early history of malaysia-chapter 1

8/20/2019 Early History of Malaysia-Chapter 1

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THE EARLY HISTORYTHE EARLY HISTORY

OF MALAYSIAOF MALAYSIA


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Ancient History

1. Palaeolithic (Early Stone Age)

Around 35,000 years ago.

Main characteristics of inhabitants:

a. Lived in caves

b. Main activity was collecting forest products and hunting

c. Started using stone tools

d. ool were si!ple and crude

Area : a!pan "stuary in #era$, %iah &ave in Sarawa$,ing$ayu in Sabah


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2. Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)

Around '',000 years ago. Main characteristics of inhabitants:

a. Lived in caves and also along rivers and la$es

b. Started far!ing

c. (sed !ore refined stone tools

d. Able to !a$e earthenware

Area: &ha &ave in )elantan, )ecil &ave in #ahang,)epah &ave in )edah, *endera! +ilir in Selangor,

Madai &ave in Sabah, a!antang &ave in Sabah, %iah &ave in Sarawa$


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3. Neolithic (New Stone Age-

Around 5,000 years ago.a. Main characteristics of inhabitants:

b. (sed !ore sophisticated stone tools

c. Started rearing livestoc$

d. Started co!!unicating with co!!unities in other places Started creating obects and using accessories

Area: &ha &ave in )elantan, )ecil &ave in #ahang,)epah &ave in )edah, *endera! +ilir in Selangor,

Madai &ave in Sabah, a!antang &ave in Sabah,eng$ora$ &ave in Sarawa$ , %iah &ave in Sarawa$


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4. Metal Age

Around /,500 years ago. Main characteristics of inhabitants:

a. #opulation grew.

b. eveloped residential areas in wide open land near

rivers

c. More orderly and sedentary lifestyle

d. #ractised social custo!s

Area: Lang 1iver in Selangor, Langar 1iver in

Selangor, Muar 1iver in *ohor, e!beling 1iver in#ahang, erengganu 1iver in erengganu


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Early ingdo!s

#owerful Malay $ingdo!s e2isted in the Malay

Archipelago since the early part of the first century.hese $ingdo!s were centres of trade, govern!ent and

spread of religion.

A few of the! had e2tensive vassal states.

unan

4 ear : 'st century

4 Located in present )a!puchea

4 6nfluenced by the 7ld )edah +indu religion4 )a!pung Sungai "!as 8fro! the 5th to the '0th century-


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4 #eng$alan 9uang 8fro! the '0th to the 'th century-

7ld )edah4 ear : 5th century

4 Monarchy syste!

4 Strategic location and i!portant entreport

46nfluenced by +induis! and 9uddhis!angga %egara, #era$

4 ear : 5th century

4 #ort and trade centreLang$asu$a, #attani

4 ear : /nd century4 6!portant trade centre


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4 6nfluenced by +induis! and 9uddhis!

4 Merong Mahawangsa history&hih;u, )elantan

4 ear :


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un Sun, Segenting )ra

4 ear : 3rd century4 6!portant trade centre located between &hina and 6ndia

4 6nfluenced by +induis! and 6ndian ruling syste!

Sriviaya, Su!atera

4 ear : =th century

4 >ell;$nown trade centre

4 Strong relationship with 6ndia and &hina

4 &entre of 9uddhis! and Sans$rit language4 7wned several vassal states


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Matara!, *awa

4 ear : ?th century4 &entre of govern!ent

4 6nfluenced by +induis!

Maapahit, *awa

4 ear : '3th century

4 7wned several vassal states

4 rade centre

4 Strong relationship with &hina, 6ndia and the Middle"ast


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"he Malay ingdo! o# Malacca

According to history, Malacca was founded by

#ara!eswara in '03 A..

Malacca grew into a great e!pire in the Malay

Archipelago. 6t was well;$nown !ainly as a centre for

!ariti!e;trade and the spread of 6sla!, with vast territoryand strong trade relations with powerful countries such as

&hina and 6ndia.

he $ingdo! was also an e!pire with an advanced

civili@ation. 6n the syste! of govern!ent, the ruler wasthe head of state the 6sla!ic religion and the ar!y.


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6t is clear that great $ingdo!s once reigned supre!e inthe Malay Archipelago. his region, better $nown as theMalay >orld or the 6slands of the Malay Archipelago,was the geopolitical region of the Malays.

he people at that ti!e were free to !ove fro! one place to another as there were no boundaries nor li!its.

he Malay Archipelago at that ti!e was characteri@ed as

a nation with one Malay language and culture."ven today, there are ele!ents of si!ilarity. or

instance, the language spo$en by the Malays in)a!puchea, #attani and the South of Mindanao are

si!ilar to that spo$en in Malaysia and 6ndonesia.


