Malaysia INDEPENDENCE 1957

INTRODUCTION
The independence of Malaysia is different from that of the independence of other countries. It was a peaceful independence attained by holding talks with the British. Thus on 31 August 1957, Malaysia got its independence from the United Kingdom. Why Malaysia independence. The important of Malaysia Independence. The Road to the independent.

THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE

British Malaya Japanese Occupation Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Aj-Haj Independence The Formation of Malaysia

British Malaya
The British withdrew from competition with the Dutch following the Ambon Massacre of 1623. The Dutch (allied with the Sultan of Johor) gained control of Malacca from the Portuguese in 1641, but did little with it. The principal Dutch interest was to direct trade to Batavia (Jakarta). The British first gained a foothold in Malaya in 1786 when the Sultan of Kedah granted the island of Penang to the East India Company.

Japanese Occupation
After the Japanese Occupation the Malayan Union was proposed to unify the peninsula under one central administration. Singapore remained a Crown Colony, but the other British settlements and protectorates came under the administration of a British High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur. The traditional power of the Malay rulers was restricted, and the large immigrant populations, namely the Chinese and the Indians, were accorded citizenship in the new federation. Malay opposition to the Malayan Union proposal was powerful, and the Malayan Union was quickly replaced with the Federation of Malaya and preparations for self-government began. But the Malayan Union gave rise to the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), then led by Dato' Onn Jaafar, the Menteri Besar of Johor. Dato' Onn resigned when his idea to open UMNO to non-Malay participation was opposed by a majority of UMNO members.

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Aj-Haj

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Aj-Haj became UMNO's second president. The Tunku was aristocratic, an anglophile and popular among the nonMalays. He was considered ideal for the stewardship of a new nation, and it was him who steered the people of Malaya and Borneo towards present-day Malaysia. However, the road to independence was not without obstacles, the biggest of which was certainly the uprise of the communists, mostly from Chinese quarters. In 1948, a state of Emergency was declared when communist rebels in Sungai Siput murdered three European planters. The communists declared an armed struggle to liberate Malaya from the British and started the bloodiest British undeclared war that should last twelve years. Eventually the communists were beaten through a combination of aggressive jungle warfare, the cutting-off of supplies and the establishment of multi-racial co-operation between the respective race-based parties in Malaya. Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaya's first Prime Minister, declared the Emergency over in 1960.

Malaysia Independence

Malay Union
In 1945, the British proposed the Malay Union.
The union was to be composed of the nine Malay states plus Malacca and Penang, but not Singapore. The nine Malay Sultans would surrender sovereignty to the union. Laws would no longer require their ratification. There would be common citizenship for Malays, Chinese and Indians born in Malaya or who had been residents for ten years.

A massive protest movement led to the formation of the United Malay National Organization (UMNO).

Federation of Malaya
The strong reaction to the Malay Union led to a new structure in 1948, the Federation of Malaya.
Retrocession of sovereignty to the Malay states. Integration of the states and Malacca and Penang (but not Singapore) into the new federation. Citizenship rights restricted to Malays, only.

Independence Delayed.
The British were withdrawing from everything east of Suez. India and Burma had already been granted independence. Malaya was to be next. Chinese Communist insurgency began in 1948 leading to a declared state of emergency that lasted until 1960. The Chinese saw the new federation as imperiling their legal status. The Chinese revolution provided the model of insurgency and guerrilla warfare. The vehicle was the Malayan Communist Party (MCP).

Independence 1957
Malaya granted independence in 1957, although the emergency last until 1960. Tunku Abdul Rahman was the first P.M. He was an English educated prince from Kedah. He served until 1970. He sought to give special attention to Malays to makeup for past neglect. Tunku Abdul Rahman

Federation of Malaysia 1963

An enlarged Malaysia was formed in 1963 from Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah.
The British sponsored this arrangement to improve the viability of the state. Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah were all British dependencies. Sarawak and Sabah would balance the largely Chinese population of Singapore, thus not threatening the bargain. Singapore remained part of the federation for only two years.

MALAYSIA - INDEPENDENCE AND ONWARD: 1957 - PRESENT

In September 1963, Malaysia was officially established and the Tunku was declared "Bapa Malaysia" or the Father of Malaysia . The National Flag was raised for the first time in all 13 states and two federal territories of the new nation on 16 September 1963. In Kota Kinabalu, then still Jesselton, Tun Fuad Stephens read the Proclamation of Independence of Sabah through Malaysia. He was to be Sabah s first Chief Minister, and later he became Sabah s third Yang di-Pertua Negri, or Head of State.

MALAYSIA - INDEPENDENCE AND ONWARD: 1957 - PRESENT

31 August 1957 is a glorious day in Malaysia that no Malaysian forgets. History has been made, as the benefit of the independence is been seen in every life of every living Malaysian. The Malaysia independence gives way to Malaysia's flag which is based on that of the United States, a country whose democratic ideals the young nation sought to emulate upon gaining independence from Great Britain in 1957. The 14 stripes represent Malaysia's states, while the square in the upper left contains the moon and sun of Islam.

CONCLUSION
The now MALAYSIA you see today, was as a result to the THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE .
Malaysia was a colony of Portugal, Netherlands and Britain. Is a constitutional (elected) monarchy, composed of 13 states. Population of 24.4 Million; 58% Malay, 26% Chinese & 7% Indian. All Malays are Muslim. Is the site of the Petrona Towers and Tunku Abdul Rahman College.

 Malaya became independent in 1957. It became Malaysia in 1961 when it incorporated Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore. Singapore seceded peacefully in 1965.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFERENCES  Nigeria Library for International History Studies Malaysia Vol.42, No.1, pp.421-425.  Africa Encyclopedia for Foreign Studies, pp.8194.  History of Malaysia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Malaysia.

The End