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Introduction
Long time ago during the early Christian era, Malaya was known as far away as Europe. Ptolemy showed it on his early map with the label ‘Golden Chersonese’. It spelt gold not only to the Romans but to others as well and it wasn’t long before Indian and Chinese traders arrived in search of those most valuable metals, and Hindu mini states sprang up along the great Malay rivers.
On the prehistoric Malaysia, around 10,000 years ago the aboriginal Malays which is called the Orang Asli began to move down from a probable starting point in South Western China. The Malay people were ethnically similar to the people of Sumatera, Java and the Philippines and almost every month and year various South East Asian empires exerted control over all parts of the Malay Peninsula.Custom writing offers papers on history of malaysia
The Chinese admiral Cheng Ho arrived in Melaka or called Malacca in 1405 with greetings from the Son of Heaven (Emperor), with the promise of protection from the encroaching Siamese from the north. Malacca’s power was extended to include most of the Malay Peninsula when China gave them support. Islam religion also arrived in Malacca at the same time which soon spread through Malaya.
European people have got attracted and so much having interested with Malacca’s wealth and prosperity, especially in spices for their sources of market. The first was the Portuguese who first took over in 1511, followed by the Dutch in 1641, and the British in 1786.
In Malaya, the British was only aiming and focusing for its seaports and to protect its trade routes, but the discovery of tin encouraged them to move inland and they were governing the entire Peninsula. One can see James Brooke, the ‘white raja’ and the North Borneo Company made British inroads into Sarawak and Sabah respectively. Besides, the Chinese immigrants were also brought in by the British to work in the tin mines, while the Indian immigrants work in the rubber plantations and constructing railways.
On 1st August 157, Malaya achieved Merdeka that is the Independence Day, but there was a period of instability due to an internal communist uprising and the external confrontation with Indonesia. On 16th September 16, the North Borneo States of Sabah and Sarawak, ad Singapore joined Malaya to create ‘Malaysia’. Unfortunately, in 165 Singapore was forced to withdraw from the Malaysian Confederation. The demise of Indonesia’s leader Sokarno ended the disputes with Indonesia and the communist threat has, as elsewhere, withered away.
The Government of Malaysia at that time tried to control the tensions of racial riots which occurred between the Malays and the Chinese. This happened because of the moves to give Malays a larger share of the economic pie had led to some resentment among the other racial groups.
But today, overall, Malaysian society is relatively peaceful and cooperative among the various races that exist here in Malaysia. (Source http//www.abcmalaysia.com)
Malay Peninsula as part of Srivijaya Empires
In the middle of the ninth century, the Sailendra dynasty placed itself at the head of a new great Indianized power of Southe East Asia, the imperial power of Srivijaya or called the Kingdom of Srivijaya, with its river-port capital at Palembang in southern Sumatera, was the real successor to Funan (early kingdom) as the predominant political and commercial power in South East Asia. It’s more commanding position on the sea route between India and China gave it greater advantages than Funan had possessed, and made it first in the succession of great seasports, as in Malacca, Batavia, Penang, and Singapore, that were to derive their strength from a prominent situation alongside the Straits of Malacca. (Brian, 167).
In the continuing contest to gain and maintain hegemony, a port along the Melaka Straits had the advantage. Favourable geographic conditions and the availability of desired products led to the development of Kan-t’o-li, the first important Malay entreport, somewhere in southeast Sumatera. It was highly successful in exploiting trade with India and China, and in commercial terms can be regarded as the predecessor of the greatest of the early Malay maritime kingdoms, Srivijaya. There were a few recorded events in its own history between A.D. 68 and 686 in a group of four stones inscriptions. These are in the old Malay language, a mixture of Sanskrit and Malay and in south Indian script. Two inscriptions were found near Palembang, Sumatera, first, how the king led an army of twenty thousand men against some enemy, while the rest commemorates his founding and dedication of a public park. The third one was found near a tributary of the river Jambi, north of Palembang, and another one was on the island of Banka, the invasion of Java was recorded. From here, one can see that the Kingdom of Srivijaya with its capital near to Palembang , had extended its supremacy over the southern part of Sumatera, the island of Banka, and Java was also invaded. At the north of Palembang, in the region of the present Jambi, there was a state called Malayu or Melayu. The Kingdom of Srivijaya sent an independent embassy to China in 644, but it was absorbed by Srivijaya between 68 and 6. (Barbara, 18).
A visitor to Srivijaya in the late seventh century was the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, I Ching. He arrived in a Persian ship in A.D. 67 and stayed for six months to study the Sanskrit grammar language before going on to India. On his return from India he stayed in Srivijaya for about four years before he returned there again from China to write his memoirs. The Buddhism as well as trade still gave a strong impetus to travel while having a good communication with India and China. (Brian, 167).
In A.D. 67 and 6 Melayu was incorporated into Srivijaya by conquest and or by marriage between two ruling families. This prestigious association between Melayu and a great kingdom in Palembang was remembered, in later Melaka or Malacca Malay traditions and provides a clue to the origins of the founders of that kingdom. (Barbara, 18).
The 8th Century rulers of Srivijaya combined commercial enterprise with an enthusiasm for Buddhism of the elaborate Mahayana school. They controlled some of the Malay Peninsula was necessary to continue command of the trade route through the Straits of Malacca and eventually, Srivijayan interests and Mahayana Buddhism were both fostered in that region. These can be seen where a Sanskrit inscription of A.D. 775 found in Ligor, in the northern Malay Peninsula which praises the great king of Srivijaya and it commemorates his erection of a Mahayana Buddhist sanctuary. There was a general extension of Mahayana Buddhism in the Malay Peninsula and island of South East Asia at this time was a reflection of the new Pala dynasty in northern India.
