DATE DUE
Tl
08/26/11 I
""'"""'""'mat larvl ,„,.,
11 25 0083253 b
UTISH INFORMATION SERVICES,
--Ar&E-NGY OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
REFERENCE DIVISION,
JUJX— 4417, MAY, 19.81 *
Sa
JHE
FEDERATION
OF
MALAYSIA
T'H
845 THIRD AVENUE (at 51st St.), NEW YORK 22, N.Y.
/ 6
THE
FEDERATION
OF
MALAYSIA.
RF.P. 5566
This material is filed with the Department of Justice, where the required registration statement
ofB.LS. under 56 Stat. 248 — 258 as an agency of the British Government is available for
inspection. Registration does not imply approval of this material by the United States
Government.
PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY TRADE UNION LABOR
BY COX & SHARLAND LTD., LONDON AND SOUTHAMPTON
MALAYSIA
Postscript: September 1963
Early in the morning of 9th July 1963, an agreement was signed in London
which provided for Malaysia to come into being on 31st August 1963.
The agreement was signed by the British Prime Minister, Mr. Macmillan
(for Great Britain), Tunku Abdul Rahman (for Malaya), Mr. Lee Kwan
Yew (for Singapore ) , and for North Borneo and Sarawak by their political
representatives.
The Sultan of Brunei, who had attended the prolonged discussions which
led up to the signature of the Malaysia Agreement, finally decided against
bringing his country into Malaysia at this stage. It has always been accepted
that joining Malaysia is a matter for Brunei to decide herself, though
Britain's view has been that it would be in her best interest to join. Britain
still thinks this to be true and hopes that when the advantages of Malaysia
become clearer to her Brunei will ultimately decide to join.
On August 10th the Commonwealth Relations Office announced that, in
response to a request from the Prime Minister of Malaya, Tunku Abdul
Rahman, Her Majesty's Government had agreed to give the Secretary-
General of the United Nations facilities to ascertain whether the peoples
of North Borneo and Sarawak wished to join the Federation of Malaysia.
In order to allow sufficient time for this investigation the British Govern-
ment, the Malayan Government and other signatories of the London
agreement, announced on August 29th that they had agreed to substitute
September 16th for August 31st as the date on which Malaysia would
come into being.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
THE TERRITORIES AND THE PEOPLES
Climate and Topography
Population
HISTORICAL OUTLINE
Early History
The Advent of British Influence
British Rule - the Early Years
Law and Justice
The Inter-War Years
The Second World War
Towards Self-Government
The Emergency in Malaya
Malaya Achieves Merdeka
The State of Singapore
Progress in the Borneo Territories
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Communications
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests . .
Mining and Manufacturing Industry
Public Utilities
Finance and Trade
Development Planning
United Kingdom and Other Assistance
Labour
Rural Development
International Bank Mission
SOCIAL SERVICES
Health Services
Education
Social Welfare and Social Security . .
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE
Malayan Foreign Policy since Independence
The Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement
Malaysia's Neighbours
MALAYSIA: THE DESIGN AND ITS REALISATION
Tunku Abdul Rahman's Proposal
Reaction within the Territories
The Cobbold Commission . .
The Singapore Referendum . .
The Brunei Revolt
Report of the Inter-Governmental Committee
Developments in Sarawak and North Borneo
Final Arrangements for Malaysia
Page
1
3
3
6
11
11
13
16
17
18
20
20
23
23
25
26
29
30
32
37
40
41
43
45
46
48
48
50
50
53
57
58
58
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
67
71
72
continued overleaf
APPENDIX
Some Facts and figures . . . .
Short Reading List
MAPS
Federation of Malaysia
Malaya and Singapore
Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah (North Borneo)
Page
74
75
INTRODUCTION
on 31st August, 1957, the Federation of Malaya became an independent
State within the Commonwealth. Singapore, whose history had been closely
linked with that of Malaya, remained under British sovereignty, achieving
internal self-government in 1959 as the State of Singapore. The other colonies
of Britain in South-East Asia, Sarawak and North Borneo, continued under
British administration after 1957 while the protected State of Brunei became
self-governing internally after 1959. Although the fiy g tf>rritr>r; e g_wgr^ at
fjfflgrcnj stages in th e ir -p ol itica l developm en t t h e y nevertheless pnggP^ gH
nianyTeatures in commop. They hadjerived from ^eMtishJhe-same-fbrms
„ofaaSnjstrati on, much Of the iT^slatijonjKas^simj lar in n ature, the admin -
jstratiojiofjustl^
^epracticesO[their legislative organs were * jr^e^sentials, tkose ofjdiejlritish
^raSajne^ZTlFecbnomic TuVoflEe territories also had much in common;
they were all exporters of primary products, sharing a common currency and
with their patterns of trade to a considerable extent orientated toward Singa-
pore, the greatest entrepdt in South-East Asia, jnad ministra tion and justice,
educatipjLJLnd^commerce_ the use of. the JErjglisOanguage was widespread
-J^P^Yi^i-aJnrther-unify jngli D k . Eachjplihe_territories_ was mult i-racial
in_nature but Jn_a ll of th e m_th£- Malav language was essentially the-few//^
JrancaofjiiQ^^ ajraveller
in^theTeffifories a feeling of their community and similarity^
The idea of their association was not ajiew one an^^deed^t^HnksJbe-
tweenlhlenrgoTacYto jSclenrti because o£their different levels of
politjcajjdej^r^^ t aken nrtrMt_dj^tifin.
Once the Federation of Malaya had emerged as an independent entity, how-
ever, it soon showed its ability to progress in a stable manner and provided a
model toward which the emerging local leaders of the other four territories
could look for example, especially after 1960 when the emergency in Malaya
caused by Communist terrorism had been successfully ended.
At the same time the British Government did not wish to prolong its
position as a colonial Power in the Borneo territories and in Singapore,
and, in accordance with its general policy for its dependent territories, wished
to ensure that the people of the four territories should enjoy independence as
soon as possible. The relatively undeveloped nature and comparatively small
populations of the three Borneo territories, however, made it doubtful whether
they could speedily achieve political and economic viability as independent
States or even in some form of union, as a single State. Likewise, it was
doubtful that an island of the size of Singapore, with its economy so closely
bound up with that of Malaya, could become an independent country.
On 27th May, 1961, the Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaya,
Tunku Abdul Rahman said, in the course of a speech to the Foreign Corres-
pondents' Association in Singapore, 'Malaya today as a nation realises she
cannot stand alone and in isolation Sooner or later she should have an
understanding with Britain and the peoples of the territories of Singapo re.
^Borneo, Bmnejjind Sarawak. . . . It is inevitable that we should look ahead
1
to this objective and think of a plan whereby these territories c;m he brought
closer together in a political and economic co-operation'. The Malayan
Prime Minister's initiative met with a favourable response not only from a
majority of public opinion in the countries concerned but also from the
Government of the United Kingdom. Events then moved rapidly, and in
November 1961 the British and Malayan Governments reached agreement
that the creation of a Federation of Malaysia was a desirable aim. Equal
emphasis in the agreement was, however, given to the view of both Govern-
ments that no final decision should be reached without ascertaining the views
of the peoples of the various territories. This consultation was thoroughly
carried out by means of a referendum in Singapore and by the investigations
of the Cobbold Commission of Inquiry in Sarawak and North Borneo. The
process of consultation in these three territories was further reinforced by
reference to their legislative organs which gave overwhelming support, in the
cases of Sarawak and of North Borneo, first to the principle of Malaysia and
later to detailed constitutional arrangements and safeguards which had been
worked out by an Inter-Governmental Committee and, in the case of Singa-
pore, to the proposals for merger drawn up by the Malayan and Singapore
Governments. As an autonomous State under British protection, Brunei was
free to decide whether or not to enter and, if so, to work out its own scheme
of association in consultation with the Government of the Federation of
Malaya. By March 1963 the legislatures of Sarawak and North Borneo had
accepted the detailed constitutional proposals, and negotiations were con-
tinuing between Malaya and the Governments of Singapore and of Brunei.
The stage was thus almost set for the initialling of a formal agreement, by
Britain, Malaya and representatives of the other territories concerned, to
provide, subject to the passage of the necessary legislation, for sovereignty
to be transferred and for the Federation of Malaysia to become by 31st
August, 1963, a sovereign State within the Commonwealth. The federation
would consist of 15 States, namely the 11 States of the existing Federation of
Malaya, Sarawak, Sabah (N. Borneo) and, if negotiations were completed,
the State of Singapore and the Sultanate of Brunei.
In the following pages a short description is given of Malaysia's territories
and peoples and of their histories. In particular, attention is paid to con-
stitutional advances since the war. An outline of their economies and social
services follows and problems relating to defence and external affairs are
outlined. The development of the Malaysia concept is then traced to its
conclusion. The pamphlet has been written on the assumption that the nego-
tiations between the Malayan government and the governments of Singapore
and of Brunei will be successful. At the time of going to print the final out-
come of the negotiations was not known.
THE TERRITORIES AND THE PEOPLES
the Federation of Malaysia covers an area of 130,778 square miles, some-
what larger than that of the British Isles. It occupies two distinct regions, the
Malay peninsula which extends south-south-east from the continental land
mass of South-East Asia from the narrow Kra isthmus to the island of Singa-
pore, and the north-western coastal area of the island of Borneo. The two
areas are separated by about 400 miles of the South China Sea. A number of
small islands off the coast of Malaya, adjacent to Singapore, and off the
Borneo coast, are also within its borders. The Federation has land frontiers
with Thailand on the mainland of Asia and with the Republic of Indonesia
in the island of Borneo. Across the narrow Straits of Malacca lies the Indo-
nesian island of Sumatra, while to the north and north-east of Sabah (North
Borneo) across the Sulu sea lie the islands of Palawan and Mindanao which
form part of the Republic of the Philippines.
The position of the Malay peninsula, and in particular of the island of
Singapore, is focal in the geographical region of South-East Asia. It lies at
the meeting place of the continental and insular parts of the region, at the
cross-roads of monsoon Asia where the wind systems of the Indian ocean
converge with those of the South China Sea; facts that contributed to its
early commercial importance. Lying close to the shortest sea route between
India and China and almost equidistant between those great population and
land masses, astride the main sea and air routes to Australia and, across the
Pacific, to the United States, Malaya is an area of great strategic importance.
The Borneo territories of the Federation are not so nodally situated. They
lie to the east of the main shipping routes from China and Japan to India and
the west and in consequence have not profited to the same degree from the
cultural and economic streams which have been so close to the Malay penin-
sula. Their development has nevertheless both paralleled and reflected that
of Malaya, and British influence in the Borneo territories has tended to
reinforce in a variety of ways the affinities which they already had with the
peninsula.
CLIMATE AND TOPOGRAPHY
The Federation of Malaysia lies close to the equator between latitudes 1°
and 7° north and longitudes 100° and 119° east. Both of its main areas, the
Malay peninsula and the Borneo territories, are open to maritime influences
and are subject to the interplay of the wind systems which originate in the
Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. The year is commonly divided into
the south-west and north-east monsoon seasons which in time correspond
roughly with the summer and winter of northern latitudes. In the Malay
peninsula the months between the two monsoon periods are generally the
wettest, though on the east coast the period of the north-east monsoon brings
the greatest amount of rain. In Sarawak and Brunei, from the beginning of
October until nearly the end of February, the north-east monsoon brings
heavy rainfall, particularly in the coastal belt. From April to July a mild
south-east monsoon occurs, and, during the period, rainfall often occurs in
the form of afternoon thunderstorms. In North Borneo the north-east mon-
soon lasts from October and November until March and April, and the
south-west monsoon from May to August, with interim periods of indeter-
minate winds between the two monsoons. On the west coast the wetter
seasons occur during the south-west monsoon period and the interim periods,
while on the east coast the heaviest rainfall occurs during the north-east mon-
soon. Rajnfall averages about J 00 inches Jhrca^hpuyhe^year, though the
annual fall varies from place to place and from year to year. The driest part
Olthe. Malay^rjeninsula is_ Jelebu in NegrLSembilan with an average of 65
inches, and the wettest place, Maxwell's Hill in Perak with 198 inches a year.
Singapore's annual rainfall is 95 mches. A large area of Sarawak receives
betweenl20 and 160 inches of rain and like figures are recorded for Brunei. In
North Borneo rainfall varies from 60 to 160 inches. The highest rainfall is in
the south-west (Beaufort and Labuan) and the lowest in the interior, where
it is more evenly distributed.
Throughout the Federation, avera ge dail y temperature varie s frnm g^t
70° F. to 90° F. though in higherareas temperatures are lowerand vary more
widely. (At Cameron Highlands in Pahang the extreme temperatures re-
corded are 79° F. and 36° F.) .Relaiive-humidityis^yery_where.generaUy high.
The ^ninsulaxpart of the Federation consists essentially of an east and
^L^^i'iain^tw^^ central mountain ranges run roughly
noxthJo_jojuJh^jrhe^ places, and from them run
many__slr_ea m s an d r iv ers r -theJargest being the Perak and the Pahang rivers
towards the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. At their sources and
in their upper reaches the rivers are quick-flowing, often with tortuous rapids
and precipitous gorges. JrOheJower rea ches the descent tolhe coastal plain
is-moj^_gmdJULai^ani Lthe water takes on a rm idHy colour from contamination
wiihJhsJQw land silts through \yhich_ the rivers meander before rea ching the
coast_Pn the west coast the loweTcourses of the rivers sometimes llelhrough
swampy land, while on the east coast their entrance into the sea is sometimes
impeded by sand spits created by powerful on-shore currents.
The Borneo territories consist in general of an alluvial and often swampy
coastal plain, of more hilly rolling country further inland and of mountain
ranges in the interior. The rivers rise in the interior ranges and flow down
through deep gorges and over rapids. In Sarawak thp; hi ghest peak is TVTrmn , t
JtoudXZ25i2f££t)_^^ navi _
..gabl e for 10 miles. In North Borneo the central mountain ranges rise more
abruptly from the west coast. They are generally about 4000-6000 feet in
height, Jmli^imiKniabaJu^ses^^ in the
Federation. Many rivers flow north-west and east to the South China and
Sulu seas. .The largest, the Kinabatangan. is navigable fo r c onsiderab le dis-
tances and waters the most extensive plainTn the territory.
-The_great,er jparLpfJhe Federation is still covered by dense, tropical rain-
forest, the propprtjgnjpfJforasiiaMhelf^ than
in Jrift M a l a y pe niasiUj^wjn^hjs_rnore developed. On the plains thelropical
foiesLioims an almost unbroken canopy a hundreoHeeroF s6~above The
ground, but in the higher mountains it tends to thin out and shows consider-
able variation in flora. In the swampy areas the high forest is replaced by a
'30°-
R E P U Blf Cl OF INDONESIA
MILES
200 400 600 800 1,000
cOc^S C^o=^
400
KILOMETRES
800
105°E
1,200 1,600
^>
10°S-
115°
_J
&
swamp flora often terminating in mangroves. The only fully cleared parts of
the Federation are to be found,joiLlhe_west coast of the Malay peninsula, in
thejsjand_pf Singapore, in thg_rice-grojffiing.plain„Qf Kelantam and in parts of
th e coast al plain s of the east coast of Malaya and of the Borneo territories.
Development is altogether much more advanced on the west coast of the
Malay peninsula and Singapore than elsewhere, and here are to be found the
major towns and cities and large areas of land given over to tin mining and
rubber, oil palm, pineapple and rice cultivation. v
.No.parLof the Federation is far from the sear' The coastline extends for
nearly 3000 miles, and for many centuries the inhabitants of the country have
been drawn to the sea for fishing, transport and commerce. Indeed, until
recent times the rivers and the sea provided the best means of transport for
the inhabitants. The coast of the Malay peninsula is most accessible on the
west coast, for the Malacca Straits are sheltered and have the character of an
inland sea. The east coast of Malaya, on the other hand, is more difficult of
access for, during the north-east monsoon, high winds and rough seas limit
coastal navigation, and there are no important harbours there. In Borneo the
sea continues to be an extremely important means of communication between
the areas of settlement, and there are a number of sheltered ports along its
coast.
POPULATION
Jhe_2^ujadon_ofMalaysia numbers approximately 10,000,000 people,
this figure being basecToTT statistics provided by censuses taken in recent
though slightly differing years in the various territories. The appToxImate
proportions of the principal racial groups making up this total in the Federa-
tion as a whole are Malays 40 per cent, Chinese 43 per cent, Indians 9 per
cent and indigenous Borneo peoples 8 per cent. These proportions, however,
vary from territory to territory, and, indeed, within each territory. In the
Malay peninsula the Malays form 49-8 per cent of the population, the
Chinese 37-2 per cent and the Indians 11-3 per cent. The Chinese are, how-
ever, more concentrated in the west coast States and in particular, though by
no means entirely, in the towns and industrial areas, whereas the Malays pre-
dominate in the east coast States and in rural areas. The Indians are either
town dwellers or workers on rubber estates. In Singapore the Chinese form
an absolute majority and make up 75 per cent of the population as against
the Malays 13-6 per cent and the Indians 8-6 per cent. In Sarawak the pro-
portions of the races comprising the population are Sea Dayak 31-9 per cent,
Land Dayak 7-7 per cent, Melanau 6 per cent, other indigenous races 5-1 per
cent, Chinese 30-8 per cent and Malays 17-4 per cent. The State of Brunei is
the most Malay of the Borneo territories, Malays accounting for 54 per cent
of the population. Of the remainder of the population 5 per cent are Dayaks,
26 per cent Chinese and 12 per cent other indigenous peoples. In Sabah,'
Dusun, Murut, Bajau and other indigenous people constitute 67-5 per cent of
the population, Chinese 23 per cent and others (Indonesians, Indians, Eura-
sians etc.) 9-1 per cent. In Borneo as a whole, the Chinese tend to be con-
centrated in the towns or in the more developed rural areas. The Malays live
in kampongs (villages) in the settled areas near to the towns whilst the indi-
genous peoples are more to be found in the undeveloped parts of the interior.
'
FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA:
MALAYA AND SINGAPORE
Malaysia's multi-racial character reflects processes of migration by land and
sea continuing over thousands of years. The complexity of the racial com-
position is not limited, moreover, to the four principal groups, for each can
in turn be further sub-divided. The Malays, though essentially united by
language and religion, are often in origin from different parts of Sumatra,
Java or other islands in the Indonesian archipelago, as well as from Malaya
itself, and they manifest considerable variations of physical type, of dialect
and of customs. The Chinese, though mainly from south China, can be sub-
divided into a number of dialect groups — Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien,
Teochew, Hainanese and others — each with their distinctive characteristics.
The Indians (with whom are grouped the Ceylonese and the Pakistanis) may
be Dravidians from south India, Tamil or Malayalam-speaking, or Sikhs or
Punjabis from the north. Among the indigenous races of Borneo there is a
variety of peoples, Dusun, Bajau, Kedayan, Murut, Melanau, Dayaks and
others, each with its own language or dialect and customs. In addition there
are also, in the Malay peninsula, small tribes of aboriginal people sometimes
loosely referred to as Sakai, but more correctly divisible into such groups as
Temiar, Senoi, Semang, and Orang Laut, some speaking languages related to
Malay and others tongues of Khmer origin. There are also numbers of
Eurasians, among them a small Portuguese-speaking community near Malacca.
Superimposed on the physical diversity of race and the varieties of language
there is the cultural diversity for the most part created by religious influences.
The present Malay culture, though based on its own ancient past, has been
moulded by Hindu influences from India and by Islamic influences from the
Arab world. The Malay language itself is a repository of past influences and
contains, in addition to its own vocabulary, words of Sanskrit, Arabic,
Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and English origin. Though Islam is universally
practised by the Malays, in the ceremonies of the Malay courts and in Malay
art and literature, the influence of the Hindu period still shows itself. The
Chinese, too, have brought to Malaya their own distinctive culture with its
amalgam of Confucian, Taoist and Mahayana Buddhist elements, while from
India, Pakistan and Ceylon the immigrants have brought Hinduism, Islam
and Hinayana Buddhism. In Borneo the indigenous peoples have preserved
from a remote past cultures, if not so intellectually complex as those of India
and China, at least of comparable interest and originality, their arts, crafts
and customs constantly showing the presence of intelligence and vitality.
No strong tendency is discernible for any of the various groups to assi-
milate, or be assimilated by, one another, though some of the aboriginal
people of Malaya and the indigenous people of Borneo have adopted Malay
culture and the Islamic religion. On the whole, however, the Chinese, Malay,
Indian and indigenous groups tend to remain quite distinct. Yet, despite the
many differences which exist between the peoples of the Federation, there are
signs that point to the emergence of a distinctive Malaysian society. In-
creasingly, links of friendship and loyalty, crossing racial barriers, are forged
by Malaysian institutions, by the armed forces and by the sporting, cultural
and educational organisations which are an essential part of modern Malay-
sian society. There is, too, the influence of language. The tongues which
sometimes separate one group from their immediate neighbours may never-
theless link them with another group in a distant part of the Federation; a
8
Malay speaker and a Hokkien speaker from Brunei will generally have no
difficulty in understanding a Malay speaker and a Hokkien speaker in Penang.
Moreover, though many tongues are spoken in the Federation, for many years
most people have made use of simple Malay as a lingua franca, while the
educated classes have in addition enjoyed the unifying influence of English,
which, for at least ten more years, will continue to be used as an official
language. Now, too, there is an increasing use at all levels of the rapidly
developing Malay language, the Federation's national language which may
well be the vehicle in which Malaysian culture and consciousness will presently
express itself.
10
HISTORICAL OUTLINE
EARLY HISTORY
peninsular Malaya was significant at a very early epoch in human history as
a land bridge between continental Asia and the lands of the south-west
Pacific and it was one of the routes by which the prehistoric peoples of
Indonesia, Melanesia and Australia travelled to their future homes. Archae-
ological research in Malaysia has provided evidence of settlement from very
ancient times; indeed, in the Niah Caves, in Sarawak, there is evidence of
human life before 50,000 B.C. By the beginning of the Christian era iron age
settlements had been established, and there is evidence, from that period, of
well-developed commercial and trade contacts between settlements in Kedah,
South Johore and Santubong, in west Borneo, with South China and with
India and the west. It has, indeed, been speculated that the trade of the
Golden Khersonese of classical times may well have included the products
of west Borneo.