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6!portant officials such as the inance Minister,

the Ad!iral, the &hief of efence, &hief 9ursarand the +arbour;Master, assisted the Sultan

8)ing-.

he organi@ed syste! of govern!ent was based

on two !ain laws: the Malacca Law and the

Malacca Law of the Sea.


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$olden Age o# Malacca

here were several factors that contributed to the

rise of Malacca as trade centre.'. Malaccas strategic location !idway along the trade

routes between 6ndia and &hina. Malacca beca!e a

fa!ous port of call to !erchants fro! the "ast and

the >est as well as disse!inator of 6sla!./. Strong trade ties with foreign countries such as ties

with &hina. ro! political side, Malacca received

protection fro! &hina against threats of subugation

fro! Sia!. Malacca also had diplo!atic ties with*ava, 6ndia and Sia! to strengthen its position.


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3. "fficient ad!inistration. he supre!acy of Malacca

was also supported by an efficient ad!inistration thatsucceeded in creating a peaceful and controlled

situation. here were capable rulers and &hief

Minister, un #era$ and !inister for !anaging

!arine trade and co!!ercial affairs 8+arbour;Master-B and a strong !ilitary syste! to ensure order

in the ad!inistration.

. 1easonable ta2ation syste!. he low ta2es attracted

!any foreign !erchants to trade in Malacca.


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%all o# Malacca

he golden age of Malacca ended in '5'' after the

#ortuguese attac$. +istory showed that Malaccareached its supre!acy under the rule of Sultan

Mansur Syah 8'5C;'==- but declined thereafter.

here were several factors, internal and e2ternal, that

contributed to the decline of the Malacca e!pire.1. &nternal %actors

After the death of &hief Minister un #era$, Malacca

lac$ed an efficient leader. un #era$ was responsible

for enlarging their power base.


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+is successor, un Mutahir was a wea$ leader. As aresult, there were often struggles for power.

Sultan Mah!ud was also a wea$ ruler because he paidlittle attention to the ad!inistration.

&orruption and bribery were prevalent and the high ta2esforced !erchants to divert their attention to other ports.

Malaccas wea$ position caused the people to split intofactions and beco!e disunited. >ea$ ad!inistration by

&hief Minister un Mutahir caused the Malays to beco!e hostile towards the 6ndian;Musli!s.&ontinued !isunderstanding and dispute caused

segregation a!ong the people.he situation beca!e !ore critical when the #ortuguese,

led by Alfonso d AlbuDuerDue attac$ed Malacca andfinally conDuered it in '5''.


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2. E'ternal %actors

"2ternal factors that contributed to the fall of Malaccae!pire include the discovery of the &ape of ood

+ope in South Africa by 9artholo!ew ia@ in '??.

his !ade it easier to sail fro! the >est to the "ast. As

a result, it was easier for the #ortuguese to invadeMalacca.

6nternal conflict and high ta2es caused !any !erchants

to !ove to other ports.

his co!bination of factors wea$ened the position ofMalacca.


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9y understanding the factors that contributed to

the rise and fall of Malacca, we can see that thecountry was itself responsible.

A country can beco!e wea$ and fall prey to her

ene!ies because of unrest due to wea$ leaders, bribery and corruption, betrayal a!ong !inisters

and disunity a!ong the people.


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olonial Era

Malaysia was coloni@ed by colonial powers forappro2i!ately < years 8fro! '5'' until 'C5=-.

he #ortuguese, utch, 9ritish, *apanese and

Sia!ese had coloni@ed the country before, but only

the 9ritish and the *apanese succeeded in

coloni@ing al!ost the whole country and left i!pact

on the people.

he others !erely concentrated on certain states.


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olonists and the %eatres o# *o!ination

1. Portgese

uration : '5'';'as opposed by the Malays of Malacca with the

aid of Acheh

id not leave behind !any traces, e2cept in the

areas of language 8borrowed words- and dance


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2. *tch

uration : '


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3. +ritish

uration : 'st

phase :'?/;'C/, /nd

phase :'C5;'C5= 8'30 years-

&oloni@ed the whole of #eninsula Malaysia, can

be divided into two phases

Left behind significant influence on the way of

life of the people 8political, econo!ic and

social-

>as strongly opposed by the people


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4. Sia!ese

uration : '?/';'C0C 8?? years-

>as a long ti!e lord of the states in the north of the

Malay #eninsula

Stayed !ainly in the northern states of the Malay#eninsula na!ely #erlis, )edah, )elantan and

erengganu

races of influence very evident in the states in the

north especially in the area of religion 89uddhis!-and art


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. -aanese

uration : 'C/;'C5 83 E years-

&oloni@ed the entire country

reatly influenced the life of the people,

especially in ter! of relations between the races >as opposed by the whole country


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Portgese and *tch oloni/ation

he #ortuguese, led by Alfonso de AlbuDuerDue,

too$ over Malacca in '5''.

he !ain reason for the coloni@ation was to control

the !ariti!e trade in the "ast and to spread

&hristianity.

he failure to e2tend their power base was believed

to be due to the inconsistency between their trading

practices and religion.