Srivijaya’s power contributed to the prestige not only of Melaka but of the latter’s successor kingdom, Johor. (Barbara, 18).
Basically, Srivijaya’s great triumph was to control piracy in the surrounding sea by commanding the loyalty of the ‘Orang Laut’. Intimately acquainted with the treacherous shoals and sandbars, understanding local wind conditions, they protected Srivijaya’s sea lanes from other raiders and increased its attractiveness to foreign traders. The ‘Orang Laut’ was a formidable fighting force, and their paddling skills made them the obvious choice as crews for Srivijaya’s fleets and the backbone of its navy. The ‘Harladj’ mentioned in 10th century Arab sources ‘who gave his name to an island and was head of the ruler’s army have been the predecessor of the Raja Negara, the ‘Orang Laut’ leader in 17th and 18th century Johor who commanded all the sea people throughout the Singapore waters. (Barbara, 18).
Malacca knew itself to be risen to a higher social and economic class and has gained social acceptance by others in that class; behind its proud boast lay the same assurance which centuries before, had prompted an unknown Srivijayan ruler to proclaim himself ‘sovereign over all the kings in the entire earth’. (Barbara, 18).
The Foundation of Melaka or Malacca.
Parameswara is known by a title meaning ‘Prince-Consort’. He was apparently a prince of Palembang who had married a princess of Majapahit in eastern Java and he was also a descendant of those Sailendra kings who had once ruled Srivijaya, Central Java and Funan. (J. Kennedy, 16).
When Parameswara realized how nobly he was married and how great was his power in the neighbouring islands, he announced his independence of Majapahit. This proved to be rash steps for a Javanese expedition attacked and lay waste the island of Bangka and the region of Palembang, and Parameswara escaped by sea, a political refugee. By chance, he and his followers landed on the island of Tumasik or called Singapore, the year was in 10. (J. Kennedy, 16).
The next episode in Parameswara’s career reflects perhaps both his ambition and his impulsive nature. The reigning chief on the island of Singapore welcomed Parameswara and his followers possibly, he was not strong enough to act otherwise. Within eight days, according to Tome Pires’s account, Parameswara had him murdered and claimed the island and the neighbouring sea passages as his own. The motives for murder have been because of political ambition and personal rivalry. Parameswara’s success was comparatively short-lived. As time went on, he feared an invasion directed by the Siamese state of Suk’ot’ai, which claimed over lordship of all the settlements in the Malay Peninsula as far south as Singapore. The murdered chief had been related by marriage both to the Siamese King and to the ruler of Patani, a vassal state of Siam. When he received news of the approach of a war fleet from Patani, he had decided that it would be wise to be on his travels again, and he embarked with his followers. (J. Kennedy, 16).
Sultan Iskandar Shah or Parameswara having been expelled Singapore came to Muar, Johor and because of many monitor-lizards created havoc; he moved from there and went on to another place and finally to a river called Bertam. He was hunting, stood under a tree; one of his hounds was kicked by a white mouse deer. He told his followers that it was a good place even when its mouse deer are full of fight. He had decided to make it a city. At last, Malaka got its name from a tree under which he stood.
Sultan Iskandar Shah established a system of court ceremonial. He was the first one who instituted the appointment of four ministries who were to sit in the hall of audience and hold inquiries and the appointment of heralds who were to stand on the steps leading up to the throne, forty on either side and transmit any command given by the king and the appointment of youths of good family as pages, their duty being act as bearers of the Raja’s personal requisites. (John).
Parameswara’s ready acceptance of Chinese help and protection brought him valuable presents and recognition of his title by the Chinese Emperor. The Chinese trade acted as a magnet for other merchants and shipping from near and far, and thus Malacca became an international market.
Protected against the Siamese by his good relations with China, Parameswara sought to make both trade and political agreements in Java and Sumatera. Majapahit, torn by internal wars, was less promising than northern Sumatera. By a shrewd judgement, Parameswara allied himself in politics and trade with the Muslim state of Pasai in northern Sumatera. This alliance was symbolized by the marriage, in 1414, of Parameswara to a Muslim Princess of Pasai. Already Pasai had a lively trade in produce from many parts of India and from Java, as well as specializing in locally grown pepper. Malacca’s links with Pasai brought more Indian and Javanese traders to Malacca, where they found also the added attraction of bargaining for the luxuries of Chinese silk, gold thread, porcelain, and pottery.
According to Tome Pires, Malacca is a city that was made for merchandise, fitter than any other world; the end of monsoons and the beginning of others. Malacca is surrounded and lies in the middle and the trade and commerce between the different nations for a thousand leagues on every hand must come to Malacca.
One should have known that there were many large ships anchored just south of the Melaka river estuary and small craft swarmed in the river itself. Meanwhile, on the north bank of the river stood godowns, which were protected by a high fence and policed at night. Close to these stood the market-place. Much of Malacca’s population lived on this side of the river; the merchants having large houses set among gardens and orchards.
Besides, port charges were also standardized. Shipping from a westerly direction paid tolls equivalent to six percent of the value of the cargo. Shipping from Sumatera (apart from northern Sumatera which was regarded as ‘western’), Java, the east coast of Malaya, and further east to the Moluccas, the Philippines, and China, paid presents interests instead of a percentage on the cargo, but these presents were of a ‘reasonable amount’ and represented a similar payment to that made by shipping from the west.
When Sultan Iskandar Shah (Parameswara) had just completed three years on the throne, Singapore fell to the Javanese and he went to Malacca, where he was established as Raja for twenty years. After he had ruled in all for 5 years, then in the process of time he died (144) and was succeded on the throne by his son Raja Kechil Besar with the title of Sultan Megat. (John).