The earliest Malay kingdoms seem to have been in the north of the Malay
peninsula where Kedah formed part of the Buddhist kingdom of Langkasuka,
which was on a significant commercial and cultural route between India and
Cambodia. Another Buddhist Malay kingdom arose later in east Sumatra.
This was the State of Sri Vijaya based on Palembang. By the ninth century it
had conquered Langkasuka, Kelantan, Trengganu and Pahang and was over-
lord of the Malay peninsula. Colonists from Palembang also settled in the
island of Singapore in the thirteenth century, founding the separate kingdom
of Temasek. Soon after this Sri Vijaya fell. At the beginning of the fourteenth
century there arose in Java the powerful Hindu empire of Majapahit, the influ-
ence of which also extended northward to Borneo. Though the Brunei Malays
are now all Muslims, the State's traditional ceremony, the royal procedure
and the nomenclature of court officials still preserve Hindu elements which
were probably introduced when the country was under Majapahit influence.
Islam, brought by Arab traders, reached the Malay world in the thirteenth
century, the kingdom of Melayu in east Sumatra being one of the first States
to adopt Islam as its religion. Melayu never extended its rule over the Malay
peninsula but there is evidence to show that in the mid-fourteenth century,
by which time Majapahit had overrun and destroyed the settled parts of
Malaya and the kingdoms of Temasek, Palembang and Melayu, Islam had
succeeded in establishing itself in parts of Malaya.
The destruction of Temasek by Majapahit, and the subsequent occupation
of the island of Singapore by a Thai army, led to the rise of Malacca, to which
the exiled Temasek ruler, Parameswara, a prince of Palembang origin, had
fled. In 1405 Parameswara received the recognition of the Ming Emperor of
China, who promised protection against the threat from the Thais now
exerting pressure from the north after the withdrawal of Majapahit. In 1416
Parameswara embraced Islam, and thereafter the influence of Arab teachers
and traders, and contact with the Arabic world, increased. It is significant
nevertheless that Parameswara's successor still adopted the Sri Vijaya title
of Sri Maharaja. At the same time Malacca continued to cultivate its political
11
and trade connections with China, and as a result of its two-way trade with
the Far Fast and with the Indian and Islamic worlds, it prospered increasingly.
In the mid-fifteenth century the Golden Age of Malacca dawned. It was the
time of Hang Tuah, the greatest of Malacca's warriors. Conquests were made
in Malaya and Sumatra and the wealth and prestige of the State increased.
From Malacca the influence of Islam continued to spread in the Malay world,
and in the peninsula it gradually replaced Hinduism. Often Islam was
carried by the merchant princes and traders who were an important element
in Malacca's population.
By the early fifteenth century the influence of Islam had also spread to
Borneo where it was adopted by the powerful State of Brunei which now
controlled the trade of the area. In Borneo, as in Malaya, the same cultural
and commercial influences — from India and the Islamic world and from
China — were thus at work. But in the early sixteenth century these influences
were joined by another which soon had far-reaching effects on the political
and commercial life of the area. In 1509 a Portuguese fleet sent by Albuquer-
que reached Malacca and in 1521 the first western expedition to circum-
navigate the globe arrived at Brunei town.
The capture of Malacca by the Portuguese in 1511 destroyed the Malay
empire which had controlled the peninsula and the east coast of Sumatra,
and a period of Malay adversity followed. The Malacca dynasty established
a new Sultanate based on the Riau islands and Johore, but Riau-Johore was
never able to re-establish control over Malacca, which became the centre of
Portuguese influence over the trade of the Far East. In 1641 the Dutch seized
Malacca in order that it should no longer rival their own commercial centre
at Batavia but they in turn had to face the hostility of Riau-Johore, after 1721
under the control of the Bugis, the warrior merchants of the Celebes. The
Riau-Johore State, to the discomfiture of the Dutch, was at the beginning of
the eighteenth century able to dominate the whole of western Malaya (apart
from Malacca) except in the north, where Kedah, together with the east
coast States of Kelantan and Trengganu, had again come under Thai influ-
ence. As the century wore on, however, Riau-Johore declined in power, and
in 1743 Selangor achieved independence under a Bugis dynasty to be followed
in 1773 by the Minangkabau States of Negri Sembilan. Perak, whose first
ruler was the son of the last Malacca sultan, preserved its existence against
the Bugis, but, as their power declined, found itself harassed by the Thais
from the north.
The triumph of Islam over the greater part of the Malay world (Majapahit
had fallen early in the sixteenth century to the new Javanese Islamic king-
doms) provided the Malays with a unifying influence which neither the
Portuguese nor the Dutch, despite their military power, could destroy. The
trading influence of the Dutch, and later the British, nevertheless helped in
the disintegration of the larger Malay political units whose territories tended
to become separate sultanates. Thus, when the Riau royal family divided
into two branches, one under British and the other under Dutch influence,
the officials of the State who ruled Pahang and Johore assumed the positions
of independent princes. Similarly after the beginning of the seventeenth cen-
tury the power of Brunei over Borneo declined as the Dutch established
trading centres in the south and east of the island, until, by the beginning of
12
(lie nineteenth century, it included only its present territory, Sarawak and
parts of North Borneo.
THE ADVENT OF BRITISH INFLUENCE
The British' interest in the East Indies and the Far East was, like that of the
Portuguese and Dutch, to begin with primarily commercial. In the second
half of the eighteenth century the British East India Company was badly in
need of bases for its trade with China, and an attempt to establish a station
in the area was made in North Borneo. There, the Sultan of Sulu, who had
been released from Spanish captivity when the British captured Manila in
1763, had ceded to the company the land from the Kimanis river to the Straits
of Macassar. This territory had earlier been given to the Sultan of Sulu by
Brunei as a reward for services which he had rendered. The company opened
a base at Balambangan, an island to the north of Marudu Bay, but the place
was unhealthy and constantly menaced by pirates. In 1775 it was pillaged by
Sulus and Illanuns, who forced the garrison to retire. In 1803 an attempt to
re-establish the base was made but again without success, and the station was
closed together with a company factory at Brunei. After this no further
British efforts at settlement in Borneo were made for 40 years.
In Malaya British attempts to establish settlements were more successful.
In 1786 Frances Light, on behalf of the East India Company, took possession
of the island of Penang. The island belonged to Kedah which at the time was
anxious to obtain a guarantee of military assistance against Siam (its nominal
suzerain), the Bugis and Burma. The East India Company was unwilling to
give such a guarantee but after 1791, when Kedah tried unsuccessfully to re-
capture Penang, it agreed to pay the Sultan of Kedah and his successors
$M 10,000 per year in return for the cession of Penang and, in addition,
Province Wellesley.
Malacca was surrendered to the British in 1795 during the Napoleonic wars.
It was subsequently returned on two occasions to the Dutch, who finally gave
it up in exchange for Bencoolen in west Sumatra in 1825. Meanwhile, the
termination of the Napoleonic wars and the re-occupation of Java by Holland
again faced the East India Company with the need for a good East India
trading station. The geographical position of Penang limited its value as a
trading and naval base. The problem was solved by the foundation in 1819
of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles.
Raffles' 'Malta of the East' more than justified his hopes. A year after its
occupation the population numbered 10,000 and by 1823 the value of imports
and exports in the free port exceeded 10 million dollars.
The vision of Raffles, which greatly influenced the officials in Malaya who
came after him, went far beyond the creation of a great entrepot at Singapore.
He was anxious that Britain should 'stretch a protecting hand over the East
Archipelago and establish the amelioration and property of the inhabitants'.
He prohibited slavery and cruel sports and sought to promote the education
of the people. The foundation stone of the Raffles Institution was laid by him
in 1823. 'Shall we not consider it one of our first duties', he had written to his
superiors, 'to afford the means of education to surrounding countries and thus
render our stations not only the seats of commerce but of literature and the
arts'. His insistence that Singapore should be a port where 'trade was open
13
/vO *i s> ft
to ships and vessels of every nation free of duty, equally and alike to all' was
for him not a mere economic doctrine, expedient in his time, but an ethical
reform aimed at establishing the freedom of Asians from the monopolies
which for so long had confined their lives.
In 1826 Penang, Malacca and Singapore were combined to form the Colony
of the Straits Settlements and continued to be administered from India. In
1830 they were brought under the control of the presidency of Bengal and 21
years later transferred to the direct control of the Governor-General of India.
In 1867 their administration became the responsibility of the Colonial Office.
For the first three-quarters of the nineteenth century it was the policy
neither of the East India Company nor of the British Government to interfere
in the Malay States of the peninsula or in Borneo. During the period, how-
ever, significant changes began to take place in the peninsular Malay States.
The pax Britannica had removed the threat of external aggression and greatly
increased trade in the area. There was a considerable development of tin mining
by immigrant Chinese workers using new methods, and in consequence the
control of the districts brought to the nobles greater revenue and power than
attendance at the sultans' courts. At the same time the population grew and
began to spread out over the countryside. Despite the economic progress the
internal government of the Malay States remained far from good. There was
constant warfare between them and civil war was frequent. Piracy flourished
and the people were burdened by service in the local wars of their rulers and
by the system of slavery which was widespread. The situation was far from
satisfactory to the increasingly prosperous commercial circles of Penang and
Singapore. The transfer of the Straits Settlements to the Colonial Office
enabled the Governor and leading merchants in the colony to represent the
conditions in the Malay States more effectively to the British Government,
with the result that in 1873 new instructions permitting a change of policy
were issued to the Governor of the Straits Settlements in the following terms:
'Her Majesty's Government have, it need hardly be said, no desire to
interfere in the internal affairs of the Malay States. But looking to the
long and intimate connection between them and the British Government
and to the well-being of the British Settlements themselves, Her Majesty's
Government find it incumbent upon them to employ such influence as they
possess with the Native Princes to rescue, if possible, those fertile and pro-
ductive countries from the ruin which must befall them if the present dis-
orders continue.'
The Governor was instructed to ascertain the actual situation in each State
and in particular to consider whether it would be advisable to appoint a
British officer to reside in any of them. 'Such an appointment', the instruction
went on, 'could, of course, only be made with the full consent of the Native
Government. . . .'
In the following year Britain became involved in the State of Perak, where,
in addition to difficulties of the kind outlined above, large numbers of people
were being killed in strife between Malays and Chinese and in feuds between
rival Chinese secret societies in the tin fields of Larut. The Governor suc-
ceeded in negotiating a treaty with the Ruler and Chiefs by which the advice
of a British Resident should be asked and acted upon on all questions other
than those touching Malay religion and custom. In 1874, also, the Sultan of
14
w~
Selangor, on the advice of the Chiefs, asked for a similar treaty and accepted
a British Resident. Similar arrangements were made later with Negri Sem-
bilan and Pahang, and in 1895 these four States — Perak, Selangor, Negri
Sembilan and Pahang — became a federation with a British Resident-General
and a system of centralised government.
Johore secured a treaty of protection in 1885, and in 1914, under a new
treaty, a General Adviser was appointed. By the Bangkok Treaty of 1909,
Thailand transferred all rights of suzerainty, protection, administration and
control of the four northern States of Kelantan, Trengganu, Perlis and Kedah
to Britain. Up to then, those States had continued to suffer from the weaknesses
which had previously beset the States in the south. Although the provisions
of the treaties negotiated with them and with Johore were similar to those of
the earlier treaties, these northern States remained outside the Federation.
In the development of the Residential system, Sir Hugh Low in Perak and
Sir Frank Swettenham in Selangor and Perak (and later as Resident-General)
showed great skill, and their wisdom and understanding helped to establish
the new regime with the help of the Malay ruling class. It should be noted that
neither the federated Malay States nor Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Trengganu and
Johore were ever declared British territory, but an administrative link existed
between the States and the British Straits Settlements, since the High Com-
missioner for the Malay States was also Governor of the Straits Settlements.
The course of events in the Borneo territories in the second half of the
nineteenth century was not entirely dissimilar from what took place in Malaya.
By the middle of the century the once powerful State of Brunei consisted of
only its present territory, with a shadowy authority over Sarawak and part
of North Borneo. Anarchy was rife and Illanun and Sulu pirates went almost
uncontrolled. It was inevitable that Britain should take some steps to secure
the safety of the seas in the area for commerce and navigation. In 1840 James
Brooke, an adventurous Englishman, interceded in a dispute in Sarawak
occasioned by the revolt of the Malays and Land Dayaks against the rule of
the Sultan of Brunei's viceroy. As a reward for his services in pacifying the
country the Sultan installed him as Rajah. Brooke quickly recognised that he
could hardly rule effectively as long as piracy was rife and he consequently
sought and obtained the assistance of the Royal Navy to restore order.
Subsequently he secured the intervention of the Navy in North Borneo where,
in 1845, a successful action occurred against pirates in Marudu Bay. In order
that it should have a base for further operations against piracy Britain in
1846 obtained the cession from the Sultan of Brunei of the island of Labuan,
which became a Crown Colony under the government of the Straits Settle-
ments. In the following year Brunei concluded a treaty for the promotion of
commerce and the suppression of piracy with Britain.
Rajah Brooke meanwhile had continued the work of pacifying Sarawak,
reducing head-hunting and laying the foundations of administration. His
country's independence was recognised by the United States in 1850, and
in 1864 Great Britain appointed a Consul. His son and successor, Sir Charles
Brooke, over a period of 50 years built on his predecessor's foundations.
The State was enlarged, piracy all but disappeared, head-hunting was greatly
reduced, prosperity increased and a system of administration was established.
The development of North Borneo was largely undertaken as a commercial
15
proposition by businessmen attracted by the country's timber, its reported
mineral wealth and its land. Some early attempts to establish settlements had
failed, but in 1877 the Sultan of Brunei and in 1878 the Sultan of Sulu ceded
possessions in north and in east Borneo to Baron Overbeck and Alfred
Dent. Immediate steps were taken to establish the rudiments of government.
In 1881 the British Government granted a charter to the British North Borneo
Provisional Association Ltd. The charter provided, inter alia, that the com-
pany should always be British, that it should undertake to abolish slavery,
to administer justice with due regard to native customs and laws and not to
interfere with the religion of the inhabitants. In 1882 the British North
Borneo (Chartered) Company was founded, and in 1888 the British presence
in Borneo as a whole was formalised when North Borneo, Brunei and Sara-
wak became British protectorates.
BRITISH RULE - THE EARLY YEARS
While the territories of Malaysia were British colonies or protectorates the
foundations and structures of their modern administrations and economies
were built. Poverty, ill-health and low standards of living still exist, and much
remains to be done before productivity has increased to a degree that will
permit all the people of the territories to enjoy a reasonable standard of life.
But it must be remembered that when the British assumed control of the
territories anarchy was rampant, the countries were economically backward,
of organised settlements and good means of transport there was hardly any-
thing and there were few means of obtaining secular education; whereas at the
time of Britain's departure representative legislative organs were in existence,
justice was efficiently and fairly administered, law and order were maintained,
all the main departments of modern government had been established, cities
and towns had been built and, in the developed areas, efficient means of
transport created, considerable strides had been made in education, and
attention had been given to both agricultural and industrial development.
In the early decades of the establishment of British influence both in
Malaya and Borneo, feudal anarchy, internecine wars and piracy were re-
placed by stable government. Efficient administrations, devoted to serving
the needs of the people, were built up to meet the requirements of the expand-
ing economies, the growth of which was now permitted by the establishment
of peaceful conditions.
The commerce of the territories was vastly stimulated by the opening of
the Suez Canal in 1869, by the introduction of the rubber tree from South
America via the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in 1877 and by the rapid
expansion of tin mining in the peninsula. These developments were accom-
panied by a great influx of Chinese and Indian labour. In Malaya, in the
early years of the twentieth century, the construction of railways and roads
went on at a rapid pace to allow the extension of rubber planting and tin
mining to go forward unchecked. On a less spectacular scale progress was
also made in Sarawak where the less developed economy did not, however,
lead to such a great development of settlement and communications as in
Malaya. In North Borneo economic development was most marked on the
west coast where the Chartered Company offered land on attractive terms. A
railway was constructed and proved its worth at the time of the rubber boom
16
in the early nineteen-hundreds. In Brunei, too, ordered government was
established and a degree of economic development took place.
The establishment of peace had permitted economic growth; the develop-
ment of the economies in turn helped to provide the revenues which permitted
the further development of the organs of modern government. Standards of
administration were high and British officers were required to study Malay
and to a lesser extent Chinese dialects and Indian languages and to learn
about the customs of the people, in order that in the course of their work they
could bring sympathy and understanding to bear on the problems of admini-
stration. The employment of Malays in government service had been govern-
ment policy from the beginning, but in the early years of British administra-
tion there were few qualified for technical or clerical work. As a result the
clerical services had to a considerable extent in the Straits Settlements and
the federated States to be staffed by Indians, Ceylonese and Chinese who
were English-educated, which state of affairs led to an increased use of
English in government administration. At a higher level, however, the
British administrative officers and, in particular, the Residents, were often
masters of Malay and very often conducted their official duties in the language.
In the early years of British administration the local populations were not
associated in government by means of any elected legislatures but every
endeavour was made to govern the country in association with local leaders.
In both the federated and unfederated Malay States the British Residents
acted as advisers to the existing Rulers on all matters excepting those relating
to Muslim law and Malay custom. In 1909, in the federated States, a Federal
Council was created by Sir John Anderson, the membership being the Rulers,
the Resident-General, the four British Residents and four unofficials nomin-
ated by the High Commissioner who presided over the council.
In the Straits Settlements, as early as the mid-nineteenth century, municipal
committees had been established in Penang, Singapore and Malacca during
the period of company rule. These organs enabled the leaders of all com-
mittees to express their views to the government. Singapore became a muni-
cipality in 1856. Under Crown Colony government a Straits Settlements
Legislative Council, consisting of eleven officials and six nominated unofficials
was established and recruitment to the civil service of the Settlements by
competitive examination was initiated.
In Brunei the British Resident, in a similar manner to the Residents in the
Malay States, advised the Sultan in council on matters of government except
those affecting the Muslim religion and Malay custom. In North Borneo the
government remained in the hands of the chartered company and in Sarawak
in the control of the Brooke family. Such arrangements may seem strange
but there is no doubt that both the company and the Brookes were devoted to
the development of their territories and the welfare of their peoples, and their
rules commanded general assent.
LAW AND JUSTICE
Among the tasks of the British administration was the introduction of an
impartial, humane and universally valid system of law and justice. Apart
from the relatively humane law, based on the matrilineal system of law oper-
ating in Negri Sembilan, the law of the Malay States and Brunei at the advent
17
of British authority was for the most part arbitrary and cruel. Sir Richard
Winstedt has described the criminal law of the patriarchal States as 'a tissue
of barbarities, inconsistencies and class favouritism . . .' As, by agreement
with the Rulers, British authority advanced, the law and judicial system of
the Colony of the Straits Settlements became the model for the Malay States
and Brunei.
Even in the Settlements the introduction of a satisfactory legal system had
taken time. The various racial and tribal groups within their rapidly expand-
ing populations brought with them their own customs and traditions and
their own approach to crime and punishment. Thus the government instruc-
tions for the administration of justice in Penang, issued in 1800, prescribed
that the law was to be 'the law of the different peoples and tribes of which the
inhabitants consist, tempered by such parts of the British law as are of uni-
versal application'.
The system of law eventually introduced in the Straits Settlements and sub-
sequently adopted alike by the federated and unfederated Malay States and
Brunei was the Indian Evidence Act, and Penal and Criminal Procedure
Codes (of British India), with slight alterations and a Civil Procedure Code
based on the English Judicature Acts. In Sarawak and Borneo the basis of
Criminal Law is again the Indian Penal Code and it is provided that in both
territories save insofar as provision is made by any written laws in force, the
common law of England and the doctrines of Equity shall apply as far as local
circumstances permit.
THE INTER-WAR YEARS
In the years between 1918 and 1939 Malaya and the Borneo territories
suffered, like most other countries, from the effects of the trade recession in
the 'twenties and of the world economic depression of the 'thirties. Neverthe-
less considerable progress was made in expanding the public utilities and
social services.
In the federated Malay States the largest items of government expenditure
during the 'twenties were on the extension of railways and the construction of
new roads and buildings. Medical and educational services were also ex-
panded and other social services showed a moderate advance. The world
economic depression forced the government to introduce sweeping economies
and impose additional taxation. Construction of new public works was im-
peded and departmental expenditure cut, but with the recovery of revenue
after 1934 services were again expanded.
Development in the unfederated Malay States also went ahead in the inter-
war years. Johore, the largest and wealthiest, saw a considerable expansion
of public works and social services. In Kedah, Pedis and Kelantan, much less
revenue was available and the scale of development lower. Trengganu was
still in the early stages of development during the period and the surplus rev-
enues available for social services were small. The beneficial effect of security
and justice is nevertheless indicated by the fourteenfold increase in the revenue
of the State between 1911 and 1937.
The Straits Settlements Government embarked in 1919 on a programme of
expansion. The Singapore Harbour Works were improved. Expenditure on
18
medical services and education increased very considerably. Expenditure on
public works rose from $M 458,000 in 1918 to over $M 6 million in 1927.
After the depression progress was resumed, and by 1930 medical expenditure
in the three municipalities was over $M 5 million. The expansion of the naval
base also helped the island's economy.
In Borneo progress was slower. In Brunei, however, a revolution in the
economy was occasioned by the discovery of a workable oilfield at Seria in
1929. Once exploitation of the field had begun, the State's revenue vastly in-
creased and Brunei became prosperous.
In Sarawak Sir Vyner Brooke, the third Rajah, succeeded his father in 1917
and continued his policies. Head-hunting was reduced to sporadic propor-
tions, revenue increased and medical and educational services were improved.
At the outbreak of war the State was in a sound economic position with a
large sum of money in reserve. In North Borneo the chartered company
was able to achieve creditable, if somewhat slow, progress. The economy was
affected by the world slump in 1931 but thereafter the company was able to
achieve a balanced economy based largely on the export of rubber, timber and
copra. Sandakan, the then seat of government, Jesselton, Beaufort, Tawau
and Kudat had developed into small but prosperous towns, but good com-
munications were still mainly limited to the west coast.
Constitutionally there were some advances in the period. In 1927 the
Federal Council of the Federated Malay States was changed when the Rulers
withdrew, the officials were increased to 13 and the unofncials to 11. The
proceedings of the council then began to adopt something of the modern
aspect of Government and Opposition. In the Straits Settlements after 1924,
the Legislative Council had equal numbers of officials and unofncials appoin-
ted by the Governor, who, in carrying out his duties, was advised by an
Executive Council consisting mainly of officials. Co-ordination of policy
throughout the peninsula continued to be achieved by the Governor as High
Commissioner for the Malay States.