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his could be true because AlbuDuerDue believed

in using force to !a$e groups of !erchants leaveMalacca.

he !erchants also viewed the #ortuguese as anene!y to other 6sla!ic countries in the Malay

Archipelago.heir ulti!ate obective was not co!pletely

achieved because the Malays often attac$ed the!.

A!ong the traces left behind were the "urasian

co!!unity, who are &atholic and follow#ortuguese custo!s.


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7ther influences include the ro!ani@ed writing,

language and ter!inology 8for e2a!ple, palsu,almari, jendela, garpu and tuala in Malay-.

he #ortuguese coloni@ation succeeded in bringing

about the downfall of the Malay $ingdo! of

Malacca and led to the start of another $ingdo!, the*ohore;1iau Malay $ingdo!.

>ith the assistance fro! *ohore, the utch defeated

the #ortuguese and too$ over Malacca in '


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he centre of utch activity was not Malacca, but

9atavia 8now $nown as *a$arta- in the island of*ava.

he utch was only interested in the tin ore in the

Malay #eninsula.

he utch left after an agree!ent with the 9ritish

in '?/.

As a result, Malacca was passed on to the 9ritish.

9oth #ortuguese and utch did not have !uchi!pact on the country.


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+ritish oloni/ation

he chronology of 9ritish coloni@ation is asfollow:

'=?< F #enang 6sland was founded by rancisLight

Singapore was founded by Sta!ford 1affles '?/ F utch handed over Malacca to 9ritish as a

result of the Anglo;utch reaty

'?/< F #enang 6sland, Malacca and Singaporewere co!bined into one ad!inistrative unit$nown as Straits Settle!ent


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'?' F *a!es 9roo$e too$ over Sarawa$

'?= F 9ritish intervention in #era$, through#ang$or Agree!ent

'?= ; 9ritish intervention in Sungai (ong

'?=? ; he 9runei Sultan handed over Sabah tothe 9ritish

'??? F 9ritish intervention in #ahang

'?C< F #era$, Selangor, %egeri Se!bilan and

#ahang were united into one ad!inistrative unit

$nown as the ederated Malay States


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'C0C F (nder the 9ang$o$ Agree!ent, Sia! handed

over )edah, #erlis, )elantan and erengganu to the

9ritish, and these are $nown as (nfederated MalayStates

'C' F *ohor accepted a 9ritish advisor

'C5 F he 9ritish Military Ad!inistration 89MA- was

established

'C< F he Malayan (nion was established in

#eninsula Malaya

he ederation of Malaya was established to replacethe Malayan (nion

'C5= F Malaya achieved independence


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"he Ac0isition o# Penang &sland and

Singaore

he "nglish !erchants set up the 9ritish "ast 6ndia&o!pany in '


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7n ith the occupation of #enang 6sland, Singapore and

Malacca, the spread of 9ritish coloni@ation in

Malaya began.


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Anglo*tch "reaty 124

he Anglo;utch treaty was signed on '= March'?/ with the !ain ai! of ending all rivalry

between the 9ritish and the utch, especially in

the "ast.

9efore this, the 9ritish and the utch had been

hostile to each other because of trade. 9esides this,

the utch were not happy with the 9ritish

occupation of Singapore.

he hostility escalated when so!e 9ritish people

were $illed in A!bon 8a utch colony-


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+owever, in "urope, the 9ritish govern!ent were

on good ter!s with the utch.urther!ore, the utch were indebted to the

9ritish because of %apoleonic >ar.

he utch )ing, >illia! of 7range signed the

)ew Letters, allowing the 9ritish access into andthus protection over utch colonies in the "astuntil the %apoleonic >ar was over.

According to the treaty, the utch handed over

Malacca to the 9ritish in e2change for 9encoolen89ang$ahulu-.


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he areas south of Singapore continued to belong to the utch, while the 9ritish controlledthe north.

hey also agreed to wor$ together to eradicate pirate activities.

he conseDuence of this treaty was clear:

'. he Malay Archipelago was split into twospheres of utch and 9ritsh influence.

/. he *ohor;1iau e!pire ended as *ohor now

belonged to the 9ritsh while the 6slands of 1iauca!e under the utch.