The Development of Malacca Sultanate
During the 15th century in Malacca, the Head of the State stood the ruler known as ‘Sultan’. Sultan Muhammad Shah thought it was wise to emphasize a king’s position by sumptuary laws, many of has been borrowed from Srivijaya. The king never slept, he was never ill, he never ate and he never walked; he was “borne about on high”, preferably on the back of an elephant but in days of eclipse on the shoulders of a slave. Nor could he go unattended. If he went on an elephant the Minister of War sat on its head while an Admiral bore the Sword of State behind him. If he went in a hammock-litter his bearers were Ministers and Chiefs of the highest rank and he had a string of chamberlains, insignia-bearers, swordsmen and spearmen in the rear. Before him was borne the metal standard of the state; and before the standard were arranged the bandsmen; gongs, drums, fifes, the royal kettledrum and the silver trumpet with its curious note that Malays liken to the call of a dragon and that was etiquette.
He was the first Sultan to bring to Malacca the marks of distinction known as ‘Larangan’. He made white the colour of the Royal Umbrella and allowed no one to be borne in a litter except himself. Without his permission, no one can wear ornaments of gold or use the colour yellow either in attire of to fringe cushions and mats.
The King have also made it a rule that he should hold his Court, installations, banquets and levees in a hall of audience where the ritual was laid down to the smallest detail. The King was seated at the head of a long raised dais down the sides of which were arranged the highest Officers of State in order of precedence. Nearest royalty were the ‘Bendahara’ or Prime Minister and the ‘Temenggung’ or Minister of War and the ‘Laksamana’ who commanded at sea or the dato’ Seri Bija Diraja who was captain of the duard. The personage to be honoured with an audience, were he an envoy from a foreign State or the captain of a visiting ship or a Malacca Malay about to receive some distinction was presented formally and moved up the dais with many marks of deference till he crouched humbly at the feet of the king. No one was admitted to the Audience Hall unless dressed suitably, with his ‘keris’ worn in front, his sarong arranged with a loose hanging end and a scarf of the ‘Penghulu Bendahara’ or Chief Treasury Officer, but the magnates were directed to their places by the Minister of War.
A Sultan who wished to escape some of the cares of the office might appoint a King-Coadjutor who enjoyed the same honours less some abatement such as a yellow flag instead of a white or the omission of some instrument from his royal band. Princess of the blood were known as Raja and could wear the royal yellow, but they were not all on the same footing. (John).
The ‘Bendahara’ as the Prime Minister and Premier Noble of the State and as the author of the Malay Annuals was himself dwells with great gusto on the dignity of his high office. He either dined by himself or with the princess of the blood-royal and shared no meal with men of lower rank. Among the great Officers of State he alone was excused either waiting on the King or carrying some item of his regalia. On great festival days he was carried in a latter to be received in audience by the King as he approached the Palace all its officers came down the stairs to greet him.
The ‘Temenggung’ as the Minister of War and Justice who controlled any of the country’s warfare, and the ‘Penghulu Bendahara’ as the Chief Treasury Officer or Chancellor of the Exchequer. He controlled all the Revenue and Customs Officers and looked after the Palace Buildings and equipment; he was the former of the Master of the Ceremonies at all official receptions. Both of them were in close attendance on their royal Master. (John)
The Portuguese Conquest of Malacca
Portugal announced that it intended to divert the Asian spice trade away from the Muslims by establishing a new spice route around the Cape of Good Hope. It was with this avowed aim Portuguese came to Asia besides of the strategic location at Straits of Malacca and a good geographical area which is away from the Monsoon wind.
The principal architect of Portuguese expansion in Asia was Afonso de Albuquerque, who became the second Portuguese Governor of the Indies or viceroy of the Estado da India, Portugal’s Asian empire. During his tenure of office from 150 to 1511, Albuquerque sought to dominate the key points in the Muslim trading network through which Asian spices reached Europe.
In the month of July in the year of 1511, Afonso de Albuquerque arrived at Malacca with fifteen sail, great and small, in which came about sixteen hundred fighting men while Malacca had a hundred thousand men at arms from Kuala Lingi to the hinterland and Kasang, which are the limits of the city of Malacca. The Malays had many strong palisades, and on the sea there were many ‘Lancharas’, and Paraos in the river, and on the sea many junks and Gujarat ships which were ready to fight. Finally, Malacca was defeated by the Portuguese.
The reason of the fall of Malacca Empire to the Portuguese are firstly, Malacca had not been having a good shape in an international trade compared to the early 15th centuries. This can be seen where the river of Melaka became smaller level because of the piling mud and the sea shore getting further away from the sea. Because of this, come only few traders. The Chinese traders also unsatisfied with the Malacca’s way of collecting tax, so they helped Portuguese instead and also the foreign army from Java wouldn’t want to help Malacca when attacked by the Portuguese army. The trade activities in Malacca are wholly monopolized by the Sultan and the authorities within the palace and them practicing bribes.
Secondly, the Malacca Empire’s situation at that time where as during the rule of Sultan Alauddin Riayat Syah, there was rebellion within the state as in Pahang, Siak and Aru against Malacca and the death of Bendahara Tun Perak caused the governance of Malacca gets worst and unsatisfactory among the authorities within palace have brought them assist in wrongdoing with the Portuguese. The weak governance way of Sultan Mahmud Shah which appointed many power to the authorities led to weaker governance and the spread of bribery. The high payment of tax led to the unsatisfactory among the traders.
Thirdly, the western conquest especially by the Portuguese had proved that the Portuguese armies are well experienced, trained, and skilled in using modern weapons and easily defeated Malacca’s army. The Malacca’s armies have not been in a war for so many years.
During the Portuguese rule in Malacca, in terms of Politic, they did not really concentrate on building up the country, instead they are there only to monopolize the trade especially the spices. The officer in Malacca called as ‘Kapten Kota’ (only for the Portuguese race). The post is always being modified in every 4 years. The officer‘s authority only seemed to be left out and taken into bribery because of Goa is located further away from Malacca.