In the Borneo territories the inter-war years witnessed no marked con-
stitutional changes, though, on the eve of the Japanese occupation in 1941,
the Rajah of Sarawak, in celebration of the centenary of his family's rule,
enacted a new constitution which abrogated his absolute powers and set his
people on the first stage of the road to democratic self-government.
During the inter-war years there were few people who thought in terms of
achieving independence in the near future for any of the territories. For the
most part the Malays were satisfied with a system of administrative tutelage
which gave them opportunity and time to develop and which preserved the
sovereignty of their traditional rulers. The immigrant races, though numeri-
cally important, to a large extent still thought in terms of a return to their
homelands. The object of many of the Indian labourers who came to work in
the Federation's plantations was to amass sufficient money to return in
comparative affluence to India and they were not at all interested in the pos-
sibility of taking part in politics in Malaya. The immigrant Chinese on the
other hand were beginning to be interested in politics but it was an interest
in the politics of mainland China and not of Malaya or Borneo. Both the
Kuomintang and, after 1924, the Chinese Communist Party, established
branches in Malaya, but they were concerned to a large extent with winning
19
the support of the comparatively wealthy overseas Chinese group with its
financial resources so valuable to their ends in China, rather than in influenc-
ing political developments locally. After the Japanese invasion of China, the
Chinese in Malaya and Borneo increasingly gave support to the organisations
seeking to aid, by financial or other means, the Chinese Government in its
resistance. To the Chinese, therefore, the arrival of the Japanese in 1941 was
part of a struggle in which they had been involved for a number of years.
THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Between the outbreak of the war in Europe and the Japanese occupation,
the production of rubber, tin and oil in Malaya and Borneo greatly aided the
British war effort through its conservation of foreign exchange, especially
United States dollars. Japan, however, entered the war in 1941 at a time when
Britain was desperately engaged in the west. After a campaign lasting two
months, Malaya and the Borneo territories were overrun and Singapore, the
centre of Britain's power in the area, surrendered in February 1942.
The Japanese occupation, despite the promises of the 'Greater East-Asia
Co-prosperity Sphere', was a tremendous set-back to progress in all the
territories. In North Borneo and Brunei whole towns were destroyed and
years of achievement ruined. An official British report, published in May 1949
(Cmd. 7709), on the effects of the occupation, reads as follows:
'The territories were administered solely for Japanese military con-
venience and the rights and welfare of the civilian population received
scant consideration. The cessation of food imports, especially of rice,
coupled with requisitioning of local crops and livestock, left the people
in a state of serious under-nourishment. With the abandonment of anti-
malarial measures malaria became rife and took a heavy toll — all the
heavier because of malnutrition. Hospitals continued to function— but
only insofar as they could provide services with depleted staffs and largely
without drugs and medical stores of all kinds. There was a complete
neglect and under-maintenance of public services— water supplies, power,
communications — unless required for military purposes. Commerce came
virtually to a standstill. . . Industry continued only to the extent that it
contributed to the needs of the Japanese war machine The rubber and
tin industries were for the most part abandoned Higher education
ceased entirely; primary and secondary education continued only on an
insignificant scale.'
Despite the severities of the occupation a spirit of resistance nevertheless
gradually developed among the people. The first to organise resistance were
the Chinese groups which had already before the war been engaged in anti-
Japanese activities. Later on the Malays, too, organised a resistance and, as
the occupation period went on, there was among all groups an awakening of
political consciousness that was to bear fruit when the Japanese had left. The
Japanese occupation, destructive as it was, did have the effect of stimulating
a desire for national independence.
TOWARDS SELF-GOVERNMENT
During the Japanese occupation considerable thought had been given in
the United Kingdom to the future form of government in Malaya and
20
Borneo. It was clear that the awakening of political consciousness would not
permit the return to the forms of government which had existed before the
war and that an effort would have to be made to establish constitutional
arrangements which would provide for opportunities for development toward
responsible self-government. A White Paper on the future administration
of Malaya, published in 1946, stated that, 'In this development all those who
have made the country their homeland should have the opportunity of a due
share in their country's political and cultural institutions'.
The British Government proposed that in Malaya the pre-war system of
federated and unfederated Malay States should be replaced by a centralised
Malayan Union which would deprive the Rulers and the States of all but
nominal authority. Penang and Malacca would form part of the Union but
Singapore, on account of its large entrepot trade and its special economic and
social interests, would become a separate colony. Orders in Council con-
stituting the Malayan Union and the Colony of Singapore came into opera-
tion on 1st April, 1946. While the Orders conferred constitutions on the
territories and decreed the creation of Legislative, State and Settlement
Councils, such councils were not to come into being until a later date, after
full consultation with local opinion had been possible. In the meantime, in
the Malayan Union and Singapore, nominated Advisory Councils were
established to advise the Governor on legislation and other matters.
Singapore became a separate colony but the proposals for the creation
of a Malayan Union were never fully implemented, although the Union
itself had a brief existence from 1946-48 after the end of the British
Military Administration. It was quickly apparent that the Malays were
extremely dissatisfied with the proposals for the Union, especially those which
transferred jurisdiction from the Malay Rulers to the British Crown and
contained conditions of citizenship which the Malays feared would result in
Chinese domination. The Malays were led by Dato Onn, leader of the United
Malay National Organisation (UMNO) which rapidly formed branches
throughout Malaya. In place of the Malayan Union a federal scheme was
drawn up by a representative Malay working committee, and, after con-
sultation with the non-Malay communities and the United Kingdom Govern-
ment, there emerged the Federation of Malaya Agreement of 1948, under
which the States and Settlements were to retain their own individuality but
were to be united under a strong central government. The Malay rulers re-
mained sovereign in the Malay States and Penang, and Malacca remained
British territory. The Federation of Malaya agreement provided for a High
Commissioner and a Federal Legislative Council consisting of 75 members, 50
of whom were unofficials, and considerable authority was left to the State and
Settlement governments particularly where land administration was con-
cerned. A form of common citizenship was created for all who acknowledged
Malaya as their permanent home. Out of a population of approximately
5 million in 1948, some 3-1 million qualified automatically for federal citizen-
ship of whom 78 per cent were Malays, 12 per cent Chinese, and 7 per cent
Indian. By December 1951 a further 327,773 persons, mainly Chinese, had
become federal citizens by application.
After becoming a separate colony Singapore was given a new constitution
providing for it to be administered by a Governor with a nominated Executive
21
Council and a partly elected Legislative Council. The Legislative Council
elected in 1948 consisted of the Governor as President, 6 members elected by
territorial constituencies, 3 elected by the three Chambers of Commerce, 4
nominated unofficials, 5 officials and 4 ex officio members. After the 1951
elections the number of elected members was increased to 12 of whom 9
represented territorial seats.
In 1952 a committee of unofficial Legislative Council members established
by the Governor recommended the increase of territorially elected represen-
tatives to 18 and the complete review of Singapore's constitution. Such a
review was carried out by a commission under the chairmanship of Sir George
Rendel. All the Rendel Commission's recommendations were accepted by
the British Government, a new constitution was brought into force and elec-
tions were held in April 1955.
In Sarawak, after the Japanese occupation, the Rajah resumed administra-
tion. It was, however, evident to him that greater resources than he could
command would be necessary to restore the country's prosperity. He there-
fore considered it best for Sarawak to come under the British Crown. A Bill
to this effect was passed by the Council Negri in 1946, and in June of that
year an Order-in-Council establishing the Colony of Sarawak came into
force. The Supreme Council and the Council Negri established under the
1941 constitution retained their authority under the new arrangements.
Legislative and financial jurisdiction lay with the Council Negri, a body of
25 members of whom 14 were official members appointed from the Sarawak
Civil Service and 1 1 unofficial members representative of the different peoples
of the country and their interests. In addition there were several standing
members of the Council Negri immediately before the enactment of the new
Constitution Ordinance. The council had the power to make laws for the
peace, order and good government of the country, and no public money
could be expended without its consent. The constitution also provided for a
Supreme Council of not less than five members of whom a majority should
be members of the Sarawak Civil Service and the Council Negri. The powers
of the Rajah in Council were henceforth vested in the Governor in Council.
The system of government in Brunei after liberation from the Japanese
remained unchanged, that is to say, the supreme executive authority in the
State was vested in the Sultan who was assisted in his functions by a State
Council. The Sultan, however, accepted the advice of a British Resident in all
matters except those affecting the Islamic religion and Malay custom.
With the ending of the British Military Administration in 1946, North
Borneo, including Labuan, became a Crown Colony. Government was con-
ducted by the Governor who had the assistance of an Advisory Council. The
almost total destruction by the Japanese of all that had been achieved by the
chartered company meant that in the immediate years after liberation all
attention had to be given to the physical tasks of rehabilitation and recon-
struction. To effect this, grants and loans were made by the British Govern-
ment. In 1950 a new constitution came into being, providing for the estab-
lishment of Executive and Legislative Councils, the unofficial members of
which were not in a majority and were chosen by the Governor from persons
considered to be as representative as possible of the various sectors of the
community.
22
THE EMERGENCY IN MALAYA
The Governments of Malaya, Singapore, Brunei, Sarawak and North
Borneo were all faced with the tasks of reconstructing and developing their
economies and preparing for responsible self-government, but the Govern-
ment of the Federation of Malaya had to face these tasks against the back-
ground of a struggle against armed Communist insurrention. The anti-
Japanese Communist resistance groups, mainly Chinese, which had emerged
from the jungle in September 1945, had hoped to gain control of the country
but in this aim they were foiled by the arrival of the British Military Admini-
stration. Failing in their endeavour to seize power or even be associated in
the government of the country, they made determined efforts to paralyse
economic recovery and finally launched a campaign of violence and murder
in which the principal targets were British rubber planters and miners, on
whom the economy largely depended, and those Chinese who actively
opposed the Communists. To cope with the situation a State of Emergency
was declared in June 1948.
Years of unremitting struggle followed — the emergency was not lifted until
1960— but gradually the forces of Communism were destroyed. Victory was
not achieved by the military effort alone, although as the years went by,
Malayan, British and other Commonwealth forces were called on unceasingly
to prosecute arduous jungle campaigns, but also by measures involving the
protection of whole sections of the civil population from the depradations
and intimidation of the terrorists. Chief among these methods was the Briggs
plan, which involved the re-settling into new villages of nearly half a million
dispersed rural dwellers, often illegal Chinese squatters, who previously had
been obliged in their unprotected and isolated habitations to contribute
support in manpower, money and food, to the Communist movement. The
new settlements made it possible for Government to bring to the re-settled
population the benefits of better administration and social services and to
prosecute the campaign of winning their 'hearts and minds' so that they
would actively support Government's efforts instead of sitting on the
fence. As confidence was restored, such active support was increasingly forth-
coming until home guard units composed of new villagers were themselves able
to undertake the defence of the settlements. Food denial measures aimed at
cutting off the supply of food to the terrorists were also applied and, although
these caused some hardship, the population accepted them as a fair means of
ending terrorism.
By 1954, when General Templer handed over his post to Sir Donald
MacGillivray, the Communist threat, if not yet destroyed, had been broken.
To a cheering Legislative Council the General announced that the British
Government no longer regarded the Communist threat as a bar to the intro-
duction of elections or to the achievement of Malayan independence.
MALAYA ACHIEVES MERDEKA
A considerable advance had already been made toward self-government
with the introduction of the 'Member' system in 1951. This was in effect the
first step toward ministerial responsibility. Various departments and sub-
jects were grouped under the supervision of individual members of the
23
Legislative Council, most of whom were political and community leaders. In
1952 the composition of the Executive Council was changed to include all
those in the Legislative Council who were 'Members'. The leaders of the
various communities and politicians thus associated themselves with Govern-
ment in the prosecution of the emergency and there is no doubt that the
national effort and purpose which this association engendered did much to
give the people a feeling of being united as a single Malayan people. The
ordeal of the emergency in a sense therefore contributed towards the develop-
ment of Malayan national identity.
In 1955 a new constitution was introduced which transferred to the elected
representatives of the people most of the responsibility for the government
of the Federation. It was based on the recommendation of an almost entirely
Malayan Committee appointed by the High Commissioner in 1953. The new
Federal Legislative Council was to consist of 52 elected members, 3 ex officio
members (Chief Secretary, Attorney-General, Financial Secretary), 11 State
and Settlement representatives, 22 representatives of scheduled interests (for
example mining, agriculture and labour), 3 representatives of racial minorities
(Aborigines, Ceylonese, Eurasians) and 7 nominated reserve members. Of the
7 seats reserved for the High Commissioner's nomination, 2 were filled by
officials and 5 by unofficials after consultation with the leader of the majority
party among elected members. Provision was thus made for a substantial
popular majority in the council.
In the elections held in July 1955 the Alliance Party, which had been
formed by a coalition of the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO),
the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malayan Indian Congress
(MIC), won a sweeping victory under its leader, Tunku Abdul Rahman, on
its electoral platform of early independence and gained 51 out of the 52 elected
seats. Early in 1956 a conference was held in London to discuss the problems
involved in advancing further toward self-government. As a result of agree-
ment reached at the conference, the Federation of Malaya achieved internal
self-government and arrangements were set in train for the achievement of full
self-government and independence within the Commonwealth by August 1957.
In March 1956 an independent Constitutional Commission headed by
Lord Reid was appointed, and its report, on which the present Malayan
constitution was ultimately based, was published in February 1957. The
Legislative Council then accepted the constitutional proposals which had
been finalised after consultation between the United Malay National Organ-
isation, the Malayan Chinese Association, the Malayan Indian Congress and
the British Government. The Federation of Malaya Agreement was signed
on behalf of the Queen and the Malay Rulers in August 1957, and, at the end
of the month, independence ('Merdeka' in Malay) was finally achieved.
The constitution of the new State was unique. While acknowledging the
Queen as Head of the Commonwealth, the Federation became an elective
monarchy, the sovereign, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, being elected by and
from among the other Malay rulers for a period of five years. The form of
government remained federal with a bicameral legislature. Under the new
constitution provision was made for a federal list of powers, a State list and a
concurrent list with residual powers lying with the States.
The lower house (Dewan Ra'ayat) consisted of 104 members and the
24
Senate (Dewan Negara) of 38 members— 2 elected by the Legislative Council
of each State and 16 appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on such
grounds as having achieved distinction in public life or their professions. The
Yang di-Pertuan Agong is a constitutional monarch and chooses his Prime
Minister from the party in the lower house which can command a majority.
Each of the States and Settlements has a written constitution, and the Rulers
of the States and the Governors of the Settlements act in like manner to the
Federal Head of State as constitutional heads choosing their chief executive
from the leader of the majority party in the legislature.
All who were citizens of the Federation before Independence Day (August
31st 1957) continued to be citizens and all born in the country after that date
are citizens by operation of the law. Persons over 18 years of age who were
born in any State in the Federation before independence and who have resided
there for periods of 5 out of the previous 7 years may also become citizens
if they intend to become permanent residents, provided they possess certain
qualifications such as some knowledge of Malay and take an oath of loyalty
to the Federation. Those who had resided in the Federation for 8 of the
previous 12 years at the time of independence could also, subject to the same
qualification, become citizens. Provision is made for the acquiring of citizen-
ship by naturalisation and for the acquiring of citizenship by women married
to citizens. ' '■',"' , , .^
The franchise is based on universal suffrage of all federal citizens on a
common electoral roll. At the time the Federation became independent the
legislature was only partially elected. One of the transitional provisions of the
constitution was the requirement that the first fully elected House of Rep-
resentatives should be elected within two years of independence. The effect
of the new provisions regarding citizenship on the franchise can be judged by
comparing the figure of 1,240,000 names on the electoral rolls for the 1955
elections with the 2,240,000 names on the rolls prepared after independence
for the 1959 elections.
THE STATE OF SINGAPORE
The 1955 constitution took Singapore far on the road to self-government
and gave the people a large measure of control over their own affairs. The
new Legislative Assembly consisted of a Speaker and 32 members of whom
25 were popularly elected in single-member constituencies. There were 3 ex
officio members and 4 unofficials nominated by the Governor. The former
Executive Council was replaced by a Council of Ministers consisting of 3
ex officio Ministers (the Chief Secretary, the Attorney General and the
Financial Secretary) and 6 Ministers drawn from the legislative Assembly and
appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the majority leader in
the House. The leading elected Minister was styled Chief Minister.
At the elections all adult citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies in
Singapore were entitled to vote, subject to a one year's residential qualifica-
tion. Out of a population of about 1,250,000 the qualified electorate numbered
just over 300,000. .
The leader of the victorious Labour Front/ Alliance Coalition, Mr. David
Marshall, went to London early in 1956 to negotiate a new constitution. The
25
London conference failed to reach agreement, but, in December of the same
year, Mr. Lim Yew Hock, who had by then succeeded Mr. Marshall as
Chief Minister, agreed with the Secretary of State for the Colonies to hold
further talks in 1957. The 1957 conference was a success and agreement was
reached on a constitution that would give full internal self-government to
Singapore whilst leaving responsibility for defence and external affairs with
the United Kingdom Government. In 1958 the State of Singapore Act was
passed in the British Parliament providing for the establishment of the new
State and enabling promulgation of the new constitution by Order-in-Council.
Under it the legislature was to consist of one house — the Legislative Assembly
— with 51 members elected from single member constituencies. There was a
cabinet of nine members including the Prime Minister, drawn from the
leadership of the majority party. Though external affairs and defence were
reserved to the United Kingdom Government, the Singapore Government
was given delegated authority to conduct matters concerning relations with
other countries subject to safeguards in respect of Britain's international
responsibilities. The Queen's representative in Singapore was to be known as
the Yang di-Pertuan Negara (Head of State) while the representative of
the British Government was the United Kingdom Commissioner.
Internal security became the responsibility of the Singapore Government
but, in recognition of the relationship between internal security and defence,
the constitution provided for an Internal Security Council. This was to
consist of the United Kingdom Commissioner as chairman, two other British
members, the Prime Minister and two other members of the Singapore
Cabinet and a nominee of the Government of Malaya. The council was given
the power to make decisions by vote binding on the Singapore Government.
A separate citizenship of Singapore had been constituted by the Singapore
Citizenship Ordinance, 1957, and subsequent amendments. Birth was a
qualification but citizenship could be granted to British, Irish or Common-
wealth citizens who had resided in Singapore for 8 out of the 12 years preced-
ing the date of application. Citizens of other States might also be granted
citizenship subject to more stringent residential qualifications and, if under
45 years of age, to a Malay language qualification. Citizenship of Singapore
became equal in status to that of independent Commonwealth members when
the 1959 constitution was introduced. The growth of the electorate was
rapid. From 22,000 in the 1948 elections it had grown to more than 600,000
in the 1959 elections.
The first elections under the new constitution were held at the end of May
1959 and resulted in an overwhelming victory for the People's Action Party
led by Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. The party, left-wing in its general policies, made
it clear from the beginning that its ultimate hope was to gain independence
through a merger with the Federation of Malaya. The problem that remained
was to find a form of association that would be acceptable to Malaya.
PROGRESS IN THE BORNEO TERRITORIES
Events in Malaya and Singapore in the second half of the 1950s were
watched with close interest in the Borneo territories, and inevitably the ex-
amples of the speedy attainment of self-government and independence began
26
to have their influence on the leaders of the various countries. The British
Government was committed to further steps on the road to self-government,
and the recovery of the territories' economies and the increased political
awareness made the time ripe for further changes.
In Sarawak in August 1956 an Order-in-Council was made, and Letters
Patent and Royal Instructions were promulgated which, between them, con-
tained a new constitution for the country. Under the new arrangements there
was to be a new legislature of 45 members of whom 24 were elected unofficials,
14 ex officio, 4 to be nominated to represent interests which the Governor
considered to be inadequately represented and the remaining 3 standing
members. The new Supreme (or Executive) Council consisted of 3 ex officio
members, namely the Chief Secretary, the Attorney General and the Financial
Secretary, 2 nominated members 5 elected members who were to be elected,
nominated or standing members of the Legislative Council (Council Negri).
Twenty-one of the 24 unofficial members were to be elected by councils
representing the five Administrative Divisions of Sarawak or Divisional
Advisory Councils and the remaining three by the Kuching Municipal
Council, the Sibu Urban District Council and the Miri District Council.
Local authorities had after 1948 been established on a racial basis which
proved unsound. After 1957 the whole population of the country came under
the jurisdiction of inter-racial territorial local authorities. These authorities
had a dual function : local government within the limits of the Local Authority
Ordinance and, as sub-electoral colleges, the election of members to the
District Advisory Councils.
The first general election of representatives to the District Councils were
held from November to December 1959. The council areas were divided into
wards to avoid, as far as possible, the creation of groups on a racial basis.
The suffrage was based on male heads of household. Great interest was shown
in the election and about 71 per cent of the electorate cast their vote.
The District Councils in turn elected from among their membership to
the Divisional Councils and they in turn, together with the urban councils,
chose the unofficial members of the Council Negri. The elections were
accompanied by a vigorous development of political parties whose activities
increasingly stimulated the various peoples of the territory to consider what
their position might be as the progress toward self-government continued.
During 1961 certain proposals were accepted by the Council Negri for
further electoral and constitutional advance to take place, it was anticipated,
in 1963. The 1961 proposals included the extension of the franchise to all
qualified persons over the age of 21, the continuance of the three-tier electoral
system except that Kuching Municipal, Sibu Urban District and Miri
District Councils direct representation should be ended, the replacement of
the Council Negri President (currently the Chief Secretary) by a Speaker, and
the reduction to 15 of the nominated members of whom not less than four
should be unofficials. It was also anticipated that at an appropriate time some
unofficial members of the Supreme Council would be associated in the formu-
lation of government policy (see also page 71).
In North Borneo from 1951 onward considerable progress had been
made in establishing local authorities in rural areas, and after 1954 the Muni-
cipal and Urban Authorities Act provided for the establishment of Town
27
Board and Township Authorities. By 1960 most of the territory was under
the jurisdiction of a local authority. The membership of these bodies became
almost entirely unofficial, the members, though not elected, being chosen
from among the prominent leaders of the various communities. The associa-
tion of representatives of the people in day-to-day government thus made
very considerable strides during the decade.