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3. utch and 9ritish trade rivalry continued to grow in

intensity. his was aggravated by the dispute

between the! over 9runei 6sland which the 9ritishclai!ed was located north of Singapore and was

therefore in 9ritish territory. Meanwhile, the utch

thought otherwise.

+owever, to Malaysia, the effect of the treaty wasthe split of the Archipelago region into two different

spheres of influence and the effects of the two

different cultures re!ain even until today.

his also shows that, at that ti!e foreign forcesdeter!ined the destiny of this country.


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Straits Settle!ents

he Straits Settle!ents consisted of Singapore,Malacca and #enang 6sland.

hese states were united in '?/C and #enang6sland was the first capital state with a overnor

as head.7n 'st April '?


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+ritish &nterention in the Malay

States, Sa5ah and Sarawa6

4 9efore '?=3, the 9ritish govern!ent did not haveany policy of intervention in the affairs of the

Malay states in #eninsula Malaya.

4 6n Septe!ber '?=3, Lord )i!berly, Secretary of

the colonial office, inaugurated a policy of

intervention in the affairs of the Malay States.

9efore that, the 9ritish intervened only in

Sarawa$.


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1. Sarawa6 (142)

*a!es 9roo$e occupied Sarawa$ after fulfillinghis pro!ise to 1aa Muda +ashi! to Duell therebels.

*a!es 9roo$e was appointed as )ing ofSarawa$ in '?/.

he Sultan of 9runei agreed to sign theAgree!ent of '?/ to confir! *a!es 9roo$e asthe governor of Sarawa$ for fear of 9ritishthreat


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2. Pera6 (174)

he 9ritish intervened with the e2cuse of protecting the interests of 9ritish !erchants

&haos bro$e out with the Larut >ar 8the struggle

for control of the tin !ines- that involved the

&hinese secret societies, +ai San and hee +in,

and civil war 8the struggle for the throne between

1aa Abdullah and 1aa 6s!ail- &hieftains such as

%gah 6brahi! 8Laru Minister- and 1aa AbdullahreDuested for 9ritish intervention


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An2iety on the part of the 9ritish that other

"uropean powers will intervene in the Malay States

he #ang$or reaty was signed on /0th *anuary'?=

*. >.>. 9irch was appointed the first resident.

3. Selangor (174)

&ivil war involving 1aa Mahadi and 1aa

Abdullah

eng$u )udin and ap Ah Loy supported 1aa

AbdullahB the princes of Selangor Sultan and SayidMasyor supported 1aa Mahadi


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9ritish intention to interfere was not successful

because the Malay chieftains did not want the9ritish to interfere.

6n '?=3, a 9ritish cargo boat was attac$ed by

piratesB the 9ritish too$ this as an e2cuse to

intervene.

6n August '?=, ran$ Swettenha! was

appointed official advisor to the Sultan and *. .

avidson as the resident.


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4. Sngai 89ong : Negeri Se!5ilan (174)

Struggle for power in Sungai Linggi betweenato )elana Sayid Abdul 1ah!an and ato

9andar )ulup unggal

ato )elana sought help fro! the 9ritish and

was subseDuently ac$nowledged as chief ofSungai (ong.

+owever, the appoint!ent of ato )elana and

9ritish presence were opposed by ato 9andar)ulup unggal.


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he 9ritish ar!y, led by >.A. #ic$ering,

successfully defeated ato 9andar )ulupunggal.

Sungai (ong accepted 9ritish advisor, >. 6

atha!.

he 9ritish e2tended their power to all districts in

%egeri Se!bilan and finally the local people had

to accept a 9ritish resident, Martin Lister.


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. Pahang (1;s)

&ivil war bro$e out due to the struggle between>an Mutahir and >an Ah!ad for the post of

&hief Minister.

he 9ritish were worried over Sultan Ah!ads

suggestions to give trade concessions to >estern

powers.

6n ebruary '???, a 9ritish citi@en 8of &hinese

descent- was !urdered in #e$an 8near the sultans palace-.


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he 9ritish too$ this as an e2cuse to intervene.

Sultan Ah!ad accepted the 9ritish resident, *. #.1odger.


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he %orth 9orneo &hartered &o!pany was establishedto ad!inister Sabah.

7n '5th *uly 'C


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%actors #or +ritish &nterention

'. he coloni@ation was caused by internal wea$nessessuch as unrest and civil war in the states concerned.here was no unity a!ong the inhabitants and thisgave the 9ritish the chance and e2cuse to intervene

by installing an advisor 8and later resident-.

/. he presence of i!portant econo!ic resources such

as tin ore and agricultural products 8co!!ercialagriculture- in these states were also reasons forintervention.

3. here was strong co!petition a!ong the >estern powers for colonies to !eet the econo!ic needs of

their country thus increasing the need forintervention.