In terms of Economy, the Portuguese tries to get back the trade activities in Malaccaafter the war is over. They practice monopoly foundation and introduce a letter called the ‘Sistem Surat Izin’ so that the ships which linked with the trade on Asia region could stopped by at Malacca. Whoever doesn’t possessed the letter will be prosecuted to death and take all their possession. There is also tax being imposed, which is 10% for the good brought in from China and 8% for goods from Benggala (India).
In terms of Social, the spread of Christian religion on the east became their second reason. Many churches have been set up in Malacca. The Portuguese people believe every Christians has the same level as they are and they allowed the Malay people to get married with the Portuguese people and also giving them chances to serve the Portuguese without discrimination. Oppositely, the Non-Christian people were being treated badly and are considered to be their own enemy.
The Beginning and Development of the Johor-Riau-Lingga Kingdom
Holland ceded to Britain all the Dutch factories in India and also the town and fort of Malacca and all its dependencies. At the same time, Holland withdrew the existing objections to British Singapore. Britain on the other hand, surrendered Bencoolen to the Dutch. In addition to these exchanges of territories held by the rival trading companies, undertakings were given about future commitments. The Dutch undertook to make no further settlements or treaties with rulers in the Malay Peninsula, while the British gave a similar pledge both with regard to Sumatera and to the islands south of the Straits of Singapore, including the Carimon islands and the Rhio-Lingga Archipelago.
The Dutch Conquest of Malacca
A combination of economic and political circumstances brought the Dutch to South East Asia. Their homeland was the northern part of Netherlands and they were a people closely linked with the sea, and fishing and water borne trade were important to their economy. Dutch merchants had established themselves as carriers from one port to another in the inter-European trade of the 16th century. They carried, for example, cargoes of cloth or fish from northern European ports to Portugal, Spain and the Mediterranean, and they bought back, among other commodities, oriental produce including spices from Lisbon.
A large Dutch-Johore fleet, with a landing force of about 4,000, arrived off Malacca in1640 and began landing operations at the beginning of August. The siege lasted for a further six months. Inside the walls there was starvation; outside, death came quickly from dysentery, cholera, and malaria. Earlier there had existed a Portuguese plan for strengthening and extending the fortifications on the land side, but this had never been carried out. It was on that side that a breach was made in January 1641, and the remnants of the garrison finally surrendered. The Dutch attributed the long siege to the lack of help from Acheh, their own failure to seal off the town completely, the toll of their own forces taken by epidemics, and the valour of the last Portuguese Governor, Manoel da Sousa Coutinho.
The loss of Malacca was a symbol of the decline in Portugal’s sea power which had been evident for many years. Too many enterprises had meant a great drain on ships and manpower for a small, and essentially poor, country. Inefficiency and corruption had deprived the home government of much of the profits of overseas trade. Portugal too had fallen a victim to the ambitions of Spain. Portuguese ships and harbours were used for naval expeditions planned from Madrid. The coming of the Dutch to the East Indies had itself been a direct result of Spanish policy.
In Malacca, the Dutch restored the fortifications, replaced Portuguese crests with Dutch ones, and rebuilt the church on the hill in the style of the Dutch Reformed Church. During much of their long period of tenure there the Dutch forbade the Portuguese and their descendants to practice their religion openly. This was a reflection of the bitterness of religious controversy in 16th and 17th century Europe.
Dutch Malacca was mainly a fortress from which Dutch trading interests could be watched in the Straits. Only in a very secondary sense was it a centre of trade. For the Dutch in South East Asia, Batavia remained the main entrepot and headquarters, and Malacca was an outpost. Its importance lay in its strategic position on the Straits, and the part which it could play in Dutch policies to secure as much of the trade of South East Asia as possible, not only as between Europe and the region, but also in the carrying trade between Asian port. This policy was attempted by means of treaties with local rulers which gave the Dutch exclusive trading privileges in the purchase of valuable commodities such as spices, gold, pepper, and tin. By becoming sole purchases, the Dutch could also hope to become sole distributors, notably of Indian textiles, from their own trade-bases.
This policy of a monopoly trade was in keeping with European commercial practices in the 16th and 17th centuries, but the Dutch encountered many difficulties in their efforts to sustain it in South East Asia. Treaties were easily broken by the local rulers, and there was keen competition from Asian traders.
From Malacca attempts were made to force shipping to call at the port and pay dues, on receipt of which permits would be issued for the vessels to continue their voyages. Although many vessels called at Malacca, the cargoes unloaded there were small, apart from essential stores and food supplies requisitioned for the Dutch garrison. Dutch efforts to use Malacca as a centre for the distribution of Indian cloth in the region of the Straits also met with disappointment. Indian Muslim merchants traded successfully in Acheh, Kedah, and Perak, and from the end of the 17th century, the Bugis from Selangor entered the keen but limited markets for Straits produce.
The Malacca trade in Dutch times never reached impressive proportions and the population remained small. Despite the new Dutch buildings, Malacca had only a slight resemblance to a Dutch city transported to the East. In this respect Batavia, planned with a neatness and symmetry characteristic of Dutch enterprise, and distinguished by its wide, tree-lined streets and quays, and its canals, was the supreme example. Yet some atmosphere of old world glory clung to Malacca, and what its Governors lacked in circumstance, they sometimes made up in pomp; gilt coaches and velvet coats seem to have been in fashion for formal occasions.