In 1960 the Royal Instructions and Order-in-Council were amended to
provide for an unofficial majority in the Legislative Council and an increase
in unofficial membership of the Executive Council whilst official membership
decreased. The nominated members of the Legislative Council were sub-
sequently appointed by the Governor from lists of names submitted to him
by Town Boards, District Councils, the Native Chiefs Conference and
Chambers of Commerce. The council thus became broadly representative
of the people of North Borneo and soon included leaders of the main political
parties which had now developed. By 1962 the composition of the Legislative
Council was 18 unofficial, 4 ex officio and 3 official members (see also page
71).
In Brunei, after the war, the system of government continued for a time
unchanged in the forms it had followed since the beginning of the century.
In 1959, however, a new agreement was concluded with Britain in replacement
of the 1906 treaty. Under this agreement the British Government remained
responsible for defence and external affairs, in practice leaving the State
internally self-governing; and a post of High Commissioner was established,
the holder of which title was to reside in Brunei and represent the British
Government.
In September 1959 the Sultan granted the State its first written constitution,
which provided for an Executive Council and a Legislative Council. The first
elections in Brunei were held in 1962. The Legislative Council then consisted
of 8 ex officio members, 6 official members appointed by the Sultan, 16 elected
members and 3 unofficial members nominated by the Sultan. The elected
members of the council were elected by, and from among the membership of,
four District Councils whose members were elected by adult suffrage. The
Executive and Legislative Councils were temporarily suspended and replaced
by an Emergency Council in December 1962 owing to the Brunei revolt.
28
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
the present-day economy of Malaysia has for the most part been built up
over the past century by the co-operation of the various administrations and
private enterprise. The construction of public communications, the planning
and development of modern settlements, the provision of public utilities and
basic services, the creation of irrigation and drainage schemes and the building
of housing for Government employees have in the main been undertaken by
Government agencies or departments. Private enterprises, British, Malaysian
and foreign, have helped to raise living standards by stimulating the general
economy; and have made a direct contribution to local revenue through
taxation.
Wealth earned from the mines and plantations has never been exclusively
monopolised by Britain. Between the two world wars, for example, it has
been estimated that in peninsular Malaya Asians owned over half of the
rubber plantations and a third of the tin mines. In 1955 about 40 per cent
of the tin output was from Asian-owned mines and 45 per cent of the rubber
output from Asian smallholdings. Since independence Asian holdings in the
basic industries of Malaya have tended to increase. French, Belgian and
American and Australian companies also have substantial holdings in both
the tin-mining and rubber industries. The investors of all the countries which
have been able to operate in the Malaysian territories have, of course, operated
in equality with companies registered in London.
The economies of all the Malaysian territories are essentially based on the
production of primary products, on agriculture and on trade. Industry,
although developing comparatively rapidly, is as yet on a moderate scale!
The relative importance of the production of primary products, of agriculture
and of trade varies considerably from territory to territory within Malaysia.
In Malaya rubber and tin production are the chief bases of the economy
accounting for some 76 per cent of the total export income and 40 per cent
of gross national product. Singapore on the other hand is largely dependent
for its commercial prosperity on its position as an entrepot for the surround-
ing territories in South-East Asia and on the handling of a considerable part
of Malaya's exports and imports. Sarawak and North Borneo are mainly
agricultural with a great proportion of their populations dwelling on small-
holdings producing rubber, padi, sago, pepper, hemp and coconuts. Rubber
plantations controlled by large estates are proportionally of less importance
in the economy than in Malaya. Brunei is wealthy in comparison with its
larger neighbours, its rich oil fields providing the source of its prosperity. In
none of the Borneo territories have manufacturing industries developed to
any significant degree.
With the exception of Brunei, the Borneo territories are economically
far less developed than Malaya and Singapore, but within Malaya itself a
broad contrast in development exists between the agricultural east coast
States and the more developed west coast States. To a very large extent both
rural and industrial development in the east coast States of Malaya and, to an
29
even greater degree, in North Borneo and Sarawak, are still hampered by the
absence of good communications.
All the territories face the problems posed by the need to increase agricul-
tural and industrial productivity to provide opportunities of employment and
satisfy the requirements of a population which has a high rate of growth.
Being so connected with the production of basic commodities which are
exported all over the world, the Malaysian economy is highly dependent on
the state of world markets, the prosperity or depression of which quickly
create a reaction throughout the country. There is thus an urgent need both
to cope with the problem of population growth by schemes of rural and
industrial development and to lessen the dependence of the economy on
world commodity markets by the maximum possible industrial and agricul-
tural diversification. In achieving this, the general policies of the various
governments have been to stimulate industrial growth by creating an infra-
structure of basic facilities and services and by framing fiscal policies in
such a manner that private enterprise, both local and overseas, will be pre-
pared to invest and expand. At the same time, and especially in Malaya,
every effort has been made to expand agricultural production by rubber
replanting schemes and by the opening up of new agricultural areas. To
achieve the most rapid possible development in Malaya, especially on the
east coast, in Sarawak and in North Borneo the construction of new roads
has been given high priority.
In the following pages the main features of economic development within
the Federation of Malaysia are summarised.
COMMUNICATIONS
The principal stimulus which the administrations have given to develop-
ment has been the provision of better means of communication. A century ago
the normal means of communication in the territories was by river or by
jungle track, and in the coastal areas the sea was the best means of transport.
River transport has been greatly improved by keeping rivers clear and by
establishing riverside wharves and jetties, and coastal traffic has profited from
the construction of ports both large and small. Roads and railways have been
constructed and more recently a network of aerodromes and landing fields
developed. Postal and telecommunications systems now facilitate the speedy
passage of information.
Roads and Railways
The building of roads and railways in Malaya quickly followed the estab-
lishment of British control. The first railways in the peninsula were short lines
from west coast ports to tin-producing areas in the interior, the first line —
Taiping to Port Weld (8 miles long)— being opened in 1885. The north to
south main line from Penang had reached Negri Sembilan by 1903 and by
1909 had been extended to Johore Bahru. The causeway carrying both rail
and road lines from Johore to Singapore was completed in 1923. The con-
nection of the Malayan rail system to that of Siam was achieved in 1918, and
by 1937 Malaya had over 1,000 miles of railway. The railway to Kelantan
from Negri Sembilan, removed by the Japanese, was reconstructed by 1955
30
but another line removed by the Japanese, that leading to Malacca, has never
been relaid. The railways in Malaya and Singapore are operated by a statu-
tory company, the Malayan Railway Administration.
The only railway in the Borneo territories is in North Borneo. This runs
from Jesselton to Tenom with a branch line to the port of Weston opposite
Labuan. The railway was constructed from 1896-1901 and has been an
important factor m the development of the west coast. Its total length is 116
miles and it is Government-operated.
Roads were constructed simultaneously with the railways and were im-
proved as years went by to cope with increasing traffic. Today Malaya and
Singapore have perhaps the finest system of first-class roads in Asia There
are 2,000 miles of federal roads in Malaya and 4,000 miles maintained by the
States, the most extensive network being on the west coast. New develop-
ment is proceeding rapidly, however, and within a few years the long-felt need
tor a high-grade through-road along the east coast will be satisfied In the
Borneo territories, on the other hand, the road system is less developed In
Sarawak there were 748 miles of road at the end of 1961, and a programme
for the construction of 550 additional miles was being undertaken When
completed the new roads will permit easy communications in the First
Second and Third Divisions of the territory from Sematan, west of Kuching
to Kanowit up-river from Sibu. A road inland will also have been constructed
™ th f T P° rt °, f Bmtulu > and in the north the coastal road from Brunei to
Min will have been extended south to Bekenu. In North Borneo in 1961
there were 928 miles of road of all types, most of the mileage being in the
west coast area. An ambitious five-year programme of road construction
has now begun the most important part of which is the completion of the
route from Sandakan, on the east coast, to the west coast. Brunei has 284
miles of road which provide efficient communication in the coastal region
in the interior, as elsewhere in Borneo, communications are difficult.
Ports and Harbours
Singapore is Malaysia's greatest port and largest city. It has up-to-date
2ZH a r? msta T I t lations , an l d ^hly developed storage, merchandLg and
banking facilities. It is used by over 60 major shipping lines providing ser-
vices to every part of the world. There are 2* miles of wharves and £ dry
docks. In peninsular Malaya, Penang has facilities similar to Singapore but
on a smaller scale. Port Swettenham is a rapidly developing port for Kuala
Lumpur and is being extended by the provision of additional deep-water port
m!v GS p m 6 N °I? Kkng StraitS - P ° rt Swette nham is controlled byThe
Malayan Railway Administration which also controls smaller ports at Telok
Anson, Port Dickson and Port Weld. The once important port of Malacca £
now little used by ocean-going shipping. The east coast has fewer ports bu
toe are port facilities, sometimes involving offshore loading, at Kuantan
Dungun and Kuala Trengganu. In Sarawak the principal port are at MM
which has open sea anchorage, and Kuching, where a new port costing more
than a million pounds was opened in 1961. In North Borneo the island of
•i£ U i!, n Su a P ° rt and a transhi P mei * centre for Brunei and the Seria
oilfield. There are ports at Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu, Jesselton, Kudat
and Semporna, as well as smaller ports and timber-loading points elsewhere.
31
Brunei is served by ports at Brunei town and Kuala Belait. There are regular
coastal shipping routes between all the Borneo territories and Singapore and
Malaya, as well as to Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and other
countries.
Civil Aviation
Air transport has made rapid strides throughout Malaysia since 1955, and
the main towns of Malaya and the Borneo territories are now connected by
regular flights by Malayan Airways. Internal air services are also operated
in North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei between the main centres served by
Malayan Airways, and airstrips at smaller towns. The main international air
companies serve Singapore and some international air routes pass through
Kuala Lumpur. A new international airport being constructed at Kuala
Lumpur will improve air communications between the federal capital and
the rest of the world. There are also external air services from Penang to
Indonesia and Thailand, from Brunei to Hong Kong and from North Borneo
to Hong Kong, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Telecommunications, Broadcasting and Television
The Federation of Malaysia has a well-developed system of telecommuni-
cations. In peninsular Malaya a new VHF radio trunk-telephone service has
greatly improved communication between the principal towns in the west
coast states, Singapore and Kuantan on the east coast. This service is being
further developed with a United Kingdom credit of £2-25 million. An inter-
national radio telephone service from Kuching to Singapore and Malaya
has been in operation since November 1960. The main centres of population
in the Borneo territories have telephone services and there is a considerable
number of automatic exchanges. There are also links internally between the
territories by direct radio telegraph and/or VHF radio telephone . Overseas
telegraphic communications are maintained with the rest of the world.
Singapore is a focal point for international radio and submarine cable links.
The broadcasting departments in the five territories are at present separate.
In Malaya, Radio Malaya maintains transmitting stations at Kuala
Lumpur, Penang, Malacca and Ipoh, and broadcasts in English, Malay,
five Chinese dialects and Tamil. Radio Singapore serves the population of
Singapore in the same languages. Radio Sarawak broadcasts in English,
Malay, Chinese and Iban. In North Borneo, Radio Sabah broadcasts in
Chinese, Malay, Dusun and English and in Brunei, Radio Brunei in Malay,
English and Chinese. In Singapore a multi-lingual television service opened
at the beginning of 1963 and television programmes will shortly be trans-
mitted by Radio Malaya from Kuala Lumpur. In 1962 Radio Malaya
inaugurated an overseas broadcasting service. The eventual linking up of the
various sound and television transmissions is expected to have a significant
effect in helping to unite the peoples of Malaysia.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTS
Malaysia is principally an agricultural country, and rubber, introduced by
the British, is the chief crop and a major source of its prosperity. The country
32
produces over one-third of the world's supply of natural rubber, and, despite
the competition of the artificial product, there is no doubt that it will con-
tinue to be a mainstay of the country's economy.
Other export crops were produced in Malaysia long before the successful
introduction of rubber. In the first half of the nineteenth century pepper was
important and later nutmeg and cloves until plant diseases destroyed the
industry. In the mid-nineteenth century sugar production became important
in Province Wellesley and, later, coffee was introduced in Perak and Selangor,
where for a time it flourished. Tobacco helped to establish the colony of
North Borneo but experienced setbacks by the beginning of the twentieth
century. The expansion of rubber, which was such a profitable crop, reduced
the incentive to persist in the establishment of other plantation crops, but
the present need to diversify agriculture and to reduce dependence on one
crop will no doubt lead to the expansion of other forms of export crops; there
has already, indeed, been a considerable expansion of the areas under oil
palm and pineapple. The wise exploitation of the wide variety of timber in
Malaysia's forests will for long provide a valuable source of income and it is
recognised that the careful conservation of forest land should continue to be
given due regard when land development schemes are being considered. A
wide variety of foodstuffs— padi, coconuts, pepper, maize, coffee, tea, sago,
vegetables and fruits— are produced in Malaysia. A great deal remains to be
done to improve the yield and production of such local crops as well as to
improve the rearing of cattle, pigs and poultry, for these will all provide
important sources of food for Malaysia's growing population. Malaysia's
fisheries, too, are potentially a very rich source of food supply but present
methods of fishing need to be improved further if the best use is to be made
of the fishing grounds.
Rubber
Any account of the rubber industry in Malaysia will tend to concentrate
on peninsular Malaya for it is there that the crop is most widely grown and
the industry most scientifically developed. Nevertheless, the methods which
have been developed in Malaya and the research which goes on there have
been applied in the other territories, and their rubber industries are intimately
connected with that of Malaya.
In peninsular Malaya the crop is mainly grown in the western States,
particularly in Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johore.
Two million acres of land are under rubber estates and 1 J million under
rubber smallholdings. The number of workers on the estates is about
300,000 or approximately 55 per cent of Malaya's total gainfully employed
population. When the smallholdings are taken into consideration it can be
said that 2 million people are directly or indirectly dependent on the rubber
industry for their livelihood. Annual production is about 750,000 tons and
exports of rubber in 1961 amounted to $M 1,443 million or 55 per cent of
peninsular Malaya's export earnings. The rubber is processed locally and
exported mainly in the form of sheet or crepe, although a certain amount of
latex is also sent abroad.
The development of rubber production went ahead rapidly once the
pioneers had proved the suitability of the soil and the climate, and demand
33
for the product was immensely stimulated by the growth of the automobile
industry. Despite general progress the industry has faced several crises in the
course of its development. The trade depression of 1921 threatened the
industry with ruin, and the plight of producers was even worse in the world
economic depression in the '30s. After 1934 the International Rubber Regu-
lation Agreement restricted exports, and, with the help of the general trade
recovery, permitted well-managed estates to earn a fair profit. Although the
Japanese occupation caused damage to the industry, recovery was rapid, and
in 1946 Malaya produced 403,207 tons. The years of the emergency caused
difficulties but terrorism was never able to achieve its object of crippling the
industry, which continued at a high level of productivity.
At the present time the industry faces competition from the growing
synthetic rubber industry of the United States and for this reason special
attention is being given to improving the efficiency of production, principally
by planting high-yielding trees both on estates and on smallholdings.
In May 1955 the Malayan Federal Legislative Council gave approval for
the expenditure of $M 280 million on a replanting scheme. Producers
claiming grants have to satisfy the grant authority that they are planting
approved high-yielding rubber trees and following good agricultural practice.
Grants have to be applied for annually and a total sum not exceeding $M 400
per acre may be granted to estates over a five-year period. Of the $M 1 12
million allocated for the improvement of smallholdings, $M 5 million has
been set aside for the establishment of a stock of planting material to ensure
that adequate supplies are available to all smallholders.
In North Borneo in 1961 the total acreage under rubber was a little over
200,000 acres of which 122,000 acres were owned by smallholders and the
remainder by estates over 250 acres in size. As in Malaya, the emphasis since
1956 has been on high-yielding rubber which now accounts for over 41 per
cent of the total area under cultivation. To promote the further improve-
ment of yield, the Rubber Fund Board produces high-yielding material for
issue both to smallholders and estates. Exports in 1961 from North Borneo
totalled 23,61 1 tons valued at $M 41 -2 million. This was the territory's second
most valuable export. In Sarawak most of the area under rubber is in small-
holdings. The estimated planted area in 1961 was 330,500 acres of which
nearly 90 per cent consisted of old unselected trees nearing the end of their
economic life. The five estates, which were over 1,000 acres, had a total area
of only 13,255 acres. Since 1956 a rubber planting scheme has encouraged
the replacement of old uneconomic rubber with high-yielding trees. Rubber
was the second most valuable export both of Sarawak and Brunei, with a
value of over $M 83 million and $M 3 million respectively in 1961.
Other Export Crops
In addition to rubber Malaysia produces several other crops chiefly for
export, the most important being oil palms, coconuts, pineapples and pepper,
but the income derived from them is small compared with that from rubber.
Oil Palms
These are grown on estates in Malaya and North Borneo. Trees were
introduced about 1875 from seed supplied by Kew Gardens in Britain and
34
their plantation use began in 1917. In Malaya in 1961 approximately 141,000
acres under the crop produced over 93,000 tons of palm oil and 24,000 tons
of palm kernels. In North Borneo considerable interest is being shown by
cultivators in the potentialities of the crop, and several thousand acres have
now been planted or cleared for planting. As yet, however, no palm kernels
or palm oil have been exported in commercial quantities.
Coconuts
Copra became an important export after 1870. It is mainly a smallholder
crop. Even in Malaya less than 20 per cent of the half million acres under
coconut palm is estate-planted. The value of coconut oil in Malaya's exports
in 1961 was $M 28 million and of copra $M 19 million. In North Borneo
the value of domestic exports of copra was $M 9-8 million. This, together
with the re-export of copra imported from the Philippines and Indonesia, was
North Borneo's third most valuable export. Small amounts of copra are
sometimes exported from Sarawak.
Pineapples
These are grown throughout Malaysia but only in Johore, Selangor and
Perak are they cultivated for the canning trade. Pineapple canning started in
1888, and before the second world war over 2-5 million cases of canned pine-
apples were exported annually. After the war only one-tenth of the planted
acreage was found fit for replanting, but since that time the area under culti-
vation has steadily increased. The annual value of the export in Malaya's
trade exceeds $M 26 million.
Pepper
Though formerly important in Malaya, it is now mainly in Sarawak that
pepper remains an important export crop. The area under pepper in Sarawak
is approximately 7,200 acres. Production has tended to increase in recent
years on account of increased planting and the more widespread use of fer-
tilisers. The total export of pepper from Sarawak in 1961 was 10,950 tons
valued at over $M 28 million.
Other Crops
Other crops such as tapioca, cocoa and coffee, have a potential export
significance and their area and exports may increase in time. In North
Borneo quantities of cocoa beans have been exported. Their quality was
good and they were well received in the export market.
Subsistence Production
Rice
Rice is the staple food of the vast majority of the peoples of Malaysia.
Production is entirely in the hands of smallholders assisted by the Depart-
ments of Agriculture and of Irrigation and Drainage. The governments in
Malaya and in the Borneo territories have always endeavoured to make their
territories as nearly self-sufficient as possible in rice production and to this
end have encouraged the extension of the padi area by constructing drainage
and irrigation works. In the peninsula such schemes are to be seen in Perak,
Kedah and Selangor. In Sarawak the Assistance to Padi Planters Scheme
35
aims at fostering a spirit of self-help and provides technical and indirect
assistance to farmers to improve drainage, bund-making, the provision of
water gates and so forth. Considerable areas of padi in North Borneo are
under irrigation schemes and in Brunei part of the State's first development
plan was devoted to the opening up of irrigation areas for rice growing.
In 1961 in peninsular Malaya over 750,000 acres were under rice, 885,000
being wet padi and 65,000 dry padi. In Sarawak the 1961 figures totalled
240,600 acres, of which 83,000 were wet padi and 157,600 dry padi. In North
Borneo there were some 89,000 acres, of which 65,000 acres were wet padi,
and in Brunei about 5,000 acres, nearly four-fifths of which was wet padi.
Malaysia is nevertheless not self-sufficient in rice production and continues
to import rice to meet food requirements.
Other Subsistence Crops
There are of course many other subsistence crops widely grown for local
consumption. These include sweet potatoes, tapioca, yams, green vegetables,
water melons, spices such as chili, nutmeg and cloves, ginger, citrus fruits,
maize, groundnuts, soya beans, bananas and a variety of distinctive Malay-
sian fruits such as rambutan, durian, chiku, jambu, mangosteen, papaya, and
duku. In elevated areas such as the Cameron Highlands there is even the
production of vegetables more associated with temperate climates, and of
fruits such as strawberries. Caves in Borneo provide the cup-like nests made
by swiftlets with their salivary glands, which when cleaned, dried and boiled,
are the basis of Chinese birds' nest soup. This wide range of foodstuffs all
help to add to the variety and richness of the culinary arts of the peoples of
Malaysia.
Livestock
Modern animal husbandry is little developed in Malaysia, though there are
possibilities of its future extensive development in North Borneo. Buffaloes
are generally used as draught animals and for meat, and Indian dairy cattle
are kept. With improved breeding and the setting aside of land for grazing,
it is possible that dairy farms could be developed profitably to meet growing
urban needs. Pigs are reared by Chinese farmers, and goats and poultry are
common in Malay kampong areas.
Agricultural Development and Research
Much of the development and research on rubber production is under-
taken by local departments of agriculture and the Rubber Research Institute
of Malaya. The latter organisation was established in 1923 and took over
from the Malayan Agricultural Department the functions of research and
advice on rubber cultivation and the preparation of raw rubber. Both
government and private enterprise are represented on the board and its
finances are obtained by a cess on rubber exports, paid by producers.
The various agricultural departments in Malaysia undertake a wide
variety of research into all aspects of tropical agriculture. Experimental
stations are to be found in all the territories. Assistance has been given in
research by United Kingdom Colonial Development and Welfare funds. The
departments of agriculture are also responsible for agricultural education.
36
I
U*M
'
*
Fisheries
The Malaysian marine fisheries are now in a transitional stage in which the
former primitive industry based on small sailing craft and traditional gear
in coastal waters is being replaced by modern fisheries using large, engine-
driven boats- which can venture farther out to sea and operate more up-to-
date gear. These changes are being brought about by the increased demand
for fish from the growing population and by over-exploitation of the in-shore
fishing grounds. In 1950 there were almost no power-driven fishing craft in
Malaysia. In 1960, out of the 23,500 registered fishing boats in Malaya,
8,900 were powered by outboard or inboard engines.
In North Borneo Japanese concerns have commenced trawling, and new
ventures such as a plant for exporting quick-frozen prawns have been started.