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his shows that it was the rich natural wealth that

attracted the foreign powers but it was the

peoples own !ista$e that the land was coloni@ed.


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>esident Syste!

o !a$e the ad!inistrative syste! !ore efficientand to strengthen their hold over the coloni@ed

territory, the 9ritish introduced the 1esident

syste! in the Malay states.

"very Malay state that was conDuered, had a9ritish resident.

he role of resident was to advise the SultanB but

in certain cases, the resident had power even overthe state officials and the Sultan hi!self.


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he i!pacts of this resident syste! on theMalay states were as follow:

'. ro! the point of ad!inistration, every statewas divided into districts, divisions orresidency, villages, each with its own head.

A police force was established for peace;$eeping.

So!eti!es, in certain states, the resident was!ore powerful than the Sultan hi!self, and the

power of the Sultan was li!ited only to religionand Malay custo!s.


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/. ro! the econo!ic view;point, public

infrastructure such a roads and railway trac$swere built to facilitate the transport ande2ploitation of resources.

he 9ritish could develop their agriculturalactivities including the introduction of new

plants such as rubber. +owever, the develop!ent was focused !ainly

on areas that were econo!ically profitable suchas the tin !ining areas, towns and states on the

west coast of the #eninsula.


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9esides that, the i!!igrants and >esterninvestors !onopoli@ed the econo!ic resources,

while the local people were still tied to theirtraditional econo!y and lived in villages.

Although there was develop!ent in ter!s ofinfrastructure, it was concentrated !ainly in areaswhere 9ritish econo!ic interests were located,such as towns and centres of econo!ic activities.


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3. ro! the social aspect, the ta2ation syste! andi!position of licenses on boats and firear!s wereintroduced.

he 9ritish also enforced the ban on slavery.

Meanwhile, the i!!igration of a foreign wor$force,especially fro! 6ndia and &hina, was encouraged toassist the develop!ent of rubber estates and tin !ines.

At the sa!e ti!e, the influ2 of foreign wor$ers8&hinese and 6ndians- caused !any other proble!s.

hey were isolated fro! the locals in ter!s of living

Duarters and occupation.


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As a result, there was no interaction between the!

and this physical distance was a!ong the !anycauses for the increasing social gap between

the!.


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%ederated Malay States

hrough the ederation Agree!ent in '?C


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3. o chec$ the 1esidents power

. or security

hrough a federation, the resources of all the !e!berstates could be collected and used for a co!!on benefit to develop other states with !ini!alad!inistration costs.

A!ong the conditions of the ederal reaty was theacceptance by the rulers of the ederated Malay Statesof a 9ritish officer with the title of 1esident;eneral.

he role of 1esident;eneral was to advise on all

aspects of govern!ent e2cept on issues relating to6sla! and Malay custo!s.


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he rulers were still in power in their own states.

he first 1esident;eneral was ran$ Swettenha!.o create a better relationship between the rulers

and the 9ritish officers, a &onference of Malay

1ulers $nown as urbar was introduced.

he first conference was held in )uala )angsar in

'?C= and it was the first ti!e that the rulers !et.

he second conference was held in 'C03 in )uala

Lu!pur.


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he outco!e of the ederal Agree!ent, was thecentrali@ation of ad!inistrative power in the

hands of 1esident;eneral in )uala Lu!pur andthe gradual loss of powers of the rulers in theirown states.

he 1esident;eneral had power over !attersrelating to finance and the pri!ary sources ofinco!e, which were duties on e2ports that wereunder the control of the central govern!ent.


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his also !eant the establish!ent of federal

depart!ents which led to the e!ploy!ent of !ore9ritish officers, resulting in the Malay states to be

ad!inistered !ostly by 9ritish officers.

his had secured the position of 9ritish in these

states.he Malay rulers grew uneasy with the situation.


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%ederal E'ectie oncil

o strengthen control over the states, the 9ritishgovern!ent established in 'C0C the ederal "2ecutive&ouncil.

he ai! was to increase the power of the rulers andthe residents in the states concerned.

he real !otive, however, was solely to increase the power of the 9ritish overnor in Singapore.he ederal "2ecutive &ouncil consisted of the +igh

&o!!issioner 8#resident-, 1esident;eneral 8laterchanged to Secretary in 'C0'-, four Sultans, four

residents and four unofficial !e!bers 8three"uropeans and a &hinese-.


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he obvious effect of the establish!ent of the

council was the gradual wea$ening of he power ofthe Sultan and the State "2ecutive &ouncil.

his beca!e very clear when the Sultan beca!eonly an ordinary !e!ber with no decision;

!a$ing power.Laws were signed and passed by the +igh

&o!!issioner and not the Sultan.