The Ascendancy of Bugis Power
In the 18th century has often been called ‘the Bugis period’ of Malay history. Bugis and other South Sulawesi groups had been arriving in the Malay areas since the last quarter of the 17th century. Leaving South Sulawesi in the wake of protracted civil wars, they ahd attempted unsuccessfully to settle in such places as Sumbawa, Lombok, Bali and Java. Conflicts with local authorities led to further Bugis migrations westwards in search of areas which would be free from the exactions of an overlord. Relatively unpopulated and lightly governed areas in Sumatera and the Malay Peninsula provided an ideal refuge. During the late 17th century a number of Bugis settlements had sprung up along the west coast of the Peninsula in the Johor dependencies of Selangor, Linggi and Kelang.
The Decline of Bugis Power
At first the Dutch governor fully expected he would reap the benefits of Malay-Bugis hostility and be able to rally the assistance of neighbouring Malay Kings. For a short time after the relief of Malacca, a fleet was quickly dent to capture Riau, and by the end of 1784 Sultan Mahmud of Riau-Johor had signed a treaty in which he formally announced his ‘eternal gratitude’ to the Dutch who had freed him from ‘the Bugis yoke’ and no Bugis was ever again to hold the position as Yamtuan Muda.
The British Occupation of Penang
The story of the founding of the English East India Company’s Settlement at Penang can be viewed from three different angles, first from that of the Sultan of Kedah, who was the hereditary ruler of the island of Penang before 1786; secondly, from that of the English East India Company, with its eastern headquarters first in Madras, later in Calcutta, and its home office in London; and thirdly, some attempt should be made to assess the aims and ideas of Francis Light, who saw the possibilities of Penang, and worked to bring the other two interested parties together.
Sultan Muhammad Jiwa (Sultan Kedah) has asked for help from Warren Hastings, Governor General English in India to against the Bugis people and Edward Monckton was sent by the English East India Company on 177 to negotiate with Sultan Kedah. Unfortunately, the negotiation was failed.
Few years later which Kedah under the rule of Sultan Abdullah Mukarram Syah has asked protection from the English East India Company on 1785, worries of Siam would get Kedah involved by putting the Kedah’s army into war. For return, Sultan Kedah will grant the English East India Company with Penang or Pulau Pinang in Malay with rules and conditions; The English East India Company must guard the surroundings of the sea around Kedah, protect Sultan Kedah and protect him from the enemies of English East India Company, they should pay $0,000 every year to Sultan Kedah, trade activities free to carry out either in Kedah or Penang, Sultan Kedah won’t be involved in settling debts of the British people or the Company, and the Company must help Sultan Kedah in contribution of any ground war.
Sultan Abdullah had appointed Francis Light as their representatives to show offer to the English East India Company in Calcutta. But Francis Light wasn’t honest in explanation of the offer from Kedah because he didn’t mentioned about the first and the foremost reason of Sultan Abdullah wanting to create an agreement against the Burma and Siam.
Instead he mentioned about the fear of Sultan towards the Dutch and to consolidate the Sultan’s current position. About the consolation payment for $0,000 for Sultan Kedah, Francis Light only mentioned $10,000 would be enough already.
At last, Francis Light had occupied Penang officially on 11th August 1786 under the name of King George III and he had become the ruler of Penang and also developed and improved Penang a lot.
On September 1786, Lord Cornwallis became the Governor General English in India and was commanded to broaden the trade in East while maintaining the independency politics of the Malay and Bugis people. Cornwallis has decided Penang will have responsibility on English East India Company and the Company will not help Kedah in terms of providing armies and about $10,000 yearly would be pay to Sultan Abdullah for 8 years only.
Sultan Abdullah told them if they do not agree with the rules and terms given, the English East India Company should leave Penang immediately. But for Francis Light and Cornwallis, they considered Penang as their own province and treat Sultan Abdullah as their enemy now. Sultan Abdullah was so upset about this, so he prepared a lot of army at Seberang Perai to fight against the British in Penang. Francis Light at the same time attacked them surprisingly and defeated Sultan Abdullah on 1th April 171.
Sultan Abdullah was forced to sign an agreement with the English East India Company on 1st May 171. The terms in the agreement are the English East India Company will pay $6000 yearly to Sultan Abdullah, Kedah will sell foods to the British without tax being imposed, besides English, other foreign people from Europe can not settle down in Kedah, and Penang is not allowed to give help and protection for the people in Kedah who had engaged in mutiny and rebellion.
Raffles Occupied Singapore
Governor General English in India, Warren Hastings ordered Stamford Raffles to find a new base in Acheh or Riau and after the end of Napoleon war in Europe, Betawi that was occupied by the British before, has to be return to the Dutch with the stated conditions and agreements in the ‘Surat-surat Kew’ or Kew’s Letter of Agreement.
Stamford Raffles was not satisfied with the handover of Betawi to the Dutch, so he had changed his mind and interests towards Singapore and took his opportunity during the Johor’s empire situation and made a demand for British side. He has got an early agreement from Temenggung Abdul Rahman to set up a place for the British and a capital too. He signed and agreement with Temenggung Abdul Rahman on 0th January 181. In the agreement, it stated out that the English is allowed to open its own factory in Singapore or any district belonging to the Sultan, Temenggung will get $000 every year, and Tengku Long Tengku Hussein will get back his position as Sultan. The British also granted Tengku Hussein as the Sultan of Johor with the name Sultan Mohammad Hussein Syah.
The agreement between Raffles, Temenggung Abdul Rahman and Tengku Hussein was signed on 6th February 181. The agreement stated was Tengku Hussein was granted as the Sultan Johor, English are allowed to opened its machinery in Singapore, Sultan is paid $5000 while Temenggung for about $000, other foreign European people are not allowed to open any place in Singapore, British will help Sultan if needed, and English won’t get involved in any country’s matters under the Sultan.
Finally, William Farquhar was appointed as the first Resident in Singapore.
Malacca Ceded to the British under the Anglo-Dutch Treaty.
The largely unauthorized settlement of Singapore by Raffles caused alarm and consternation in The Hague and London where discussions were about to be opened between the two powers with a view to settling their differences in the Indonesian-Malaysian region.
