by rivalries between Chinese organizations in the tin industry and piracy in the Strait of Malacca. Tin, by the last quarter of the nineteenth century, had become increasingly important owing to the expanding tinplate industry. The British also feared that rival European powers Germany and France might take advantage of the anarchy in the peninsular Malay States to establish hegemony. Undoubtedly there was widespread suffering due to the troubles, but humanitarian considerations were at best secondary to the economic and geopolitical considerations.
Although under instructions to study the situation and report on the steps to be taken, Clarke decided instead that action was warranted. Armed with a letter dated 30 December 1873 by Abdullah, who appealed to Clarke to mediate and expressed willingness to receive a British resident, Clarke convened a meeting at Pangkor in mid-January 1874. Rival Chinese mining factions were also invited to negotiate an amicable settlement.
Clarke's treaty was endorsed by British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's Conservative government (1874–1880). Similar treaties were contracted with other peninsular Malay States: Selangor (February 1874), Sungai Ujong (December 1874), and Pahang (August 1888).
The Pangkor Treaty was a watershed in the history of Malaysia. It initiated a British forward movement into the Malay Peninsula, and by introducing the British resident system, it implemented British indirect rule, thereby setting the stage for the economic exploitation of the Malay States that subsequently brought about a plural society.
Further Reading
Cowan, Charles Donald. (1961) Nineteenth-Century Malaya: The Origins of British Political Control. London: Oxford University Press.
Khoo, Kay Kim. (1972) The Western Malay States, 1850–1873: The Effects of Commercial Development on Malay Politics. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Oxford University Press.
Mohamed, Amin, and Malcolm Caldwell, eds. (1977) Malaya: The Making of a Neo-Colony. London: Spokesman.
Sadka, Emily. (1968) The Protected Malay States, 1874–1895. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: University of Malaya Press.
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