6n short, the ederal "2ecutive &ouncil placed all

authority in the hands of the +igh &o!!issioner.


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his shows how the 9ritish gradually

strengthened their hold on the states in Malaya.

All !easures ta$en were to facilitate their

e2ploitation of the countrys econo!y.


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Non%ederated Malay States

9efore 'C0C, )elantan, erengganu, )edah and#erlis were under the protection of Sia!. As aconseDuence of the 'C0C 9ang$o$ reaty, theSia!ese agreed to hand over these states to the9ritish, and a 9ritish advisor was appointed ineach sate.

+owever, the 9ang$o$ reaty was reected by thestates involved, in particular, )edah and #erlis.

A!ong the obections was the reluctance of the

states to accept a 9ritish advisor.


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he 9ang$o$ reaty had restricted the e2pansionof Sia!ese power to other Malay states and

protected the 9ritish interests in Malaya.he agree!ent !ade it difficult for other western

powers to penetrate the Malay states, thus benefiting the 9ritish.

o the 9ritish, the states had had econo!ic andtrade potential while they were of no benefit to theSia!ese.

he i!portance of his treaty was that it facilitatedthe process of e2pansion of 9ritish power in

MalayaB *ohore accepted a 9ritish advisor in 'C'.


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6n 'C'C, the 9ritish co!bined the five states as

the %on;ederated Malay States.herefore, beginning 'C'C, the states in Malaya

were under three political units, na!ely the Straits

Settle!ents, the ederated Malay States and the

%on;ederated Malay States.his ruling structure continued until the *apanese

occupation that began in 'C'.


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*ecentrali/ation o# Power

he decentrali@ation of power 8distribution ofcentral power- !eant that the i!portant powersrelating to ad!inistration of finance and services,such as the railway, custo!s and postal servicesthat were once under central control, would bedistributed to the states concerned.

he decade between 'C'0 and 'C/0 were years of peace in the ederated Malay States.he econo!y was good and the rulers were

pleased with their position.


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+owever, after 'C/0, feelings of dissatisfaction crept

in especially a!ong the rulers because of !atters

pertaining to their position, causing the 9ritish to ta$e

!easures to decentrali@e powers in the states

concerned.

he distribution of power was in stages, first in the/0s and then the 30s.

6n the 'C/0s, the !ain factor for the decentrali@ation of

power was the dissatisfaction a!ong the rulers of the

ederated Malay States concerning their decision;!a$ing power.


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7n the other hand, the rulers in the %on;

ederated Malay States, where they had greater

power over their own state.

he other factors included the 9ritish intention to

co!bine the ederate Malay States and %on;

ederated Malay States, the decline of world;econo!y in the 'C/0s, and the struggle for power

between the 1esident;eneral and +igh

&o!!issioner.


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Meanwhile, the reason for the decentrali@ation of

power in the 'C30s revolved around the need to for!

a Malayan (nion, the declining world econo!y and

the need to protect the interest of the Malay society

and $eep chec$ on &hinese political activities.

6t was clear that the distribution of power

i!ple!ented by the 9ritish was based on econo!ic

and political !otives.

he distribution of power happened when the world

econo!y was declining and it was a way toecono!i@e.


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ro! the political aspect, the 9ritish had the

intention of ruling the whole of Malaya under one

ad!inistrative entity, that is the Malayan (nion.

+owever, this distribution of power was not

successful because the *apanese invaded Malaya

in 'C'.


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-aanese oloni/ation

he *apanese coloni@ation was an i!portant eventin the history of Malaya.

Although the *apanese occupied Malaya for onlythree and a half years 8fro! '5 ebruary 'C/ to

'5 August 'C5-, they had a great i!pact on thecountry.

he conDuest of the whole of Malaya was fast andeffective.

he entire country and Singapore were defeated inonly '= days.


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he attac$ started fro! two directions, fro! the

"ast and the >est.After landing in )ota 9haru, the *apanese soldiers

rushed to )uantan and then to Mersing.

7n ece!ber 'C', *itra was captured, followed

by #enang 6sland and Sli! 1iver. 6n *anuary 'C/,

the *apanese entered )uala Lu!pur, and both the

*apanese !ilitary troops !et in *ohore 9ahru.


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7n '5 ebruary 'C/, Singapore fell to the

*apanese ar!y.he !ain ai! of the *apanese was to establish a

%ew reat "ast Asia govern!ent.

he *apanese pro!ised to declare independencein certain South "ast Asian countries.


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%actors #or -aanese ?ictory

he *apanese conDuered Malaya Duite easilyalthough the 9ritish !ilitary was eDuipped with

better firear!s and were grater in nu!ber than

the *apanese.

he factors that contribute to the *apanese victory

were:

'. he 9ritish were not prepared for the war. hey

did not e2pect the *apanese attac$ fro! the north.