In 184, the Dutch recognized British occupancy rights to the island and Great Britain accepted Malacca in exchange for her Benkulen settlements in West Sumatera, and agreed to recognize generally the Straits of Singapore as the line demarcating respective spheres of influence.
The decisions were incorporated in the Treaty of London. Two of them that can be found are, in Article II, The Subjects and Vessels of one Nation shall not pay, upon importation or exportation, at the Ports of the other in the Eastern seas, any Dutch at a rate beyond the double of that at which the Subjects and Vessels of the Nation to which the Port belongs are charged. The Duties paid on exports or imports at a British Port on the Continent of India or in Ceylon, on Dutch bottoms, shall be arranged so as, in no case, to be charged at more than double the amount of the Duties paid by British Subjects and on British bottoms. In regard to any article upon which no Duty is imposed, when imported or exported by the Subjects or on the Vessels, of the Nation to which the Port belongs, the Duty charged upon the Subjects or Vessels of the other shall in no case, exceed six percent.
In Article VIII, His Netherland Majesty cedes to His Brittanick Majesty all his establishments of the Continent of India; and renounces all privileges and exemptions enjoyed or claimed in virtue of those Establishments.
British Relations with the Malay States and the Beginning of Malaya as a Territorial Political Entity.
Holland was precluded by the Treaty of 184 from interfering, and a general colonial settlement had been reached with her only two years before with the Sumatera and Gold Coast Treaties of 1871.
In the middle of 187, a Dutch invasion of Acheh at the beginning of the year created a focus of unsettlement in the Straits.
British Intervention and the Formalisation of British Control and Administration in the Malay States
Early in 1874 Sir Andrew Clarke, Governor of the Straits Settlements, intervened ion Perak. Clarke and his advisers had only an imperfect understanding of the complicated succession dispute and the factors underlying it. Abdullah agreed to accept a British protectorate in Perak if the British would make him Sultan. The Menteri was forced to accept Abdullah as Sultan as a condition of being allowed to hold his district of Larut.
The position of Sultan Ismail was left undetermined. The British were at this time unaware of the claims of Raja Yusuf, who had been appointed Raja Muda by Abdullah when he himself claimed to be Sultan.
From 1877 to 188 Hugh Low was British Resident of Perak after the murdered of J.W.W. Birch at Pasir Salak in November 1875.
In Selangor, the ruling dynasty of Selangor was a branch of a Bugis family established at Rhio, South of Singapore. Sultan Ibrahim, second Sultan of Selangor, died in 186 leaving no son by his royal consort. He was eventually succeeded by Sultan Mohamed, a son by a secondary wife.
In Negeri Sembilan, the Malay immigrants from Minangkabau gave some help to the Sumatran side in the intermittent wars between Sumatran Chiefs, the Bugis of Rhio, and the Dutch of Malacca.
In Pahang, there was a certain amount of British mediation. Swettenham visited Pahang in 1885 and in 1887, Hugh Clifford was appointed ‘British Agent’ and in 1888, the Sultan was prevailed upon to accept British protection.
The Formation of the Federated Malay States
At the beginning of the nineteenth century the east coast of the peninsula had been more prosperous than the west. By the 180s, however, the British had come to associate the largely Malay States of the east coast with lack of development. It was partly to lessen the differences between Pahang and the west coast that the four protected states were grouped into a Federation in 186.
By the notion of a common purse which would, it was hoped, solve Pahang’s indebtedness was only one reason behind the Federation decision. Proposals for some kind of union had been made through the 1880s, reflecting a trend towards larger administrative units already apparent in Negeri Sembilan and elsewhere in the British Empire, notably Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Advocates of Federation, like Swettenham, also propounded the advantages of administrative efficiency. Although administrative differences between the states were probably exaggerated, the call for uniformity in such matters as communication, taxation and justice found many supporters. In 185 Swettenham, then Resident of Perak but with ambitious of gaining a higher post in the new Federation was assigned the task of obtaining the rulers’ approval of the scheme.
It seems fair to say that the implications of the scheme were never fully explained to them. The longest discussion between Swettenham and a Malay ruler took only four hours, and there was no consultation with the leading chiefs. The Treaty of Federation wa worded so ambiguously that years later Sultan Idris of Perak complained he could not understand how Federation functioned. But Swettenham’s arguments were persuasive and in July 186 the Federated Malay States (FMS) came into being with the capital at Kuala Lumpur in the heart of the he tin mining region. The Federal Secretariat was to be headed by a Resident General with jurisdiction over all the Residents and authority to represent the Federation’s interest to the Singapore Governor, who was also High Commissioner for the Malay States. Departments of police, public works, posts, telegraph, and railways were now placed under a single director; a unified civil service was set up, and tentative proposals were made for a common treasury.
To assure uniformity, all laws except those of purely local nature and all financial measures were drawn up in Kuala Lumpur.
The British had brought together four states in an administrative entity which had no historical antecedents. A significant step had been made in the centralizing process and the creation of what was to become British Malaya. The Federation brought no tangible benefits to the people and was a disappointment to the rulers who had hoped they might regain some of their lost authority.
In a grandiose fashion, the Federation Treaty had guaranteed that they would not in the slightest degree be diminishing the powers and privileges which they now possess or be curtailing the rights of self-government which they now enjoy. (Source Barbara, 18)
The Bangkok Treaty and the Transfer of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu to the British
The people of Thailand has paid tribute to the British by using a form of ‘Bunga Emas’ and eventually the Bangkok Treaty, an official agreement done between the British and the Thailand officer upon handing over Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu to the British.
The Extension of British Official Protection to Johore
The British occupation has extended their protection within Johore area in 114 because of the attack from other foreign army.