Local fishermen have shown considerable interest in trawling, which is being
stimulated by the Government. A joint Japanese-Malayan fishing company
based in Penang has already shown Malayan fishermen the potentialities of
deep-sea fishing. In Sarawak a great interest has been shown in freshwater
fish culture and many new fishponds now help to remedy the deficiency of
protein in the diet of the people. The activities of fishermen are in all the
territories helped by fisheries departments and there is a Fish Culture Research
and Training Institute in Malacca.
Forestry
About three-quarters of Malaysia is still under forest. In each territory
certain parts of the forest are demarcated as reserved forest to conserve soils,
to create water-catchment areas or set aside for the regeneration and develop-
ment of timber reserves. Economic growth has stimulated the local demand
for timber to which must be added the overseas demand for tropical timbers.
The 1961 value of timber exports from Malaya was $M 42 million, from
Sarawak $M 42 million and from North Borneo $M 103 million — the largest
item in the territory's exports.
MINING AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
Tin, in relation to other mining industries in Malaysia, occupies a dominant
position similar to that of rubber in agriculture. Other minerals such as coal,
iron ore, bauxite, gold, tungsten, titanium and china clay are or have
been produced on a relatively small scale, but the exploitation of iron ore
deposits is increasing and other mineral deposits may prove economically
significant when more intensive prospecting has revealed their full
potentialities.
Tin Mining
Tin mining was carried on in Malaya for many centuries, but, until the
intervention of the British in the Malay States, exports were limited by
anarchic conditions and by the lack of communications. Early development
was largely carried out by the Chinese, who as late as 1912 were responsible
for 80 per cent of the output. The development of roads and railways by the
administrations in the States made increased output possible and by 1900
54 per cent of the world's output of tin (40,000 tons) was produced in Malaya.
37
From the turn of the century European (mainly British) capital and skill
were introduced and made possible the development of poorer tin deposits
which the less efficient Chinese methods could not profitably exploit. Despite
the difficulties of alternating prosperity and depression in the inter-war years,
the industry continued to develop. Average production in 1936-38 was
62,600 tons, and, during 1940-41, stimulated by war-time demands, an
annual average of 80,000 tons was produced.
Since the second world war both European and Chinese sections of the
industry have received considerable financial aid from government funds to
speed rehabilitation. Total production of tin-ore-concentrates rose from
8,432 tons in 1946 to 44,815 in 1948, and to 62,295 in 1956, in which year the
net exports were 62,072 tons valued at $M 401-1 million. On 1st July, 1956,
the International Tin Agreement, to which Malaya was a signatory, came into
force, and, as a result of a serious fall in world prices, it was announced in
December 1957 that the country, along with other producing members,
would restrict its exports. Production in 1959 was only 37,525 tons and net
exports were 36,145 tons valued at $M 239-9 million but by 1961 production
had risen to 56,028 tons (net exports 57,992 tons) valued at $M 307 million.
Over half of this output came from European-owned mines and the remainder,
from Asian-owned concerns (mainly Chinese).
From the early days of British authority the development of tin mining has
been controlled by the administrations in the interests of the territory. Leases
of land had to be approved by the British Resident of the State concerned and
a rent paid. These powers continue to be exercised at the present time by
State governments. The Government retains all rights over streams and
water courses, so that, for example, mines at the head of a valley cannot
deprive others of their share of water. These and other mining regulations
are enforced by the Mines Department, which trains and employs a staff of
wardens and inspectors.
Other Minerals
Iron Ore
Exports of iron ore, mainly from Trengganu, Kelantan and Perak, in 1961
amounted to 6-4 million tons and were valued at $M 164 million. Important
developments of new iron ore mines are taking place in the Rompin District
of Pahang where the Rompin Mining Company has developed a deposit.
A new company railway, 56 miles long, together with additional road
development, is transforming the economy of the previously undeveloped
Rompin area. Five smaller mines are being developed near to Ipoh, in
Perak. Iron ore deposits exist in North Borneo and may be developed in due
course.
Bauxite
Bauxite, the ore of aluminium, is produced in Johore in peninsular Malaya
and in Sematan in western Sarawak. In 1961 exports from Johore totalled
284,355 tons valued at $M 5-1 millions, and, from Sarawak, 256,442 tons
valued at $M 5\ millions approximately.
38
Gold
Gold is produced in Malaya and Sarawak. Malaya's production of gold in
1961 was 12,486 oz., mainly as a by-product of tin mining, and that of
Sarawak in 1961 was 4,132 oz.
Coal
Up to 1958, production of coal from the Batu Arang colliery in Selangor
was about 70,000 tons. The colliery closed down in January 1960, however,
as the product could not compete with imported oil. In Labuan, coal pro-
duction continued for 60 years but stopped in 1912. Investigations have shown
that mining could be resumed and that 9,000,000 tons of sub-bituminous
non-coking coal may still exist in one seam alone. Both the Malayan and
North Borneo coalfields may have economic value in the future as industry
develops further.
Other Minerals
Quantities of ilmenite, columbite, copper concentrates, monazite, china
clay, and tungsten are produced in Malaya. Prospecting for minerals is
being carried on in North Borneo and moderate deposits of copper, dolomite,
gold, nickel and phosphate have been found.
The Petroleum Industry
The production of oil in Malaysia is limited to the Borneo territories, and
within those territories the greatest quantity of oil is produced by Brunei.
There is, however, an oilfield at Miri in Sarawak, and widespread oil prospec-
ting in North Borneo may result in the development of workable oil fields in
the territory. Expenditure on oil prospecting in North Borneo in 1961
amounted to $M 6,564,000. In 1961 in Brunei some 4 million tons of crude
oil was produced. Mining is in the hands of the Brunei Shell Petroleum Com-
pany whose headquarters is at Seria. The oil is piped from Seria to the Lutong
refinery at Miri, in Sarawak, whence both Brunei and Sarawak oil is exported.
The value of Brunei's crude oil exports in 1961 was $M 224,103,669. The
quantity of Sarawak and Brunei oil exported from Lutong in the same year
was 4,085,809 tons valued at $M 244,210,733. Most of this was crude oil but
the Lutong refinery produced 2,243,181 tons made up of gasoline, gas oil,
diesel fuel, residue, naphtha and isobutane concentrate. The production of
Sarawak's Miri field was 59,498 tons valued at $M 2,649,856.
Secondary Industries
A tin-smelting industry in Malaya developed as a by-product of tin mining.
As early as 1887 a company was founded and a small tin-smelting business
was established a few years later. It set up buying agencies throughout the
Malay States. About the turn of the century an American attempt to transfer
smelting to the United States was frustrated by the government of the Straits
Settlements by the imposition of a prohibitive duty on the export of tin ore
and an equivalent rebate on all ore smelted in the Settlements. These measures
secured the smelting industry for Malaya. Tin smelting is now carried on in
Penang, Singapore and Butterworth, both Malayan and imported concen-
trates being smelted.
39
In all the Malaysian territories there are some secondary industries such
as rubber processing, copra milling, saw milling, and the maintenance of
mining and rubber processing machinery, though in the Borneo territories
such developments are generally on a small scale. Engineering enterprises-
mamly m Malaya and Singapore-include the repair of motor vehicles and
earth-moving equipment, the manufacture of bus and commercial vehicle
bodies, boat building and light foundry work.
In Malaya and Singapore a number of firms produce, both for export and
bkcl-K 0nSU S Ptl ° n ' f °° dSt , Uffs SUCh aS canned P^PPle, canned meats,
biscuits, pickles, sauces and mineral waters. There are also potteries, distil-
leries, and factories making tyres, rubber footwear, soap, matches, tobacco
and cigarettes. Factories producing building materials such as bricks tiles
sanitary ware and wire fencing meet local requirements.
A cement factory in Selangor now produces over 300,000 tons of cement
*?T St' T m6 ? S the re 1 uireme nts of central Malaya. In the workshops
of the Malayan Railways at Kuala Lumpur, locomotives, rolling stock and
ancillary equipment are maintained and railway carriages and tracks built to
a high standard of craftsmanship.
There has in recent years been considerable encouragement of industrial
development in Malaysia by the various governments by way of tax reliefs
the granting of pioneer status and the giving of guarantees regarding the
security of foreign capital. The effect of these measures is most noticeable in
Malaya and Singapore. Industrial estates have been or are being established
the most notable being those at Petaling Jaya near Kuala Lumpur, and at
Jurong in Singapore. Other industrial estates are being developed at Penang
Ipoh and elsewhere. They are an essential part of the country's industrial
™ 10 u n and development policy. Among the new industries already
established through such government encouragement are oil refineries tvre
factories, cigarette factories, chemical plants, textile mills, a steel rolling
mill, chocolate factories and a variety of factories making consumer goods
PUBLIC UTILITIES
Electricity
Electricity supply in the Malaysian territories was in general undertaken
initially by governments to supply their own needs. As time went on supplies
were made available for the public and for industry, and in the late '20s the use
of electricity was spreading in homes and industry. In most cases the genera-
tion of electricity is undertaken by government-controlled boards or com-
panies, but some private companies are responsible for supply in northern
Malaya and m some towns of North Borneo, while in parts of Brunei supply
is obtained from the Shell Oil Company. In the municipal areas of Singapore
. ?T?? the munici Palities are responsible for electricity supply In
central Malaya the Central Electricity Board is developing a national grid
and this will be extended in due course. The supply of electricity in small
villages is sometimes undertaken by private concerns operating under license
ine demand for electricity is increasing not only in the expanding towns and
40
in industry but also in the rural areas, where electricity supplies are an import-
ant aspect of rural development. The first stage of a large hydro-electric
scheme in the Cameron Highlands in Malaya will be completed in 1963, and
it is probable that in the Borneo territories, in due course, similar use will be
made of some of the rivers. A survey of the hydro-electric potentialities of
the west coast of North Borneo was begun in 1962.
Water Supply
In most parts of Malaysia the government is responsible for the supply of
water. Most towns of any size have a reasonable supply controlled by the
Public Works Department, or, in Sarawak, by water boards. Demand,
however, continues to rise sharply as towns expand, and schemes both large
and small are being undertaken to cope with increasing requirements. Par-
ticular attention is now being paid to the supply of water in rural areas.
Drainage and Irrigation
The improvement of agriculture by government-constructed drainage and
irrigation schemes has been a feature of the development of the territories of
Malaysia for decades. Such schemes have already been mentioned in con-
nection with the growing of padi. They have also been of value in improving
coconut plantations and in repairing damage done to rivers by soil wash from
rubber estates and tailings from mines. The Department of Drainage and
Irrigation is also responsible for drainage schemes designed to prevent flood-
ing in urban areas.
FINANCE AND TRADE
Where statistics of production have been given they have been in respect of
the separate territories, since it is only in this form that statistical information
is at present available. In due course the Government of the Federation of
Malaysia will produce figures for the economy as a whole. In the meantime,
despite the common currency issued by the Board of Commissioners of
Currency, Malaya and British Borneo, and the creation at the beginning of
1962 of a free trade area between Sarawak and North Borneo, much remains
to be done before the economies of the component parts of the Federation are
integrated. Customs barriers exist between the various territories, erected to
stimulate the development of separate economies, and even within the
formerly separate territories customs barriers are created by the existence of
free ports at Labuan and Penang. In the following pages, also, it will there-
fore be necessary to refer to statistics provided by five separate governments
in order to describe the situation on the eve of Malaysia's coming into
existence.
Revenue and Expenditure
The following table sets out the revenue and expenditure for Malaya,
Singapore, Brunei, Sarawak and North Borneo in 1962. The figures give a
rough guide to the relative economic strengths of the five territories.
41
ii
M
«P,ii
II
Fed. of Malaya
Singapore
Brunei
Sarawak . .
North Borneo
Total
1962
Estimated
Revenue
989
391
110
77
69
1,636
Million $ M .
1962
Estimated
Expenditure
1,039
394
47
123
68
1,671
Most of the revenues were derived from in™™~ +.,
duties, export duties on ,riZSsSj tax - customs a "d SW»e
Iu the more developed terfK the Avenue deri^dS ■ IM " aod ****
to be proportionately higher ^^^X^^S^^S^
hea^c^S
development expenditure, fh S* U^SSS. 90 ""? 1 ^^
health and soeial welfare measures is nSeworthy. ° n '
Trade
It has been observed that Malavsia i* e«,.nt;an„ „ ■ ,
and a produeer of basie omm^t^^^L Z^f TT?
The country's overseas trade is to a larae TxSf H,S 1 ° d " stn f Ilsed lands,
stanees. Whilst exports are made 5*XW y , **, drCUm -
timber, pepper, certain mineral ores Lf produrts or 'the '^ ? ?V°? ra '
agriculture, imports consist of manufecturS co« „™h ?** " '[ 0piCal
chemicals, tobacco, beveraaes food«,7ff= ™, c °nsumer goods, machinery,
ricewmchisprodncedLSdXatife^^
The United Kingdom is an iiraSS -f^ s ,°f*e Population.
tories of Ma.aysia S but othS SSL* tuSsuchtle^
States, Japan and western EuroDean conntri, , ™ ■ . . the Unlted
Malaysia's raw materials and S, Z w?h conT^," mP ° IterS ° f
manufactured goods. The imnortocLf Lw P "?^^ quantities of
has declined reLively ^£^^?£**Z™. *"*
stance will repeat itself in respect of the ntw Mai po . ssl ° le ? at thls circum-
they have achieved their taSdMa^^f 3 ™ 1 < ? nt S ries n ° W that
exports petroleum products and manufactured good to Xuoumrv P f"
Indonesia, Singapore imports for re^vr,™* „. f „il j country. From
42
Singapore and Malaya, export or re-export, manufactured goods not pro-
duced in that country.
Singapore acts as an entrep6t for all Malaysia and is the commercial
centre through which the territories' products are often exported and through
winch they receive their requirements of manufactured goods produced
overseas. The importance of Singapore in the trade of North Borneo is less
however, and much of North Borneo's trade is directed toward Japan Hone
Kong and the Philippines.
The total values of the import and export trades of Malaya, Singapore
Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo in 1961 are set forth in the following
table. These figures include the entrepot trade carried on by Singapore and
also the value of the inter-trade between the territories; in the case of Malaya
and Singapore, this latter trade is very substantial.
Million $ M.
Imports Exports
MaIa y a 2,228 2,626
Singapore
Sarawak , .
Brunei
North Borneo
3,963
411
58
215
3,309
397
238
220
Malaya's principal exports are rubber, tin, coconut oil, iron ore palm oil
canned pineapples and timber. The imports are foodstuffs (rice, cereals and
dairy produce), machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, beverages and
tobacco. Singapore handles a substantial proportion of Malaya's import and
export trade. The port's chief exports are rubber, tin, timber, petroleum
products, copra, canned pineapples, coconut oil and spices. A wide range of
consumer goods is imported for local consumption and re-export.
In Borneo, Sarawak's trade is closely bound up with Singapore and with
Brunei. The principal exports of domestic produce are rubber, timber pepper
and sago, but oil from Brunei, together with the small Sarawak output is
refined and exported. Approximately 40 per cent of the domestic exports go
to Singapore. Principal imports, apart from crude oil from Brunei, are food-
stuffs, textiles, machinery and equipment, tobacco, beverages and transport
equipment. Brunei's chief export is oil, exported via Sarawak. Rubber and
timber are exported in small quantities. Imports, other than oil, are similar to
those of Sarawak.
North Borneo's main exports are timber, rubber, copra, hemp and tobacco
and her mam imports are machinery, tobacco, beverages, oil and rice In 1 96 1
48 per cent of her exports went to Japan. The Philippines, Singapore, Hong
Kong and the United Kingdom also received a considerable proportion of
her exports. Japan was not in such a dominating position where imports
were concerned: 21 per cent of these came from Britain, and other important
suppliers were Hong Kong, the United States, Indonesia, Japan, the Philip-
pines and Thailand.
DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
All the territories have development plans which basically aim to raise
national productivity and increase per capita income. In Malaya develop-
ment plans are broadly based on the recommendations of an International
43
#1(1
111
Bank mission which made a survey of the count™ m io<^ r* ,
more man $M 280 million was spent on development
ing oojecta ^ Plim ^ laU ° Ched in Februar ? l«a. ™th the follow-
(2) To provide employment opportunities for the growing population
(3) To raise the/*/- capita output of the economy.
(4) To diversify Malayan production through the develn«™ n + n ? +u
S^r 5 fa additi ° D » "^ «? ^P~n oHnlS
It was estimated that government expenditure reouir^H to a nii- *i.
objectives would amount over the flve-ySSd^S^Sn^^ ^
SM^Sonr^^StSe^SeT 8 ^ e «- *
the necessary infrastructure 7„ fSSS'SSSS^" "" '^^ ° f
Jureng industrial estate, and on houslnXSX tion Par ' ,CU,ar *»
sinccT^ ws^isX'S^'Wr plans to ™>
concerned with the provision "of £ff£K £££,"£,' 2^ "**
of modern communications, the buildfaa of t'h^f. " v , develo P mei «
buildings, telephone exchanges and I Sour facS ' fe •' « over T ent
rice-growing areas by irrigation ESmESoSK ofeStSv^^ MW
and water supplies and the establishment of Hyste^ fof ™ "^ f« era 8 e
pensions for the aged and disabled. ™e new rianC"g£ n ,° 7 n ^ on ' n ^ory
raise gross national product by 6 ner ^nHS "I . 67 IS mtended to
cent. Over-all expenditure is envfsageTltSMT^r ° UtP £ by 4 per
aimed at diversification of thelconomf by leveYoptog SSL^M" 1
resources, the introduction of indusrrv tht „' p ! . g a S ricul turaI and forest
educational system, improve ^healthlnd Sff ^ ° f *, C0m P reh ^ve
ment of recreational ftKid^'SS^^ ^ ^ ~-
44
I
social services. The plan lor 1959-63 was approved in August 1959 and pro-
vided for cxpeiulilme of $M 114-9 million. Following reviews in 1960 and
1961 the plan has been enlarged in scope, and the total approved expenditure
now amounts to $M 165 million. The over-all target figure of expenditure on
the development plan for the next five years, which is on similar lines to the
earlier plan, is $M 300 million.
In North Borneo development planning has been on similar lines to Sara-
wak with substantial expenditure on rubber replanting and on the improve-
ment of communications; there have also been schemes for the extension of
padi irrigation and the expansion of social services. The 1959-64 plan at first
provided for expenditure of $M 61 million. This has now been increased to
$M 130 million while the target figure for development in the period 1965-69
is now $M 200 million.
UNITED KINGDOM AND OTHER ASSISTANCE
Since the end of the second world war the United Kingdom has made
significant financial contributions to the revenues of the Malaysian territories
in the form of loans and grants. Some of these were provided from Colonial
Development and Welfare funds. This financial aid is summarised below:
Federation of malaya
Grant toward the cost of internal security 1949-55 £14,000,000
Colonial Development and Welfare grants and loans £5^223085
Loan for telecommunications . . . . . , . . ., ■ £2 250000
Singapore
Colonial Development and Welfare grants and loans £2 385 266
Malaya and Singapore
War damage compensation grant £20 000 000
War damage compensation loan £15'500000
North Borneo
Colonial Development and Welfare grants and loans £7,148,333
Sarawak
Colonial Development and Welfare grants £5 732 026
North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei
War damage compensation grant £gjg 557
War damage compensation loan £163 000
The total financial assistance in the public sector provided by Britain to
the Malaysian territories since the war to March 1963 was .. .. £73 218 377
The territories of Malaysia, with the exception of Brunei, have participated
in the Colombo Plan since its inception in 1950. The Federation of Malaya
and the State of Singapore became full members of the plan in 1957 and 1959
after achieving independence and internal self-government respectively. The
Colombo Plan was born as a result of Commonwealth initiative. It represents
a co-operative effort by the countries of South and South-East Asia, helped
by member countries from outside the region, to develop their economies and
raise the living standards of their peoples. A Consultative Committee meets
annually to review and assess what has been achieved and to evaluate the
tasks and problems ahead, and, by sharing of experience, to help in finding
45
1
solutions to the problems. The annual survey of development gives the
committee a basis on which future plans can be prepared and shows the gap
between needs and available resources which external assistance can fill
Most of the members of the plan within the region finance their development
plans domestically, but they also help one another with technical aid and
some capital development funds. Malaya has received a $M 30 million loan
from Singapore and a $M 20 million loan from Brunei.
Member countries from outside the area, and these include the United
Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand Canada
and Japan, offer aid in the form of outright grants, inter-governmental loans
loans by public banks and various kinds of private grants and credits A
further important flow of external aid takes the form of technical assistance
In the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo
capital aid has been provided by the United Kingdom Government for a
variety of development projects, for example the construction of university
buildings, dock and airport construction, the building of hospitals, colleges
and roads, irrigation schemes and telecommunications development. Capital
aid to Malaysia provided by the Commonwealth Development Finance
Company, set up in 1953 to assist in the provision of finance for develop-
ment projects in the Commonwealth, consists of a sum of £500,000 for the
Malayan Cameron Highlands hydro-electric scheme and £74 667 for the
Malayan Industrial Development Finance Ltd. The Colonial Development
Corporation has provided £12,256,000 largely in the form of loans to the
Central Electricity Board and to the Malayan Borneo Building Society
Financial aid from the United States of America Development Loan Fund
has taken the form of $M 30 million for roads and bridges, SM 30 million
for Port Swettenham port development and $M 202-5 million for various
schemes submitted in 1958. Australia has provided capital aid to Malaya for
the purchase of railway equipment and New Zealand for the building of an
agricultural college, for land development schemes and for a Civil Service
training centre. Canada has provided aid to Malaya for coastal fisheries
equipment and technical education. Capital aid of SM 108,936,000 has also
been provided to Malaya by the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development for the Cameron Highlands Scheme and by the United Nations
Special Fund, principally for the building of a telecommunications centre in
Kuala Lumpur. IBRD loans to Singapore for $M 45-9 million for the Pasir
Panjang Power Station and $M 40,698,000 for the Johore River Water
Catchment Scheme are under consideration.
Technical assistance is provided by the supply of experts to assist in research
training or development activities, by the provision of training places at
universities, technical institutions, public utilities and private firms and by
the provision of equipment for training and research purposes. Malaya
Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo have all supplied and received tech-
nical assistance in this form, and technical assistance has been made available
to them by Colombo Plan member countries from outside the region.