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/. he *apanese also had a co!prehensive plan in

which they had a networ$ of spies in Malaya.3. he *apanese soldiers were in e2cellent for!

because of intensive training and were led by

capable and e2perienced leaders 8such as

a!ashita and sui-. hey were enthusiastic andinspired to fight for the i!portant and supre!acy

of *apan.

. he *apanese had practical war tactics, such as

using the bicycle even in the ungles and villages.


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5. he 9ritish !ilitary lac$ed the spirit of war,

especially after the first round of attac$s. A largenu!ber of the 9ritish soldiers consisted of

6ndians who were still young and ine2perienced

in warfare.


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E##ects o# -aanese oloni/ation

he *apanese invasion had a great i!pact on thelife of the citi@ens of Malaya. he effects were

social, econo!ic and political.

'. ro! the social aspect, the *apanese invasion

worsened the relationship a!ong the races in thecountry because the *apanese were against the

&hinese and on the side of the Malays.

his !ade the &hinese too$ refuge at the edge ofthe ungle.


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he !isunderstanding between the Malays and

the &hinese continued even after the *apanesehad surrendered.

/. ro! the econo!ic aspect, Malaya was in

co!plete confusion. he econo!ic infrastructure

was destroyed and econo!ic activities were

disrupted causing the lives of the people to

beco!e worse and inflation continued to grow

higher.


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3. ro! the political aspect, it was found that the

*apanese ad!inistration was a period of !iseryfor the local citi@ens and the e2perience raised

their political awareness.

he Malays were attracted to the slogan HAsia

for AsiansI which !otivated the! to build theirown govern!ent.

7n the other hand, the &hinese established the

Malayan #eoples Anti;*apanese Ar!y

8M#A*A- to fight the *apanese and strengthen

the &o!!unist #arty of Malaya 8M-.


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he bloody conflict between the &hinese and

Malays lasted two wee$s until the 9ritishestablished the 9ritish Ar!y Ad!inistration

89MA-.

+owever, this e2perience had left lasting negative

racial senti!ent between the two races.

Era o# E!ergency


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Era o# E!ergency

7ne of the !ost i!portant periods that Malaysiawent through was the period of the e!ergency.

he e!ergency period is closely related to the

develop!ent and activities of the &o!!unist

#arty of Malaya 8M-.

&o!!unis! spread into Malaya in the 'C/0s

through a branch of the )uo!intang #arty that

was an ally of the co!!unists in &hina.


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Maority of the M !e!bers were &hinese.

he pri!ary obective of the M was tooverthrow the 9ritish govern!ent and establishthe &o!!unist 1epublic of Malaya.

Since its establish!ent, the M had been an

underground !ove!ent e2cept during the years'C5 to 'C?.

>hen the *apanese occupied Malaya, the Mhad wor$ed with the 9ritish to fight against the

*apanese by for!ing the Malayan #eople Anti;*apanese Ar!y 8M#A*A-.


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As soon as the Second >orld >ar ended, so!e of

the M guerillas e!erged fro! the ungle and prepared a strategy to ta$e over the controlling

power before the 9ritish resu!ed their rule of

Malaya.

he M for!ed the Malayan 1aces LiberationAr!y 8M1LA-, better $nown as the hree Stars

8sy!boli@ing the three !ain races in Malaya- to

fight for the establish!ent of the &o!!unist

1epublic of Malaya.


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he M also set up a supply and public spy unit$nown as Min uen.

Min uen had two !ain functions: to get food and!edical supplies for guerillas in the ungle and toobtain infor!ation on 9ritish activities.

he !aority of the local population did not

support the co!!unist ideology.or the Malays, co!!unis! was against 6sla!ic

teachings as it denied the e2istence of od.9esides, the M was do!inated by the &hinese

and created suspicion a!ong the Malays and the6ndians.


88/102

+owever, there were !any &hinese who were notinterested in oining MA#. 6nstead, they were!ore interested in econo!ic activities andi!proving the econo!y.

urther!ore, there were so!e political leaderswho established the Malayan &hinese Association8M&A8 to safe;guard the interest of the &hinese

people.

9esides, the Malayan econo!y was Duite stable atthat ti!e and !ost Malayan citi@ens were againstthe violent tactics of the M.


89/102

6n 'C?, the M launched attac$s on rubber

estates and tin !ines causing !any deaths andloss of !eans of livelihood.

&onseDuently, the 9ritish too$ step to eli!inate

co!!unis! and halt the M activities.