The Formation of the Federal Council
In 10, a further move towards centralization and uniformity was made with the creation of a Federal Council. It was to be headed by the High Commissioner in Singapore, assisted by the Resident General in Kuala Lumpur.
The Sultans had agreed to the Council on the condition that their prerogatives were reduced no further, but the Council proceeded to assume the few financial and legislative powers still remaining in the hands of the state councils.
He had no power of veto and in reality the Council, which included Europeans and Chinese representatives of planting and mining interests, became a vehicle for an extension of the authority of the High Commissioner or Governor of Singapore.
Decentralisation during the inter-war years
The move towards decentralization gained momentum in 15 when High Commissioner Sir Laurence Guillemard, acting with Colonial Office approval, announced his intention of abolishing the Chief Secretary ship. Its powers then be gradually devolved to the state councils, Residents and Federal heads of departments and the solution to the decentralization controversy could not be based solely on political consideration.
The Japanese Occupation
On December 8th 141, the peace of Malaya was shattered by a Japanese military invasion which began when troops landed on the Kelantan coast near Kota Bharu. It was the end of an era.
In a sense, Japan’s attack on Malaya was an attack against the Britain. There had been the long standing naval and economic rivalry, followed by Britain’s attitude in relation to the Sino-Japanese war. Moreover, Britain had showed weaknesses, diplomatic ones at Munich and sometimes also in the face of Japanese demands in China, and military ones in the battle for continental Europe in 140 to 141. Malaya represented an area of British political influence, exercised directly and indirectly; it was a very important centre of British financial investment and a vital source of tin and rubber for Britian’s war effort.
Japanese attack was based on anti-Western emotion. By adopting Western technology and military techniques, had now become powerful enough, in the hands of militarist leaders, to challenge a Western Power to a trial of strength.
Considerable funds were raised by Malayan Chinese for assistance to China in the war against Japan. The Japanese attitude to the Malayan Chinese was related to the war in China, and in 14 many Chinese in Malaya paid with their lives for their former connection with the China Relief Fund.
The Japanese war leaders, who created a vision of an Eastern Asia under Japanese leadership, together with wide opportunities for Japanese emigration into parts of South East Asia. Japanese slogans made great use of an ‘Asia for the Asians’ theme and of promised ‘Co-prosperity sphere’ in South East Asia, but so long as a military clique remained dominant in Tokyo, ‘liberation’ from Western rule could only mean a large measure of subjection to Japan.
The open warfare in Malaya, including Singapore, lasted only ten weeks. Many reasons can be offered for Malay’s lack of an effective defense. One was the relative lack of preparation against such an attack. The fall of France and the rapidity of the Japanese advance towards the Malay Peninsula were not foreseen and the Japanese striking power had been underestimated.
During the Japanese occupation in Malaya, The Malayan Chinese received particularly ruthless treatment; the Malays suffered in the general economic hardships and were subjected to arbitrary demands for supplies, yet, on the whole, the Japanese attitude towards them was less harsh, Indians were prominent among the conscripted labourers. Eurasians had to suffer for the Western elements in their heredity.
Economically, there was very great hardship. The standard of living in Malaya was and is linked with production for export, especially rubber and tin.
Besides, before the Japanese invasion the health services in Malaya had been built up to a very high standard and the looting of hospitals by the Japanese for medical stores and equipment, the neglect of preventative measures against tropical diseases, together with diet deficiencies caused by food shortage, led to outbreaks of epidemics and diseases on a scale such as had not occurred in Malaya for many years.
On the political side, the Japanese authorities attempted to combine the administration of Malaya and Sumatera through a headquarters in Singapore and another Japanese administrative measure was the establishment in 14 of Malay local councils whose members were partly appointed by the Japanese and partly elected by the village headmen. The function of these Councils was, at the most, advisory.
Malayan Union and Malay Nationalism
The reasons why British set up the Malayan Union in October 145 are first, they want to build a one unit of Malay states which combined with the Federated Malay States, Unfederated Malay and the Straits Settlements. Second, balancing up the rule system and saving up the cost of governance. Third, make the protection in Malaya becomes stronger and firm against any war strike. Fourth, create some cooperation and a political stability. Fifth, make the British easy to occupy the whole Malaya and make it their own occupied country. Sixth, to collect some capital to run a rubber plantation and ore and seventh is to prepare Malaya towards independent.
But the Malayan Union was against by the Malay people where they lose their special rights and position, immigrant people have same rights as the Malay people, more Chinese people would get their nationality compared to the Malay and it is a new policy British to conquer the whole Malaya and the Malay people who learned a lesson from the World War II wanted to free Malaya from the colonization of foreign people.
The publication of the Malayan Union proposals aroused widespread political consciousness among the Malays, and this took a positive form in the support given to the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), founded by Dato Onn bin Ja’afar of Johore in March, 146. This movement had the immediate purpose of resisting the introduction of the Malayan Union and the long-term purpose of preparing the Malays for their part in eventual self-government. Dato Onn toured the country with great success; demonstrations of national mourning were organized by UMNO, for the loss of status by the Malay Sultans and the loss of rights by the Malays as a whole.
The Formation of Federation of Malaya
In the face of opposition in Malaya and informed criticism at home, the British government decided to have second thoughts. The Malayan Union was never fully established. In its place a kind of provisional caretaker government carried on while reports were sought first from a Working Committee, consisting of Malay, and later from a Consultative Committee on which other races were represented. The Malayan Union plan had given a tremendous impetus to Malay political consciousness and created a measure of distrust between Malay leaders and Britain and raised the claims and rights of Malayan citizenship.
As a result of British consideration of the two reports, the Federated of Malaya Agreement was arrived and put into practice in February, 148. The territories which it covered were identical with those of the abandoned Malayan Union and Singapore remained a separate Crown colony.