LABOUR
Under the traditional Malay feudal system forced labour was a common-
place, as indeed it was under feudal systems elsewhere in the world, but as a
46
modern economy began to develop, the gradual extirpation of forced labour
and slavery became (lie first preoccupation of British administration.
During the earlier days of development large numbers of immigrant
workers entered the territories of Malaysia. Chinese settled in peninsular
Malaya, Singapore and all the Borneo territories, but the influx of labour from
India was largely restricted to Malaya and Singapore. From quite early days
the recruitment of labour from India was controlled to prevent abuses.
Regulations were strengthened and recruitment systems developed to deal
with the problems associated with the large numbers of Indian workers who
arrived. Chinese labour needed, and desired, less government control of
recruitment.
Since the 1930s immigration into the Malaysian territories has been strictly
controlled, and, since the second world war, dependence on migrant labour
has ceased. There is now a stable labour force, and migration to and from
other countries is almost at an end.
Labour Legislation
In all the territories of Malaysia labour legislation has been built up to
protect the workers and to govern their relations with employers. Labour
legislation covers such matters as hours of work, health conditions, the age of
admission to employment, medical treatment, written contracts, conditions
of notice and statutory holidays with pay. There is also legislation concerned
with workmen's compensation and provident funds. Employment exchanges
are being established and industrial training schemes developed. The ad-
ministration of labour legislation is in the hands of Labour Departments. In
addition, Machinery Departments enforce the laws relating to the construc-
tion, installation and operation of machinery and its control to ensure the
safety of workers.
Trade Unions
The multi-racial nature of the Malaysian labour force made the early
emergence of trade unions on the western pattern difficult. After the war
Trade Union Advisers' departments with a specialist staff recruited from
British trade unions were established and under such guidance the trade
union movement developed rapidly. Unions are much more numerous and
developed in Malaya and Singapore than elsewhere in Malaysia and this is a
reflection of their more developedeconomies. Although there is a Communist
element in some unions aiming to make use of union activities for its own
ends, the vast majority of trade union members are anxious to see that the
union movement is used to promote the genuine interests of organised and
unorganised workers in the Federation of Malaysia in accordance with
democratic methods. In Malaya, the Malayan Trade Union Council is the
central co-ordinating trade union body and is growing in strength and
influence. In Singapore the government has passed legislation to make com-
pulsory the affiliation of all unions to the Singapore Trades Union Congress.
It has also endeavoured to group together unions of similar occupation, trade
or industry and has taken action against subversive elements in the union
movement. In the Borneo territories generally, there are conditions of almost
full employment, and, if anything, a labour shortage. These circumstances in
47
n i;
a society which is in any case not highly developed economically have not
been conducive to the early emergence of an active or widespread union
movement.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Once Malaysia has been formed it is likely that the policies of extensive
rural and community development worked out in the Federation of Malaya
will be applied in the three Borneo territories. Political leaders in these
territories have indeed already expressed keen interest in Malayan rural
development schemes.
In Malaya rural development is executed by the State governments with the
co-ordinating influence of the Ministry of Rural Development. Where
States can meet costs from their own resources they can proceed with their
plans; where they are unable to meet costs of development, funds can be
made available from federal sources. Two statutory authorities exist to
assist in rural development. The first is the Rural and Industrial Develop-
ment Authority (RID A) established in 1954, which concentrates on improv-
ing the quality of rural artifacts and marketing and trading techniques; the
second is the Federal Land Development Authority (FLDA) which applies
itself to the opening up of new land and the establishment of self-contained
communities.
The main aims of the rural development policy are to give the rural com-
munity its due importance, to provide sound economic foundations for rural
livelihood, to encourage a desire among the rural people to strive for econo-
mic advance, to focus the services of government on the betterment of rural
living conditions and to make the rural people aware that the destiny of the
country is in their hands. The government is pledged to co-ordinate its
policies and to harness its energies for the achievement of these ends with the
same intensive planning used to defeat Communist terrorism during the
emergency.
INTERNATIONAL BANK MISSION
In August 1961 the Malayan and Singapore Governments agreed to invite
a mission from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
to examine the feasibility of closer economic co-operation between the two
territories. When the decision to establish Malaysia by 1963 had been taken,
it was decided, with the concurrence of British and other governments con-
cerned, to include in the field of investigation the economic implications of
the association of all the territories of the proposed Federation of Malaysia.
The members of the mission arrived in Kuala Lumpur in February 1963
and the mission's leader, M. Jacques Rueff, who had played an important
part in the evolution of the European Economic Community, joined them
in April. During the course of its investigations the mission intended to visit
all the Malaysian territories. The agreed terms of reference of the mission
were as follows:
(1) To examine and report on the feasibility of, and problems inherent in,
closer economic co-ordination among the prospective Malaysian terri-
tories with special reference to :
48
(a) The feasibility of Common Market arrangements among the terri-
tories of Malaysia, taking into account the importance of preserving
the entrepot trade of Singapore, Penang and Labuan, and the public
revenue implications of such arrangements;
(b) the impact of present differences in tariff and trade policies among
the territories ;
(c) differences in competitive position and the industrial promotion aims
and policies of the territories;
(d) other economic areas of possible conflict or overlapping interests.
(2) To recommend concrete steps which should be taken in the field of
economic policy to effect such economic co-ordination so as to produce
the maximum advantage to all the territories.
(3) To recommend administrative arrangements for co-ordinating and
integrating development planning, including industrial development.
49
SOCIAL SERVICES
toe'ofmost l Ma A^ 1 " P ° SSeSS S0CM Services which ' in comparison with
tnose ol most other Asian countries, are of a hieh standard u^nt „I3
tions laid down by administrators during the early years of the British con
SiK 01 ^ eff ° rtS ° f the variousVommunitre wMcL dwell
in Malaysia As the resources of the various territories develoned In it
became possible to devote increasing sums of money mee the do : of
2| , tP ?"^ d ° f th f i apanese ^cupation but after the war they were
rehabilitated and expanded to meet increased requirements.
HEALTH SERVICES
The medical history of Malaysia is one of great achievement in thP <rr»A^
elimination of disease and ill-health, which were ffifr ^fi
territories. One of the most unhealthy regions in SSSb?Sm con
verted into one of the most healthy by the application of The lates techniS
m curative medicine and health. A "mission of the ^(SSSfflS
Reconstruction and Development which visited Malaya hi 1954 S
SSK^t^^T^ achievements SMffiS
S^fficer" h administrators and their medical and public
Expenditure on the various health services progressively increased as mm-P
services m the Malaysian territories was as follows :
Malaya
Singapore
Sarawak
North Borneo
Brunei
*M 80,399,000
$M 29,559,310
$M 6,038,110
SM 4,009,587
$M 3,104,738
m«. S wrir, t fBliti8 ! 1 administration the work of the medieal depart-
ments was confined to curative medicine, but by the end of the nineteenth
century the foundations of modern hospital sendees Z been L" Sc
health measures on a large scale were commenced at tire berinn L of the
he absence of immigration control resulted in the easy spread o ^epidemks
11 ?• Sy l 6mS kpSed and water su PP lie * deteriorated All Z'
sss:f r food for the popuiation > ca - d ^ d ---5
After the war years the first task of the medical departments was to rebuild
^ ™^^ t by i95 ° these had * ^^ ^S
to their pre-war levels. Since then, very considerable progress has been made
50
m all medical and health fields. New hospitals and clinics have been built
and new services launched, ranging from inoculation campaigns against
tuberculosis and diphtheria to dental treatment and nutritional research.
Today the territories of Malaysia are served by hospitals, dispensaries and
clinics using up-to-date techniques, drugs and equipment. Public health has
been vastly improved by strict controls imposed at ports and airfields and by
careful supervision of sanitation and health education. In Malaya and Singa-
pore the greatest single achievement has been the progressive reduction of
malaria— indeed, in this, Malaya was the world's pioneer. In the Borneo
territories, too, malaria has been vastly reduced since 1955 by an anti-
malarial campaign which has received assistance from the World Health
Organisation.
The development of health services has caused reductions in the death
rates. In Malaya, for instance, in 1947 the death rate was 19-4 per thousand.
In 1955 the rate was 11-5 per thousand and in 1960 it had fallen still further
to 9-5. The death rate in Singapore fell from 8-1 per thousand in 1955 to
5-9 in 1961. In Sarawak it fell from 11-2 per thousand in 1950 to 5-2 in 1961.
In Brunei the death rate fell from 19-3 per thousand in 1947 to 11 -1 in 1960
and still further to 7-19 in 1961. At the same time there has been a marked
decline in infant mortality rates. There remain a number of endemic diseases
such as tuberculosis, malaria and yaws, but these are being brought increas-
ingly under control by the use of new drugs. Western medicine is by now well
established and the peoples of Malaysia are developing increasing confidence
in its efficacy. Present health campaigns are to a large extent concerned with
the prevention and cure of tuberculosis and in the further reduction of
maternal and infant mortality rates.
Hospitals and Health Centres
Malaya
In Malaya government hospital accommodation runs to over 20,000 beds.
There are three categories of hospitals— General Hospitals (which have
facilities for specialist consultants), District Hospitals (which refer special
cases to the General Hospitals), and Special Institutions (which are con-
cerned with specific illnesses such as leprosy or mental diseases). The total
number of beds in the 69 General and District Hospitals is 12,500. These
hospitals all have out-patient departments, but in smaller towns and in rural
areas out-station dispensaries are organised and these make regular visits to
the different parts of the countryside. The hospitals vary in size and quality
of construction. The most modern are in Johore Bahru, Penang and Malacca.
A phased rebuilding of the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital is being under-
taken, the new maternity block being the first new section to be completed.
Singapore
In Singapore there are 13 government hospitals, including mental hospitals,
a tuberculosis hospital and a leper settlement. Together they provide over
6,700 beds. There are 10 static dispensaries serving a million people in the
city area. Twelve static dispensaries, a number of travelling and floating dis-
pensaries and more than 50 Government maternity and child welfare centres
serve a rural population of over 600,000 people.
51
Sarawak
In Sarawak there are four General Hospitals, a mental hospital, a lepro-
sarium and a sanatorium. The total number of beds is 1,564. There are also
29 static dispensaries and 14 travelling dispensaries. Maternity and child
welfare centres are maintained in the main centres, and ophthalmic and dental
services are provided by the Government. The Methodist and Roman
Catholic missions operate a number of small hospitals.
Brunei
In Brunei there are two State hospitals providing 273 beds and one oil
company hospital with 77 beds. In addition there are 2 district dispensaries
5 travelling clinics and 7 maternity and child health clinics.
North Borneo
1 ^nlT^^TfV 11 ^ afe 2 G ? neml Hos P itals > 6 Cottage Hospitals, and
LTi«^ SP f " / t0gether Pr ° viding lj323 beds " Twelve dispensaries pro-
vide 186 beds for less serious cases. There are also 18 dispensaries exclusively
tor out-patients, 6 travelling dispensaries, and 2 urban health centres. Some
religious missions and voluntary bodies also maintain medical facilities and
HvZTrWU™ T S ° r &maU h ° Spitals at 49 pIaces ^ employment. Matern-
ZZ a c ?? Sem f S are pr ° vided at the urban heaIt * centres at
Jesselton and Sandakan and at 46 clinics throughout the country. Plans are
in hand for building new hospitals at Lahad Datu and Tawau, a new mental
hospital at Jesselton and a new health centre at Keningau
In all the territories of Malaysia the expansion and development of rural
health services has been given priority and there has been a considerable
expansion of auxiliary services-dental clinics, midwifery services, and child
^wl /w? mQ u iCal ServiceS - Facilities for trainin S nur *es exist at
major hospitals throughout the country.
Medical Schools
The University in Singapore has a medical faculty with departments of
medicine, dentistry and pharmaceuticals. Plans for a medical faculty at the
S2 t^T ala Lu t m] ™ are T in hand and a teaching hospital is being
built near the University. Dental surgeons receive training at the Dental
pXlin S ' n fc P ? re ? nd dental nurses and technicians are trained at the
Federal Dental School in Penang.
For a number of years to come, however, Malaysia will be dependent also
on medical schools overseas for the training of doctors. Post-graduate work
m medicine is almost entirely dependent on such overseas training A large
?n °! i m ? dlCal f aduateS receive their trainin S at diversities and teach-
ing hospitals throughout the Commonwealth.
Public Health— Malaria Control
Anti-malarial measures, probably the first application of Sir Ronald Ross's
discovery in 1888 of the cause of the disease, were introduced at the beginning
01 the century, and the campaign against malaria was gradually extended
hroughout the country. After the second world war the medical services
started experimenting with new insecticides and new drugs. Cheap, highly
52
lethal insecticide sprays using BHC and DDT have offered more effective
protection in rural areas than pre-war methods, which were more costly and
slower to produce results. In North Borneo a project for malaria control
sponsored jointly by the Government, the World Health Organisation and
the United Nations' Children's Fund began in 1955 at a time when rural areas
were quite seriously affected with malaria. Large areas have already been
cleared of the disease and it is hoped to eradicate it completely by 1968.
Sarawak has a malaria eradication campaign which has now passed from the
attack to the consolidation phase. Further plans of action are being worked
out in association with the World Health Organisation. In Brunei malaria
has been all but eliminated.
Other Public Health Campaigns
Widespread campaigns have been undertaken against tuberculosis. Teams
have been tuberculin-testing children and BCG vaccination campaigns prose-
cuted. Mass radiography measures have also been carried out. Preventive
measures depend to a large extent, however, on the provision of better housing
and on reducing the overcrowding which often occurs in densely populated
urban areas. In Kuala Lumpur the Lady Templer Tuberculosis Hospital
caters exclusively for the disease; it is a modern private institution with 250
beds for curable patients and places emphasis on surgical treatment.
Campaigns have been carried out against yaws, a disease often found among
riverine peoples in Malaysia. Where anti-yaws campaigns have been carried
out, there is now a low incidence of the disease.
Other diseases such as diphtheria, poliomyelitis, cholera and dysentery occur
from time to time. Immunisation campaigns have been carried out wherever
necessary, but these diseases have not on the whole constituted a serious
threat to public health.
Medical Research
The United Kingdom pledged support in 1898 for scientific research on
tropical diseases in its overseas dependencies. One of the first results of this
policy was the foundation of the Pathological Institute, later the Institute of
Medical Research, in Kuala Lumpur in 1900. The institute has played a
leading role in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of malaria and of other
tropical fevers. It has also carried out important work on nutrition and on the
search for new antibiotics.
The institute is a federal organisation, administered as a branch of the
medical department, and is maintained by the Government with financial aid
from the Governments of Singapore and North Borneo. It also receives
further support for special work from United Kingdom Colonial Develop-
ment and Welfare funds.
EDUCATION
In the early days of British administration schooling facilities were very
largely provided by private organisations rather than by Government. The
oldest school in Malaysia— the Penang Free School— was founded in 1816
by the Colonial Chaplain, and from its foundation was open to all races and
53
n 1823 ™d U in Insl,l . utlon Was founded in Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles
in 1823 and still survives as a secondary school today. At the beginning of the
present century the Malay College at Kuala Kangsar was founded It i a
residential college on the lines of an English public school. It wis initially
The governments of the Malaysian territories have all founded schools
location ^ ft ^y^l^^^-P^cularly in the field of English
education. At the same time the Chinese, with their traditional respect for
education, were quick to establish Chinese-medium schools which after 191 1
tion andtlftf? 16 T*^ '^^ pattern of classical Chtese educa-
S S?° k t^™ ^ 111 schooIs of China as their model. After 1920 most
of the Chinese schools used the Chinese national language Kuo-Yu (Man
dam) as the medium of instruction. Indian schools if Malaya were «ta£
hshed on estates which had large Indian labour forces. At firsUhey were not
Chmese and Indum languages. There is also some vernacular edueaUon to
F^rl 1 " ?°S Bo [ ne °- WMst P e °P le of a11 ra «* I*ve b een eduoa °d to
SeaYh "? ""^ a great **** ^ «» other language have
So^eZ^ "" fT eXdUSive,y hy *» races whfch s P<*k them.
KsffiMr* promo,ed oniy in Eng,ish and chinese - iS "° W
In Malaya the recognition of Malay as the national language has led to
n?t?T/, f consc,ousn <*s should be promoted by the development
todeoen&r 8 '? 8 ''- ?" ^J 103 * " ° rdinance <"«« the ™s"-
independence education policy as follows-
of'Zf;^ dUCati0n P fuJ ° f thC Federation is ^ establish a national system
of education, acceptable to the people as a whole, which will satisfy the?
needs and promote their cultural, social, economic and political develop'
ment as a nation, with the intention of making the Malay language the
mZ o rhT^ ° f ***&«* WM8t Preservin ^ and y sustainin g g h
growth of the language and culture of people other than Malays living in
the country' (Education Ordinance, section 3). S
Schools in Malaya operated in accordance with this policy are of two kinds
SeS^^ h l G0verament "* those'which are financially
SESftS?SK \ Y C ? m t0 S° vernment regulations. After 1961 any
school that did not conform to government policy received no grant The
^?5R2S be tak t en into -com/where media of insfructn are
S ^f° U i mstructl0n m «st be given to Muslim pupils by
IstZTlZsts" GOVeminent " State " su PP orted -hools chaining'
th™!;^?* ™} T 11 ? ° f the State is thus liberal and Progressive. Al-
lanl^ y and ,' f ° r the , tlme , bein8 ' En * lish are compulsory subjects, other
languages are used as media of instruction and there is no danger of any of
54
the different cultures of the country dying out. There is little doubt too that
English, which is recognised as a national asset, will continue to play its part
in furthering the education and development of the people.
Primary and Secondary Education
Malaya
In January 1960 the number of pupils attending schools of various types
were as follows:
Number of Schools Enrolment
Medium of Instruction
English
Primary
Secondary
Malay
Primary
Secondary
Chinese
Primary
Secondary
Indian Languages
Primary
Secondary
Total
Primary
Secondary
516
278
2,341
1,293
106
832
2
4,982
386
204,581
102,854
486,822
901
385,598
52,952
61,221
267
1,138,219
156,974
Of the English-medium schools 3 were partially assisted and 331 indepen-
dent; Chinese-medium, 171 partially assisted and 163 independent; Indian-
medium, 19 independent.
Singapore
In 1960, 337,189 pupils were receiving primary and secondary education
in government and government-aided schools. Of this number 280,949 were
attending primary schools. The media of instruction in which pupils were
taught were as follows:
English 172,766
Chinese
Malay
Tamil
142,256
18,963
1,333
t
There were also 1,871 pupils at integrated English/Chinese language
schools. In addition there were 12,701 pupils in 91 private schools.
Sarawak
In Sarawak in 1961, 108,821 pupils were receiving primary and secondary
education. Of this number 96,145 were receiving primary education in 862
government or government-aided schools and 9,333 receiving secondary
education in 35 government or government-aided schools. There were also
1,432 pupils in 25 unaided primary schools and 1,911 pupils in 13 unaided
secondary schools. Of the primary school pupils 44,202 were being taught in
55
Chinese and the remainder in English or vernacular languages. Of the
secondary school pupils 4,948 were receiving their education in Chinese and
the remainder in English.
North Borneo
Primary education is provided in English, Malay, Chinese and Dusun and
secondary education in English and Chinese. Total school enrolment in
1961 was 56,285. Primary schools, of which there were 93 government and
311 grant-aided, accounted for 51,936 of the pupils. There were 4,349
secondary pupils in 5 government (3 English and 2 Chinese-medium) and 23
grant-aided (19 English-medium and 4 Chinese-medium) secondary schools.
All schools receive government aid.
Brunei
In 1961 there were 15,981 primary school pupils in 56 government ver-
nacular schools, 3 government English schools, 8 aided Chinese schools, 7
unaided mission schools (English language) and 1 unaided school run by the
Shell Company. There were also 1,900 secondary pupils in 12 schools (5
government, 3 Chinese and 4 mission).
Technical and Specialist Training
Technical training to an advanced level is provided by the Technical
College in Kuala Lumpur and by the Singapore Polytechnic. There are also
a number of junior technical (trade) schools throughout Malaya and at
Kuching, Brunei and Jesselton in the Borneo territories. A number of
commercial colleges provide courses in commercial subjects, and in various
centres evening vocational and technical courses are held. There is an agri-
cultural college near Kuala Lumpur and a nautical school in Kuching. The
Rural and Industrial Development Authority (RIDA) provides special courses
for farmers, fishermen and rural women at colleges in Kuala Lumpur.
Teacher-Training
After the war many teachers from Malaya were trained at two teacher-
training colleges in the United Kingdom. Now only one of these remains in
operation for specialist training. Facilities for teacher-training have been in-
creased in Malaya and there are now colleges at Kuala Lumpur, Penang,
Kota Bharu and Malacca as well as two Malay teacher-training colleges at
Tanjong Malim and Malacca. The Language Institute in Kuala Lumpur
trains specialist language teachers and 12 day training centres turn out
teachers for primary schools.
In Singapore teachers are trained at the University of Singapore. In the
Borneo territories there are two teacher-training centres (English and Chinese)
at Kuching, and at Kent College at Tuaran in North Borneo a teacher-train-
ing centre offers courses in Malay, Chinese and English. There is also a
government teacher-training college in Brunei.
University Education
The University of Malaya was first established in 1949 as a result of the
merger of Raffles College and the King Edward VII College of Medicine. A
56
grant of over £1J million was allocated from Colonial Development and
Welfare funds to help its development. In 1957 a new division of the Uni-
versity was established in Kuala Lumpur and this made spectacular progress.
In 1962 the two divisions became autonomous and separate national uni-
versities were established. Singapore has faculties of Arts, Science, Law,
Medicine (including medicine, dentistry and pharmacy and education).
Total enrolment of students in 1960 was 1,641. Kuala Lumpur has faculties
of Arts, Science, Agriculture and Engineering. Total enrolment in 1961 was
1,010 students.
In Singapore there is also a Chinese language university — the Nanyang
University with faculties of Arts, Science and Commerce. Total enrolment
in 1960 was 1,861.
There is no university in the Borneo territories but the three governments
there provide scholarships for university education overseas. Overseas
scholarships are also offered by the governments of Malaya and Singapore
and by other governments and there can be little doubt that for some time
to come Malaysia as a whole will need to supplement its existing university
facilities by sending students abroad for graduate and post-graduate training.
SOCIAL WELFARE AND SOCIAL SECURITY
In Malaya and Singapore Departments of Social Welfare concentrate on
the care of children and of the aged and disabled, the training of the physically
handicapped, general welfare and relief, the support of voluntary organisa-
tions and the development of youth activities. In Sarawak and North Borneo
Social Welfare Councils have been set up. The work of voluntary bodies is
also of great importance and they are often supported by government grants
or by grants from lotteries boards.