90/102

6n *une 'C?, the M launched an ar!ed

uprising in Malaya. 9etween 'C? and 'C5', the M launched

several attac$s on estates, !ines, police stations

and the general public, especially "uropeans.

he M e!ployed guerilla war tactics. heir

strategy was to cripple the Malayan econo!y, by

conDuering big cities, and towns 8to for!

headDuarters- and eventually drive the 9ritish outof Malaya.


91/102

7n < 7ctober 'C5', while on his way to rasers

+ill, Sir +enry urney, the +igh &o!!issioner,

was shot dead by co!!unists

+is violent death shoc$ed the 9ritish govern!ent

and spurred the! into action to eradicate the

co!!unists and their activities.A!ong the !easures ta$en were the declaration

of e!ergency, the 9riggs #lan, !ilitary steps and

psychological warfare. 8the e!pler #lan-.


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*eclaration o# E!ergency

7n '< *une 'C?, Sir "dward ent, a 9ritish+igh &o!!issioner, declared #era$ and *ohoree!ergency areas.

7n '= *une 'C?, a state of e!ergency was

declared on the whole of Malaya.he declaration was due to the $illing of three

"uropeans estate !anagers in #era$.

7n /3 *uly 'C?, the M was officially

outlawed.


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he "!ergency Law of 'C? gave powers to the police and soldiers to arrest and detain co!!unistsuspects without trial.

he !ilitary force also i!posed roadbloc$s andcurfews in areas where co!!unist activities were

rife.he registration syste! was also introducedwhere citi@ens aged '/ years and above !ustregister and own an identification card, now

$nown as the identity card.


94/102

Sir +arold 9riggs introduced the 9riggs #lan to

eradicate co!!unist activities through a strategy to

relocate the sDuatter areas fro! the edge of the forest

to a new villageB and to launch starvation !ove!ent.

he plan was ai!ed at restricting the &hinese fro!

supplying food , !edicine and infor!ation to the

co!!unist guerillas who were hiding in the ungles.

his plan was effective in eradicating co!!unist

violence because it wea$ened Min uen activities

and forced the co!!unist out of the ungles.


95/102

Sir erald e!pler was appointed the +igh&o!!issioner of Malaya in 'C5/ to replace Sir+enry urney.

As a !ilitary general, he used fir! !ilitary forceto fight the co!!unists.

+is !ilitary tactics included the use of '3 battalions of 9ritish soldiers, ur$has andMalaysB training


96/102

he strength of !ilitary tea! enabled thegovern!ent to launch !ore aggressive attac$s on

the co!!unists and ensured that food was nots!uggled out for the guerilla co!!unists.

Sir erald e!pler also launched psychologicalwarfare upon the co!!unist terrorists by ta$ing anu!ber of actions.


97/102

A!ong the! were !a$ing conditions easier fornon;Malays to obtain citi@enship, pardoning in

large nu!bers the M !e!bers whosurrendered, rewarding people who providedinfor!ation on the co!!unist terrorists andgiving out pa!phlets calling the co!!unist

terrorists to give up their fight.9esides that, he introduced the syste! of white

and blac$ areas.

he white area is an area that is free fro!

co!!unist activities, while the opposite is thecase for a blac$ area.


98/102

e!pler also introduced curfews in areas wherethe soldiers were hunting for the co!!unists.

e!plers psychological warfare can be said to beone of the factors for the success of thegovern!ent of the ederation of Malaya inending the co!!unist revolution.

his encouraged the people of Malaya to wor$together with the govern!ent to eli!inate theco!!unist terrorists.

After the M decline, it decided to negotiatewith the govern!ent of Malaya.


99/102

he negotiation was held in 9aling, )edah on /?and /C ece!ber 'C55.

un$u Abdul 1ah!an, avid Marshall and an&heng Loc$ represented the govern!ent while&hin #eng, &hen ien and 1ashid Maidinrepresented the M.

he M reDuested to be legally recogni@ed butthe reDuest was turned down.

he negotiations failed as the M further

reected the govern!ents counter offer andrefused to lay down their ar!s.


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&!act o# the E!ergency

radually the influence and activities of the Mdeclined.

7n 3' *uly 'C


101/102

+owever, the e!ergency period hat lasted '/ years left

!any negative results.he nu!ber of people $illed included C,5?' M

!e!bers, /,


102/102

his widened the social gap a!ong the people.

&o!!unist !ove!ents with !ainly &hinese

while the police and ar!y forces being Malayaonly !ade the racial issue worse.

A few lessons can be learnt fro! the e!ergency.

6t challenged the people in the country to wor$together to defeat the co!!unist terrorists.

he 9ritish, on the other hand, too$ i!!ediateaction to grant independence to the country on the

ground that there was unity a!ong the citi@ens ofMalaya.

early history of malaysia-chapter 1

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