A federal government was established under a British High Commissioner, whose appointment required the approval of the Malay Sultans. The main organs of federal government were an Executive Council which included both official and unofficial members, the latter chosen from the various races, and a Legislative Council which had a large majority of unofficial members, including a predominant Malay element.
Provision was also made for State governments, headed by the Sultan and consisting of both an Executive Council and a Legislative Council of State. Such matters as Local Government, Health, Education, Agriculture, and Lands, were entrusted to the State governments, but the Federation could also make enactments on these subjects so far as it was necessary to ensure policies common to all the States. British advisers remained, but the Rulers’ chief official was the Menteri Besar.
The Emergency and the Constitutional Developments towards Independence
The State of Emergency was proclaimed on 18th June 148 throughout Malaya because of continuing murders of Europeans estate managers. In the first year of the Emergency the guerilla main forces were initially successful against mining and estate personnel and government officials, but they soon lost the initiative and were forced to take refuge in deep jungle. In the first half of 14, the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) set aside its earlier policy of attack in order to regroup, retrain and concentrate on developing strong popular support through the Min Yuen or mass organizations. Min Yuen provided supplies, intelligence and auxiliary fighting units and also later involved in the fighting.
In April 14 the British Parliament made a commitment to Malaya’s independence which was reaffirmed the following March by the Prime Minister. When Lieutenant General Sir Gerald Templer arrived in Malaya in early February 15 as the new High Commissioner he declared that his immediate objective was the formation of a united Malayan nation.
A State of Emergency still existed at the time of independence, but the critical stage had passed. The resettlement of Chinese squatters into New Villages, enforcement of strict food controls, and more effective intelligence had made it increasingly difficult for the communists to obtain support.
The machinery devised for bringing the new Constitution into force consisted of a new Federation of Malaya Agreement, 157, revoking the previous Agreement of 148 and containing the new Federal Constitution and the Constitutions of Penang and Malacca. In the United Kingdom the Federation of Malaya Independence Act, 157, was passed, and an Order in Council was made under that Act giving the force of law to the constitutions set out in the Schedules to the Agreement of 157, and revoking the Federation of Malaya Order in Council, 148. In the Federation the Federal Constitution Ordinance, 157, was enacted by the Federal Legislative Council and in each of the Malay States, State Enactments were passed approving and giving the force of law to the Federal Constitution.
At last, the new Federal Constitution comes into force on 1st August, 157 with the Proclamation of Independence for all the Malay States.
The Formation of Malaysia and the Withdrawal of Singapore from Malaysia
On August 166 talks between Indonesia and Malaysia, the hope was expressed of resuming close and formal ties among the nations of the region. What was envisaged was an association which would incorporate a larger grouping than either ASA (the Association of Southeast Asia, founded in 160 by Malaya, Philippines and Thailand or Maphilindo, the members are Malaya, Philippines and Indonesia formed in August 16.
Malaysia was formed on 16th September 16, the existing Federation of Malaya Constitution was retained but amended and adjusted so as to permit the admission of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore and to make provisions for their particular requirements. Unfortunately, Singapore left the Federation on th August 165 as a result of a secret agreement between the Central and State Governments.
The Racial Riots
On 1th May 16, the day after the elections between the Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Malaysian People‘s Movement), Democratic Action party (DAP), and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), the jubilant Gerakan and DAP supporters took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur in a victory celebration. A counter-rally that evening by UMNO supporters quickly deteriorated into uncontrolled violence in the city.
The Constitution was suspended and a national emergency declared. All administration powers were then centralized in a National Operations Council headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Abdul Razak. After four days of bloody fighting between the Malay and Chinese people was order finally restored to the city, but two months after the 1th May riots incidents of communal violence persisted.
The government finally threatened to take severe action against the militant Malay groups, especially those calling for the Tunku’s resignation because of his accommodating politics towards the other ethnic communities.
The Implementation of the New Economic Policy
The long term economic planning with the express aim of restructuring society and creating a genuine unity among its people was a new experience for Malaysia. After independence in 157 the economic policies of the Malaysian government were no longer principally determined by the concerns of overseas investors of foreign governments.
In the First (156-160) and Second (161-165) Malayan plans, economic growth and the elimination of economic disparity among the ethnic groups were cited as the government’s main objective which dominated, with the latter serving as a constraint. A third objective, that of greater employment opportunities would be achieved with greater economic growth.
The First Malaysia Plan that was on 166-170 stressed for three main objectives and with the same order of priorities and the economic growth received greatest attention because it was believed to be the key to achieving the other two goals.
Developments of Political, Economic and Social in Malaysia.
In political, whatever the degree of success, the bold measures of the National Equity Corporation (NEP) would have been difficult to implement had it not been for UMNO’s power in the government. This power was further augmented by constitutional amendments passed by the Dewan Rakyat after the resumption of parliamentary rule in February 171. The amendments were aimed to remove sensitive issues from the realm of public discussions so as to follow the smooth functioning of parliamentary democracy and to redress the radial imbalance in certain sectors of the nation’s life and thereby promote national unity. Any public discussion, even by parliamentary members, of topics dealing with the power and status of the Malay rulers, Malay special privileges, citizenship, Malay as the National Language and the status of Islam as the official religion was now considered seditious.
In Economic, the main reason for Malaysia’s enviable economic achievement has been high world commodity prices which have benefited an export trade that consists primarily of petroleum, rubber, timber, tin, and palm oil.
In Social, Malaysia has stressed integration of the society into a ‘Malaysian’ identity which has as its core the cultural traditions and language of the Malays. A Chinese who sees his acquisitive talents are not unfairly circumscribed by political manipulations, an Indian who sees his minority status as not exploited because he is defenceless and a Dayak or Iban and Kadazan who sees his distance from Kuala Lumpur as no reason to be neglected
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