In some territories probation and approved school services are in operation.
The Sarawak and North Borneo Social Welfare Councils in consultation with
the government co-ordinate policy and disburse funds through the many
voluntary organisations which exist in the territories. Funds are derived from
government and from lotteries and sweepstakes organised by the Turf Clubs.
The need for social security schemes is more particularly felt in the de-
veloped areas of Malaya and Singapore than in the rural parts of Malaysia as
a whole. Government employees in all the territories receive pensions. In
Malaya there is also a compulsory contributory Employees Provident Fund
Scheme to provide some measure of old age security for persons not covered
by superannuation schemes. A similar Central Provident Fund Scheme
exists in Singapore and both territories have systems of workmen's compen-
sation. A system of non-contributory pensions has been established by the
Brunei Government for the aged and the disabled. Throughout Malaysia free
medical treatment can be obtained by those who need it.
57
.
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS AND DEFENCE
MALAYAN FOREIGN POLICY SINCE INDEPENDENCE
the Federation of Malaya, like other Commonwealth countries, became,
on achieving independence, completely responsible for its own external affairs!
It joined the United Nations and many of its specialised agencies, including
the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development and the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East
(ECAFE). It also joined the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-
national Tin Council and the International Rubber Study Group and became
a signatory to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. In pursuit of its
support of the United Nations charter, in 1960 it sent troops to the Congo
as part of the United Nations forces.
The Federation became a member and firm supporter of the Common-
wealth and its various activities. The Prime Minister of the Federation in a
speech in July 1961, said:
T and my people have great faith in the fellowship of the Common-
wealth as a unifying force in a world torn between opposing aims and
ideals I should like to repeat here what I have always maintained, that
Malaya will always be linked up with the Commonwealth and will do all
she can to make the Commonwealth a living force for the good of man in
the name of peace, fairness and justice'.
Even before independence Malaya was a member of the Colombo Plan
organisation and has been both a receiving and a donor nation.
Malaya has a Defence Agreement with Britain (see below). It is not a
member of the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO).
The co-operation of the countries of South-East Asia has always been
an important platform in the foreign policy of the Federation government,
and a treaty of friendship and economic co-operation embracing most of
South-East Asia was first proposed by the Malayan Prime Minister in 1958.
The Governments of Thailand and the Philippines expressed interest in the
proposal, which ultimately resulted in the formation of the Association of
South-East Asia (ASA), the objects of which are to promote the economic
and cultural co-operation of Malaya, Thailand and the Philippines.
The Federation on the eve of Malaysia's formation maintained diplomatic
missions in Australia, France, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines
Thailand, the United Arab Republic, the United Kingdom and the United
States, and a consulate in Saudi-Arabia. It did not recognise the Republic
of China or the People's Republic of China, the Mongolian People's Republic^
or the Communist regimes in East Germany, North Korea and North
Vietnam.
THE ANGLO-MALAYAN DEFENCE AGREEMENT
Under an agreement signed in 1957 the United Kingdom will give all
reasonable military assistance requested by the Federation to meet external
aggression and Britain may maintain troops (including a Commonwealth
58
Strategic Reserve) and installations in Malaya at a strength which may be
varied from time to time by mutual consent, to enable the United Kingdom
to meet its international obligations.
The agreement also provides that if there is an attack on the Federation or
on British dependencies in the Far East, both Governments will co-operate in
defensive action. Should there be an outbreak of hostilities elsewhere, the
United Kingdom Government will obtain the agreement of the Malayan
Government before using bases in the Federation. There is no limit to the
life of the agreement, and either Government can call for a review of it. It is
the intention of the governments concerned that the agreement shall be
extended to include, after Malaysia Day, all the territories of Malaysia.
Singapore has been of strategic value since its foundation and the employ-
ment provided to the people of Singapore by the naval base continues to be a
vital factor in the island's economy. The headquarters of the Far East Land
Forces is in Singapore, and its military establishments also provide employ-
ment to the local population. The headquarters of the Royal Malayan Navy
is in Singapore.
The discussions held between the British and Malayan Prime Ministers in
November 1961 included an agreement that the Government of Malaysia
should afford to the United Kingdom the right 'to continue to maintain
bases at Singapore for the defence of Malaysia, for Commonwealth defence
and for the preservation of peace in South East Asia.'
MALAYSIA'S NEIGHBOURS
Many countries in the Far East and the Pacific, for example Thailand, India,
Australia and New Zealand have expressed their support for the creation of
Malaysia which they regard as offering a prospect of an area of stability and
prosperity in South East Asia. There are, however, two complicated problems
which lie outside the scope of this pamphlet but which must be briefly men-
tioned. These are first the Philippine claim to a part of North Borneo and
secondly the attitude of Indonesia. Of the first problem, neither Britain nor
the people of North Borneo have been able to accept that the Philippine
government has made out a valid case. Of the second problem, Indonesia at
first indicated that she was not opposed to the Malaysia plan and indeed the
Indonesian Foreign Minister Dr. Subandrio said in the United Nations on
20th November, 1961, 'when Malaya told us of her intention to merge with
the three British Crown Colonies as one federation, we told them that we have
no objection and that we wish them success with the merger so that everyone
may live in peace and freedom'. Subsequently, however, Indonesia has ex-
pressed opposition to the proposal with varying degrees of hostility, though
efforts continue to be made, including planned tripartite talks between
Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaya, which it is hoped may resolve the
difficulties.
(
59
MALAYSIA: THE DESIGN AND ITS
REALISATION
it has been seen in the concluding sections of the chapter on historical back-
ground that by 1960 the Federation of Malaya had achieved independence
and held elections to its first fully elected House of Representatives, the
internally self-governing State of Singapore had been created and held elec-
tions resulting in the formation of a government anxious to merge with
Malaya, the State of Brunei had achieved autonomy and for the first time
possessed a constitution providing for representative institutions, Sarawak
had held elections and now had a legislature with an elected majority and
North Borneo had a constitution which gave considerable power to popular
representatives who were in a majority in the legislature. The latter four terri-
tories were now therefore, though in different degrees, all well advanced along
the road to independence but there were some difficulties in their situations.
Singapore was a small island of strategic importance yet with a large Com-
munist element whose aims were opposed to those of the Governments of
Malaya, Singapore and the United Kingdom. In these circumstances it was
difficult to see how it could achieve stability as an independent State.
Likewise in such a small State as Brunei, with a population of only 84,000
yet with tempting riches in oil, the government could not remain stable or
secure as a separate entity. North Borneo and Sarawak were larger in size
but they, too, had comparatively small populations. In both the territories,
therefore, the possibility of achieving viable independence at an early date
appeared remote, and there was little support for an independent Federation
of Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo. Moreover, despite the strides made
in the last decade in education, economic development and responsible
government, the territories were still to a large extent dependent for good
administration on the services of British officers who could not be speedily
replaced by local men.
By the end of 1960 the Federation of Malaya had made great progress as
an independent State. The Alliance Party had won the 1959 elections with a
substantial majority, and the emergence of opposition parties in Parliament
presaged the development of a vigorous life for parliamentary democracy.
Substantial economic and social progress had been made, and the Govern-
ment was preparing to launch its second five-year development plan with its
special emphasis on rural development. The Malayanisation of the public
services was being carried out smoothly, government efficiency remained
unimpaired and there was a general feeling of confidence in the country. Most
satisfactory of all, the Government had at last been able to lift the state of
emergency which had been in existence since 1948. Independence had indeed
finally put the lie to the Communists' principal argument for continuing the
struggle— that they were struggling for freedom against colonialism— and
even those who had once sympathised with the terrorists now saw the false-
hood of their propaganda and the futility of their struggle. The country in
the enjoyment of peace and security could now devote its resources to social
advancement and economic development instead of to war.
60
The Malayan Government was well aware of the desire of the new Singa-
pore Government to achieve independence through merger with Malaya,
but, whilst not adverse to ending the unnatural division of the island from the
mainland, it had to face the realities of the political situation. Malaya was a
multi-racial State and it had achieved a remarkable degree of racial harmony.
This harmony was, however, dependent to a considerable extent on a balance
of power between the two largest racial groups. Complete merger with
Singapore would upset this delicate balance by creating a situation in which
the Chinese would acquire an absolute majority in the State. But, more
important, it would also bring into the State a section of the Singapore
population which clearly looked for inspiration to Communist China. After a
twelve-year struggle against Communist terrorism the people of Malaya
could hardly look on such a prospect with equanimity.
TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN'S PROPOSAL
Such, then, was the situation when on 27th May, 1961, in an historic
address to the Foreign Press Association of Singapore, Tunku Abdul Rahman,
the Prime Minister of Malaya, took the initiative and suggested that Malaya
'should have an understanding with Britain and the peoples of the territories
of Singapore, North Borneo, Brunei and Sarawak' and that a plan should be
devised 'whereby these territories can be brought closer together in political
and economic co-operation'. The swift and favourable reaction among
political leaders in the territories concerned suggested that the Malayan
Prime Minister's Malaysia proposal was capable of early realisation and that
it was widely regarded as a satisfactory method whereby the peoples of the
four dependent territories could achieve early independence.
Many advantages were contained in Tunku Abdul Rahman's proposal.
For all of the territories there were of course the economic benefits accruing
from the creation of a larger economic unit which, as tariff barriers were
gradually removed, would provide greater markets for manufacturers and
greater opportunities for raising per capita output and living standards. There
was, too, the prospect that the larger State would attract a greater degree of
foreign capital investment than would be forthcoming as long as the political
futures of the individual territories appeared uncertain. There were the
advantages to be derived from the pooling of resources both human and
natural, and in particular from the pooling of educational and technical
skills which in some territories were in very short supply. Finally, there were
the human and social advantages of associating once more territories whose
peoples had so much in common historically and culturally.
Political advantages were offered additionally to each of the territories.
To the States at present forming the Federation of Malaya, Malaysia offered a
way of associating with Singapore and the Borneo territories without creating
a disadvantageous racial balance. The association of Singapore with Malay-
sia also meant that the anti-Communist forces in Singapore, with the help of
the central government, would be more able to control the subversive elements
whose object was to make the island a Communist base.
To the people of Singapore, Malaysia offered an obvious means of ending
colonial status. It also eliminated the possibility that the Federation might
by-pass its services and facilities by developing its own ports and industries
at Singapore's expense. The evidently empirical nature of the Malayan
Prime Minister's approach also removed the fear of those in Singapore who
were concerned to preserve their own forms of education and multilingualism.
The people of Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo were also offered a way
of achieving independence at an early date. It would be an independence, too,
in which their representative systems of government might continue to evolve
with stability in accord with the growing political awareness of the people.
The Federation would provide an effective defence against Communism.
The territories would be able to profit from the example of harmonious
racial collaboration which existed in Malaya and they would be able to apply
in their own territories the policies of rural development, so necessary for the
advancement of their peoples, now being worked out in Malaya with such
success. They would also be able to profit from the greater educational
facilities and skilled personnel in existence in Malaya and Singapore.
A final political advantage, which would benefit all the territories, lay in the
fact that the existing machinery of central government in Kuala Lumpar was
federal in nature. The central administration, though strong, was experienced
in dealing with State governments, sympathetic to their needs and understan-
ing of their problems. This experience, sympathy and understanding would
clearly be of value to Malaysia and would provide a sound foundation on
which the future federal government could be built.
The United Kingdom Government saw in the Malaysia proposal a most
satisfactory resolution of its colonial responsibilities in South East Asia. It
offered a method of enabling its remaining colonies and protectorates in the
area to achieve speedy independence in circumstances which offered their
peoples the prospect of security and prosperity. There was every likelihood
that democratic forms of government would flourish in Malaysia and that
the happy relationship which had so long existed between its peoples and
other Commonwealth countries would continue.
REACTIONS WITHIN THE TERRITORIES
Political leaders in Singapore and the Borneo territories were quick to
respond favourably to the Tunku's proposal. In June Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the
Singapore Prime Minister, expressed his support for the scheme and on 23rd
July, at the end of a regional Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
meeting in Singapore, the representatives from Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak,
Brunei and North Borneo decided to form a Malaysia Solidarity Consulta-
tive Committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Donald Stephens, a prominent
unofficial member of the North Borneo Legislative Council. The objects of
the committee were to collect and collate views and opinions concerning
Malaysia in the territories, to disseminate information and encourage dis-
cussion concerning Malaysia and to promote activities to expedite its realisa-
tion. The committee played a valuable part in promoting understanding
between the political leaders and in clarifying the issues.
With public support for the Malaysia proposal increasing in both Malaya
and Borneo, the time seemed opportune for consultation between the Federa-
tion and Singapore governments on the subject of merger between the two
62
territories. In August and September 1961 the Prime Ministers of the two
States met and agreed to set up a joint Malaya-Singapore working party to
work out details with the object of bringing about integration. In November
the basic merger proposals were ready. They provided for the retention by
the Singapore government of autonomy in labour and educational matters,
for Singapore's representation in the federal Parliament by 15 seats, for the
retention of multilingualism and for the automatic gaining of Malaysian
nationality, by all citizens. These proposals were accepted by the two
governments. In December motions supporting in principle the Malaysia
plan and the Merger Agreement were passed by the Singapore Legislative
Assembly. Subsequently, the assembly also approved the Governments'
proposals for holding a referendum in order that the people of Singapore
might have an opportunity of expressing their opinion.
Meanwhile the degree of support for the Malaysia plan in the Federation
of Malaya was indicated by the overwhelming majority given in October in
the Malayan Parliament to a motion seeking agreement in principle to the
proposed Federation. The mounting support for the proposal in the Borneo
territories was at the same time indicated by a resolution in its favour passed
by the Annual Conference of North Borneo Chiefs and by a speech made by
the Sultan of Brunei to the State Legislative Council.
In November 1961, the Prime Ministers of Great Britain and Malaya met
in London and agreed that the establishment of Malaysia was 'a desirable
aim'. They noted with satisfaction the agreement for merger negotiated
between Malaya and Singapore but decided that, before a final decision
could be made, the views of the people of North Borneo and Sarawak should
be ascertained. To ascertain these views and to make recommendations, a
commission of inquiry should be appointed by the two governments. The
Prime Ministers also agreed that in the event of the formation of Malaysia,
the existing defence agreement between Great Britain and Malaya should be
extended to embrace the new territories and that Britain should have the
right to continue to maintain the Singapore bases.
THE COBBOLD COMMISSION
The appointment of the chairman and members of the joint British and
Malayan Commission to ascertain the views of the people of North Borneo
and Sarawak was announced on 16th January, 1962. Before the commission,
under Lord Cobbold's chairmanship, arrived in Borneo, the Sarawak and
North Borneo Governments issued papers to explain in simple terms the
purpose of the commission and the idea of Malaysia. The commission spent
two months travelling widely throughout the two territories, interviewed over
4,000 persons and considered some 2,200 letters and memoranda from town
boards, district councils, political parties, chambers of commerce, trade
unions, religious leaders, members of executive and legislative councils,
native chiefs and community leaders, as well as large numbers of individual
members of the public. Public opinion was thus thoroughly consulted. The
commission's report (Cmnd. 1794), which was submitted in June 1962, con-
cluded that a substantial majority of the population in both territories was in
favour of Malaysia in principle, given suitable conditions and safeguards,
63
that it was in the interests of both territories to join, and that an early
decision to proceed with the plan was essential. Lord Cobbold nevertheless
emphasised in his comment on the report that it was a necessary condition
from the outset that Malaysia should be regarded as an association of
partners. If any idea were to take root that Malaysia would involve a 'take-
over' of the Borneo territories by the Federation of Malaya and the sub-
version of the individualities of North Borneo and Sarawak, Malaysia
would not, in his judgment, be generally acceptable or successful. He
recommended that, in the following negotiations, Governments should pay
close attention to this point, both in its psychological and in its practical
aspects. The Cobbold Report was accepted by the British and Malayan
Governments in July 1962. Thereafter agreement in principle was reached
at talks in London between the two governments on the setting up of a
Malaysian Federation by 31st August, 1963. The detailed working out of
arrangements under which North Borneo and Sarawak would become con-
stituent States of the Federation, including safeguards on matters of
special concern to the two territories, was, however, remitted to an Inter-
governmental Committee (Britain, Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak)
under the chairmanship of Lord Lansdowne (British Minister of State for
Colonial Affairs).
The Inter-Governmental Committee held a preliminary meeting in Jessel-
ton on 30th August, 1962. At this meeting it was decided to set up five sub-
committees to deal with the constitutional, fiscal, legal and judicial, public
service, and departmental organisation aspects of federation.
In September the North Borneo Legislative Council unanimously wel-
comed the decision in principle of the British and Malayan Governments to
establish Malaysia by 31st August, 1963, 'provided that the terms of participa-
tion and the constitutional arrangements will safeguard the special interests of
North Borneo', and authorised six members of the council to represent North
Borneo on the Inter-Governmental Committee. In the same month, the
Council Negri of Sarawak, without dissentient vote, also welcomed the
decision 'on the understanding that the special interests of Sarawak will be
safeguarded' and appointed eight persons to represent Sarawak.
The presence of North Borneo and Sarawak representatives on the com-
mittee thus continued the process of full consultation with representatives of
the local peoples which had been begun by the Cobbold Commission in
accordance with the decision of the British and Malayan Prime Ministers in
November 1961.
THE SINGAPORE REFERENDUM
While the Inter-Governmental Committee was working on its recommenda-
tions in the second half of 1962, a number of other developments related to
the Malaysia issue were taking place. Certain left-wing elements, especially
those associated with the Singapore Barisan Sosialis (Socialist Front) formed
after a schism in the Government People's Action Party, had come out in
opposition to the Malaysia proposal, which they endeavoured to portray as a
'neo-colonialist' plot to perpetuate British control of the area. This accusa-
tion ignored the obvious fact that Britain's ready acceptance of the Malaysia
64
plan implied a willingness to withdraw her control from Borneo and Singa-
pore more speedily than would otherwise have been necessary. On other
occasions the extreme Left portrayed the Federation of Malaya as a
new colonial Power building up an 'empire' in place of the British. This
allegation ignored the careful consultation that was taking place with the
governments and peoples of the territories still under Britain's control and
the fact that the proposed new State would be a federation of partners and
not a hegemony of one of its component territories. The opposition was in
fact activated by Communist fears that the new Malaysia would turn out to
be a strong and efficient democracy in which social advance and development
would provide no breeding ground for the discontent in which Communism
could flourish. Putting forth endless propaganda of this kind and playing on
Chinese communal fears in Singapore, the left wing confidently asserted that
the forthcoming referendum in Singapore would show how complete the
opposition of the people was to merger. They told the people of the island
that they should demonstrate their opposition to all three proposals for
merger to be put to them by the Government by casting blank votes. When
the referendum took place on 1st September, 1962, the results were in fact as
follows:
Alternative A:
Alternative B:
Alternative C:
Blank Votes
Merger under the terms of the Govern-
ment's November 1 96 1 agreement with
Malaya
(as subsequently amended)
'Unconditional merger' on the same
terms as the existing 1 1 States
Merger on terms 'no less favourable'
than those of the three Borneo ter-
ritories
1
397,626 votes
9,422 votes
7,91 1 votes
144,077
The total votes cast were over 560,000 votes out of an electorate of 625,000.
The people of Singapore thus decisively showed their support of the merger
proposals.
THE BRUNEI REVOLT
The next move of the opposition to Malaysia took place in Brunei. There,
in July 1962, the Legislative Council had approved the Malaysia proposal in
principle and the Sultan had expressed his own support provided that the
terms and conditions would be beneficial to Brunei; but no firm decision had
been taken in view of the great importance of the issue. In September the
elections under the new constitution took place and were overwhelmingly
won by the Partai Ra'ayat (Peoples Party) which had not opposed Malaysia
directly but had maintained that, before any move towards Malaysia was
made, there should be a unification of the three Borneo territories under the
Sultan of Brunei as constitutional ruler. This proposal, whatever its appeal
may have been in Brunei, which once ruled the whole area, ignored the general
support for the Malaysia scheme which was being shown by most parties and
people in Sarawak and N. Borneo.
65
The victorious Partai Ra'ayat representatives were sworn in as councillors
and he Government hoped that they would collaborate in goring the
country and would assist by constitutional methods in moving to Jard a more
hberal constitution^ The Partai Ra'ayat had indeed declare FtotoSTrf
so doing Instead, however, some (but not all) of the leaders formed a secre
rTNKuf^M %¥?** thC Tentera Nasional Kalimantan Sa
tlknc^'ln L h Kahmantan NationaI Army; which was dedicated to
violence. In December this organisation, led by Azahari, staged a revolt with
the declared intention of creating a new State consisting of Brunei S
laran d a nrl r am ^ The ? Ultan reqU6Sted British ass * stance fa esforin*
law and order and the revolt was speedily put down by local forces who
emained entirely oyal, and by British forces flown in from Singapore The
Legislative Council was dissolved temporarily by the Sultan who appointed
an Emergency Council to carry on the government of the countrT The
SffiS ? 0V( f nment made it clear that its action in suppressing the revolt was
undertaken because of its obligations under the 1959 Treaty with the Sultan
™ J?' a / T» WSS concerned the a «itude of Brunei toward Malaysia was a
matter for the Brunei government to decide
H J^f S i; ltan announced that the insurrection had not altered the determina-
fnl. f S /° Ve ? ment 1° m0Ve forward b ? constitutional methods to that
form of independence which would give the greatest political and economic
Si be V? J Pe ° Ple ° f BrUnei ' aDd that tentative in i™
bZh Zu t aS S ° 0n ES P ° Ssible - After order had bee * restored, a
nosal fSS n /f S ^ t0 KUEla LumpUr to P ursue the Mala ^ P o-
posal further and to examine with the Malaysan government how the
scheme ^ **> C0Uld be beSt SafegUarded ^ ere i?t0 PfS^ta the
and^rT* ^ Bm ? el 7™ ^ U ° Wed With the greatest concern in Sarawak
and North Borneo. Leaders of all political parties condemned the revolt and
vehemently rejected Azahari's claim to speak on behalf of the peot c or
parties of the two territories. Even the Sarawak United Peoples Party which
was not m favour of Malaysia, absolutely condemned the^ctivk LThe
SKz^r 1 ^ utar \ Fa ; from gaining support in sa ^ ak
Sfft » T 1 S movement > Azahari's revolt, and the moral support
for Si! mT m S ,° me f °u eign C ° UntrieS ' had ^ stimulated further support
for the Malaysia plan m the territories and indeed had led to a greater aware-
dTnleTand ttr ^ ° f ^ ^ territ ° rieS inV ° lved <>f 'heir common
aangers and their common interests.
vidt/ U hv^V n . diCa t ti0n f l th f Vi 7 S ° f the people of North Boraeo was pro-
vided by the results of the local government elections which took place in
December immediately after the revolt. These elections, though at a focal
government level, were fought on national issues to which particular atten
t on was paid by the electors, both because they were North Borneo's first
elections and because it was known that in the near future the bed govern
of e me C X C , llS W f"*™ 1 co ^ es (» - Sarawak) for the eTectTn
1S,S L *?^e Council. The elections were accordingly
fought on the Malaysia issue and resulted in an overwhelming victory for pro-
Malaysia candidates of the Sabah Alliance or associated parties who won 104
out of a total of 119 seats. The poll was high-between 61 ?er cTnt and 94
66
per cent in different areas. The remainder of the seats were won by Indepen-
dents, the majority of whom were pro-Malaysia. All the unofficial members
of the Legislative Council who stood for election (9 out of 18) were returned.
These included the principal leaders who had backed Malaysia. In the
Sipitang District, where polling had to be postponed because of the Brunei
revolt, elections were held in March, and in three other Districts they were
held in April. In the election results in these places the same overwhelming
support for Malaysia was apparent.
The general attitude of most political parties in Malaya, Singapore and the
three Borneo territories was perhaps best summed up in February 1963
when, at the end of a conference of the Malaysia Solidarity Action Com-
mittee, senior representatives of six major political parties in the five territories
proclaimed:
(1) their condemnation of the rebellion in Brunei,
(2) their determination to realise Malaysia by 31st August, 1963,
and
(3) their condemnation of outside interference in the affairs of the pro-
posed federation.
REPORT OF THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE
On 27th February, 1963, the Inter-Governmental Committee, having
worked out the constitutional arrangements for the accession of Sarawak and
Sabah (North Borneo) to Malaysia, published its report. Although the
report was essentially concerned with two of the Borneo territories, it noted
that the Federation of Malaysia would in fact consist of the States of the
present Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, Sabah (North Borneo)
and, if agreement were to be reached, Brunei. Though recognising that the
nature of the constitutional arrangements to govern the relationship of
Singapore and Brunei was not within its terms of reference, certain of its
recommendations, for example those regarding the composition of the
Federal Supreme Court and the establishment of territorial High Courts,
were in some respects of general application and in other respects such that a
considerable degree of uniformity was necessary. In consequence, in some
contexts the recommendations were formulated in general terms applicable
to the whole of Malaysia.
The report proposed that the constitution of Malaysia should be
based in its essentials on the constitution of the Federation of Malaya
and that the formal agreement between the British and Malayan Govern-
ments should include detailed constitutional arrangements, including safe-
guards for the special interests of North Borneo and Sarawak, in the form of
drafts of the necessary legislation. The report of the Inter-Governmental
Committee should be laid before the legislatures of the two territories, and,
if approved by them, the draft of the formal agreement should be drawn up
and initialled by representatives of the countries and territories concerned.
The following is a summary of the constitutional arrangements proposed in
the report:
67
Religion
The religion of the Federation of Malaysia should be Islam but there
should be no State religion in Sarawak or North Borneo. There should be
constitutional guarantees for religious freedom. Where federal law provided
for the granting of financial aid to Muslim institutions or Muslim religious
education proportionate amounts should in the Borneo States be made
available for purposes of social welfare.
Immigration
Immigration into Malaysia should remain in the federal list but legislation
should be enacted by the Federal Parliament to ensure that, with certain
exceptions, entry into the Borneo States would require the approval of the
State concerned. This legislation should not be amended or repealed in its
application to a Borneo State without the agreement of the State concerned.
Education
Education should be a federal subject, but the present policy and system of
education administration in North Borneo and Sarawak should remain
undisturbed and under the control of the State Government until that
Government otherwise agreed.
Citizenship
Any citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies who was born, natural-
ised or registered in North Borneo and Sarawak and ordinarily resident there
when the Federation of Malaysia comes into existence, should become a
citizen by operation of the law. Any other person over the age of 17 and
ordinarily resident in the Borneo territories should be entitled to apply for
Ma aysian citizenship by registration, within eight years of Malaysia Day,
subject to certain qualifications including residence for seven out of the
previous ten years.
Federal Legislature
t J a Z* mem !!? rS ° f ? e Senate Sh0uld be elected *>y each Bor n e o legislature.
In addition the number of appointed members of the Senate should be in-
creased by six in respect of the accession of Sarawak and North Borneo The
existing House of Representatives should be increased in numbers from 104
*nA?Z f c n *? e 52* mem °ers should be elected from North Borneo
and 24 from Sarawak. (The merger agreement between Malaya and Singa-
pore had already provided for Singapore returning 15 members.)
State Constitutions
JS* fin t head , of TT each of the B omeo States should be nominated before
Malaysia Day by Her Majesty the Queen and His Majesty the Yang di-
Pertuan Agong and should be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
for a period of two years. In Sarawak the head of State should be known as
& Sr rn0 i a f m North Borneo as Yang di-Pertua Negara. The question
whether a State constitution contained provisions inconsistent with 'the
essential provisions' of a State constitution as set forth in the present Federa-
tion of Malaya constitution should be one ultimately determinable by the
68
Courts and not dependent solely on the opinion of the Federal Parliament.
Certain other modifications should be permitted in respect of the State con-
stitutions in the two territories, including one allowing the Sarawak Executive
Council to be styled 'the Supreme Council' and the Legislative Assembly 'the
Council Negri'.
Legislative Powers
The legislative powers which should be attributed to the federal and the
State legislatures are set forth in an appendix to the report. These lists were
with some modifications, based on the distribution of legislative powers under
the Federation of Malaya constitution. Certain legislative powers should be
concurrent.
In the early years after the establishment of Malaysia as few changes as
possible should be made in the administrative arrangements in the Borneo
territories affecting the day-to-day lives of the people, and during the early
years certain federal powers should be delegated to the State governments.
Subject to this reservation the principal items in the federal legislative list
should be external affairs, defence, internal security, civil and criminal law
and procedure and administration of justice (except Muslim and native law)
federal citizenship and naturalisation, machinery of government, finance
(except State sales tax), trade, commerce and industry, shipping and naviga-
tion, communication and transport (excluding the North Borneo Railway)
federal works and power, surveys, education (subject to the reservation
recorded above), medicine (except that in North Borneo this subject should
be concurrent until 1970), labour and social security, welfare of aborigines
(though federal this should not apply in Sarawak and North Borneo) pro-
fessional occupations, holidays (other than State holidays), unincorporated
societies, control of pests, newspapers and publishing, censorship, places of
amusement, federal housing and improvement trusts, co-operative societies
The principal items in the State legislative lists should be: Muslim law and
native law and custom (including personal law relating to marriage, divorce
maintenance, succession, etc.), land, agriculture and forestry, local govern-
ment, other services of a local character (such as fire brigades, hotels, burial
grounds, markets, licensing of theatres, etc.), State works and 'water
machinery of the State government subject to the federal lists, State holidays'
creation of offences in respect of matters included in the State list, inquiries
for State purposes, indemnity in respect of matters in the State list, turtles and
riverine fishing.
The principal items in the concurrent list should be: social welfare
scholarships, protection of wild life, animal husbandry, town and country
planning, vagrancy and hawkers, public health and sanitation, drainage and
irrigation, rehabilitation of mining land.
Financial Provisions
Subject to certain exceptions, taxation should be a federal subject After
consultation with senior officials in Sarawak and N. Borneo taxes in the two
States should, by graduated stages, be raised to federal levels. In order that
the cost of State services should be met and provision for expansion made, it
would be necessary to provide adequate revenues for the State governments.
69
It would therefore be necessary to assign to the Borneo States certain revenues
additional to those assigned to the States in the existing Federation of Malaya,
such, for example, as certain duties on petroleum products, timber and
minerals, revenue from State sales taxes and port dues. In North Borneo, for
as long as the State retained responsibility for medicine and health, 30 per
cent of all other customs revenue should be assigned to it. Among several
other grants including an annual balancing grant for each State, to be made
from federal sources to the Borneo States, is a special grant to Sarawak to
provide for continued expansion of State services, and another to North
Borneo equal to 40 per cent of any increase of federal revenues derived from
the State and not already assigned.
The Malayan Government would use its best endeavours to enable Sarawak
to spend $M 300 million during the first five years after Malaysia Day on
capital expenditure on development. Malaya also noted an estimate of
desirable development expenditure in North Borneo of $M 200 million for the
same period, and recognised that funds from outside the territory would be
required. Britain promised a grant of £1.5 million per year for five years for
the development of the Borneo States on the assumption that Malayan
Government aid would continue for the same period.
Elections
Members of the Federal Legislature from Sarawak and N. Borneo should
initially be elected by the State Legislative Assemblies. Direct elections to the
Federal Parliament (and to the State Legislatures) should be held for the first
general election after the fifth anniversary of Malaysia Day or earlier if the
State Government agreed. Elections should be the responsibility of the
Federal Election Commission which should be increased by one additional
member from the Borneo States.
The Judiciary
In addition to the Supreme Court of the Federation of Malaysia, there
should be three High Courts, for the States of the existing federation, for
Singapore, and for the Borneo States (which could include Brunei). The
Supreme Court should have jurisdiction to determine appeals from the
various High Courts, as well as disputes between the States or a State and the
Federation, and certain constitutional questions. Subject to this, the High
Courts should have unlimited original jurisdiction as well as jurisdiction to
determine appeals from inferior courts within the States. Native law and
custom and native courts should remain a State subject.
Public Services
Separate Public Services Commissions should be established in each State.
The Federal Public Services Commission should establish, for at least five
years, branches in Sarawak and North Borneo, and members of the State
Public Services Commissions should serve on the Federal Public Services
Commission's State branches. Existing officers, including expatriate officers
should be eligible for promotion, secondment or transfer in the federal
service but such officers should not be required to serve outside Borneo unless
70
they agreed to do so. In recruitment in the Borneo States preference will be
given to Borneans.
National Language
Malay should be the national language, but for a period of 10 years after
Malaysia Day, and thereafter until the State Legislatures otherwise provide,
English should remain an official language. Members of the Federal Parlia-
ment representing the Borneo States should likewise be able to use English in
the Federal Parliament for 10 years and thereafter until Parliament otherwise
decides.
Indigenous Races
The federal constitution's existing provisions relating to Malays should be
applied to natives of the Borneo States as if they were Malays.
Existing Laws
Laws on federal matters in force in a Borneo State immediately before
Malaysia Day should continue in force, notwithstanding inconsistency with
any provisions of the constitution, until repealed, amended or modified by
the competent authority.
Transitional Arrangements
Certain constitutional powers should be delegated to State Governments
during the transitional period.
International Agreements for Financial and Technical Aid
The Federal Government should ensure that existing international agree-
ments providing for financial and technical assistance to the Borneo States
should continue but should give an assurance that, as regards matters
administered by the Borneo States, the benefits of such agreements should be
enjoyed and administered by the States concerned.
DEVELOPMENTS IN SARAWAK AND NORTH BORNEO
The report of the Inter-Governmental Committee was, after its publication,
laid before the legislatures of North Borneo and Sarawak, and in both cases
received overwhelming approval. In Sarawak the Council Negri adopted the
committee's recommendations without dissentient voice on 8th March.
Seventeen out of 30 unofficial members spoke, vote was by show of hands
and there were 4 abstentions when the motion was put.
In North Borneo where the results of the local government elections had
now put the claim of the unofficial Legislative Council members to represent
public opinion beyond any doubt whatsoever, the motion adopting the Inter-
Governmental Committee report was unanimously approved on 13th
March.
As far as the people of Sarawak and North Borneo were concerned the
Malaysia issue was now settled. They had been consulted at every possible
stage in the negotiations and their leaders had participated in the formulation
of the constitutional recommendations. But before Malaysia became a
71
1
reality the people of the two territories could look forward to further con-
stitutional changes which would mean that by Malaysia Day their representa-
tive institutions would be at a very much more developed stage. On 10th
March the Sarawak Legislative unanimously adopted a motion for amend-
ments to the constitution to provide for:
(a) A Supreme Council consisting of a Chief Minister, three ex officio
members and five members of the Council Negri to be appointed by the
Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister.
(b) A Council Negri consisting of a Speaker, three ex officio members, 36
elected members, 1 standing member and not more than 3 nominated
members.
These changes would be set in motion on 1st June with the dissolution of
the existing Council Negri, and subsequent general elections on the basis of
universal adult suffrage would culminate in mid-August when the new
arrangements would come into force. Before the creation of Malaysia
Sarawak would therefore have a ministerial system and an almost completely
representative legislature.
In North Borneo, as soon as the remaining loCal authority elections were
completed in April, the newly elected local authorities were to function as
electoral colleges for the election of members to the Legislative Council
Progress towards the establishment of a ministerial system was begun on
25th March when six unofficial members of the council were given depart-
mental responsibilities. By Malaysia Day North Borneo would thus have a
Legislative Council with an elected majority of members and a functioning
ministerial system.
FINAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR MALAYSIA
On 8th February the Brunei Government had announced that it was in
favour of Malaysia, provided satisfactory terms and constitutional arrange-
ments could be devised. Representatives of the Malayan and Brunei govern-
ments then proceeded to draw up draft Heads of Agreement which, once
initialled, would have to be considered by the two governments concerned
and by the British Government. At the same time representatives of the
Singapore and Malayan governments were discussing the constitutional
arrangements for Singapore's entry into Malaysia based on the merger
agreement of November 1961.
A final meeting of heads of government was to take place for the con-
clusion of the formal agreement to be entered into by the British and Malayan
Governments. The agreement would provide for:
(a) the transfer of sovereignty in North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore
by 31st August, 1963;
(b) provision governing the relationship between Singapore and the new
Federation as agreed between the Governments of Malaya and Singapore;
(c) defence arrangements as set out in the Joint Statement by the British
and Malayan Governments dated 22nd November, 1961 ;
72
(d) detailed constitutional arrangements including safeguards for the
special interests of North Borneo and Sarawak;
(e) provisions to govern the future relationship between Brunei and the
new Federation as agreed between the Brunei and Malayan governments.
Once the agreement was initialled the British and Malayan Parliaments
would be asked to pass the necessary legislation to give effect to its provisions.
The passage of the British and Malayan legislation and the making of the
appropriate Orders-in-Council would thus enable the Federation of Malaysia
to come into being by 31st August, 1963.
73
Area:
Population:
Federal Capital:
Head of State:
Prime Minister:
The States and their Capitals:
APPENDIX
SOME FACTS AND FIGURES
130,778 square miles.
10,000,000 (approximately).
Kuala Lumpur (population 316,000).
His Majesty Tuanku Syed Putra ibni Al-Marhum Syed
Hassan Jamalullail.
Y.T.M. Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, K.O.M.
State
Brunei
Johore
Kedah
Kelantan
Malacca
Negri Sembilan
Pahang
Penang
Perak
Perlis
Sabah
Sarawak
Selangor
Singapore
Trengganu
(Population)
(84,000)
(927,000)
(702,000)
(506,000)
(291,000)
(365,000)
(313,000)
(572,000)
(1,221,000)
(91,000)
(454,000)
(744,000)
(1,013,000)
(1,700,000)
Capital
Brunei Town
Johore Bahru
Alor Star
Kota Bharu
Malacca
Seremban
Kuantan
George Town
Ipoh
Kangar
Jesselton
Kuching
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
(278,000) Kuala Trengganu
(Population)
(17,000)
(75,000)
(53,000)
(38,000)
(70,000)
(52,000)
(23,000)
(235,000)
(125,000)
(6,000)
(22,000)
(50,000)
(316,000)
(no separate figure
available)
(The above figures are in all cases the most recent available).
(29,000)
Currency: Malayan dollar (= 2s. 4d. sterling).
Revenue and Expenditure (1962) :
Federation of Malaya
Singapore
Brunei
Sarawak
Sabah
Total
Revenue
$M million
989
391
110
77
69
Expenditure
$M million
1,039
394
47
123
68
1,636
1,671
74
Value of Imports
and Exports (1961):
Imports
$M million
Federation of Malaya
Singapore
Sarawak
2,228
3,963
411
Brunei
58
Sabah
215
Exports
$M million
2,636
3,309
397
238
220
(These figures include the entrepot trade carried on by Singapore and also
the value of the inter-trade between the territories.)
SHORT READING LIST
Brimmell, J. H. Communism in South East Asia. Royal
Institute of International Affairs.
Oxford University Press 1959
Coupland, R. Raffles of Singapore. Collins 1946
Cowan, C. D. Nineteenth-century Malaya.
Oxford University Press 1961
Dickson, M. G. Sarawak and its People.
Kuching. Govt. Printing Office 1954
Dobby, E. H. G. South East Asia. University of London 1957
Ginsburg, N. and Roberts, C. F. Malaya.
University of Washington Press 1958
Jones, S. W. Public Administration in Malaya.
Royal Institute of International Affairs 1953
Kennedy, J. A history of Malaya. A.D. 1400-1959
Macmillan 1962
Longhurst, H. The Borneo Story. Newman Neame 1956
Miller, H. Prince and premier: a biography of Tunku Abdul
Rahman Putra Al-Haj. Harrap 1959
Mills, L. A. Malaya: A Political and Economic Appraisal.
Oxford University Press 1958
Mills, L. A. British Rule in Eastern Asia.
Oxford University Press 1942
Morrison, H. Sarawak; the Land and its Peoples.
McGibbon & Kee 1957
Parkinson, C. Northcote. Britain in the Far East: the
Singapore Naval Base. Singapore. Moore 1954
Parkinson, C. Northcote. British Intervention in Malaya
1867-1877. Oxford University Press 1960
Purcell, V. The Chinese in Malaya.
Oxford University Press 1948
Purcell, V. The Chinese in Southeast Asia.
Oxford University Press 1951 Out
of print
75
Rutter, O. British North Borneo.
Constable
Runciman, Sir Steven.
Sarawak.
The White Rajahs: a History of
Cambridge University Press
Silcock, T. H. The Commonwealth Economy in Southeast
Asia. Cambridge University Press
Swettenham, Sir Frank. British Malaya. Allen & Unwin
Tregonning, K. G North Borneo. Corona Library.
HMSO
Tregonning, K. G. Under Chartered Company Rule.
Oxford University Press
Ward and White. Outline of Sarawak History 1939-1946.
Kuching. Govt. Printing Office
Wheatley, P. The Golden Khersonese.
Oxford University Press
Williams-Hunt, P. D. R. Introduction to Malayan
Aborigines. Govt. Printer Kuala Lumpur
Winstedt, Sir Richard. Malaya and its history.
Hutchinson
Winstedt, Sir Richard. The Malays: a cultural history.
Routledge
Official Documents
British Dependencies in the Far East 1945-1949. Cmnd. 7709.
HMSO
An Economic Survey of the Far Eastern Territories. Vol 5
Col. No. 281-5. HMS S
Economic Development of Malaya. International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development.
Oxford University Press
Report of the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Com-
mission, 1957. Colonial No. 330. HMSO
Memorandum setting out heads of agreement for a merger
between the Federation of Malaya and Singapore. Singapore
Cmnd. No. 33 of 1961.
Report of the Commission of Enquiry, North Borneo and
Sarawak 1962. Cmnd. 1794.
Report of the Inter-Governmental Committee, 1962.
1954.
Report, Annual. Brunei 1960.
Report, Annual. North Borneo 1961.
Report, Annual. Sarawak 1961.
Report, Annual. Singapore 1960.
Year Book Official. Federation of Malaya. 1961.
Govt. Press, Kuala Lumpur
HMSO
Cmnd.
HMSO
HMSO
HMSO
HMSO
HMSO
1922 Out
of print
1960
1959
1948
1960 $5-60
1958
1954
1961
1952
1948
1961
1955
1955
400
$5-50
$1-60
$1-30
900
$2
$2-20
$2-70
$3
Publications of H.M. Stationery Office may be obtained from Sales Section, B.I.S.,
New York, at the prices quoted. Prices include normal mailing charges.
BRITISH
INFORMATION
SERVICES
Answers inquiries concerning
British Affairs.
Maintains a library of 10,000
books and 90,000 Government
documents and 93 periodicals on
British and Colonial affairs.
Inter-library loan facilities
are available.
Maintians services to supply
the special needs of Press,
Television and Radio with
information, feature articles,
16mm. sound films and
radio tapes.
Provides speakers on British
Affairs,
Is official sales agent for
British Government documents.
Distributes a wide range of -fS' < ? t £
free material.
/e &.C ?
XttOLs
CL. -
>- ;
■
THE
CORONA LIBRARY
A series of illustrated volumes with maps dealing with some
British Dependent and Commonwealth Territories
TITLES PUBLISHED
HONG KONG by Harold Ingrams
SIERRA LEONE by Roy Lewis
NYASALAND by Frank Debenham
BRITISH GUIANA by Michael Swan
JAMAICA by Peter Abrahams
PRICE $ 4.70 PER VOLUME
UGANDA by Harold Ingrams
NORTH BORNEO by Kennedy Tregonning
PRICE $ 5.60 PER VOLUME
"The aim of these books is to present a contemporary portrait, at
once reliable and attractive, of each territory. I warmly recommend
the series to the attention of the public at home and abroad."
THE RT. HON. SIR WINSTON S. CHURCHILL
in the Foreword to Jamaica
ORDER FROM
SALES SECTION
BRITISH INFORMATION SERVICES
845 THIRD AVENUE (at 51st St.),
NEW YORK 22, N.Y.
BOOK CARD
°* MM, WHEnTook 1S C 7T l ir SIN< '
!
CO
M
i \r
M
i
*
m
cu
w
i
K
a!
o
* '-:
I
DS
592
.G67
10207
I !
Great Britain British Informa-
tion Services
The Federation of Malay
SOUTHWEST TEXAS
STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS
Library rules are necessary in order that thl
Library may be of the greatest use to the largeHt
number of patrons. The rules will be posted in
conspicuous places in the library and borrowem
are asked to keep themselves informed as to the
time for returning books, fines for overdue books.
etc.
nwiDMnMi
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11