On 1 April 1946, the Malayan Union officially came into existence with Sir Edward Gent as its governor, combining the Federated Malay States, Unfederated Malay States and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca under one administration. The capital of the Union was Kuala Lumpur. The former Straits Settlement of Singapore was administered as a separate crown colony.
The idea of the Union was first expressed by the British in October 1945 (plans had been presented to the War Cabinet as early as May 1944)[1] in the aftermath of the Second World War by the British Military Administration. Sir Harold MacMichael was assigned the task of gathering the Malay state rulers' approval for the Malayan Union in the same month. In a short period of time, he managed to obtain all the Malay rulers' approval. The reasons for their agreement, despite the loss of political power that it entailed for the Malay rulers, has been much debated; the consensus appears to be that the main reasons were that as the Malay rulers were resident during the Japanese occupation, they were open to the accusation of collaboration, and that they were threatened with dethronement.[2] Hence the approval was given, though it was with utmost reluctance.
When it was unveiled, the Malayan Union gave equal rights to people who wished to apply for citizenship. It was automatically granted to people who were born in any state in British Malaya or Singapore and were living there before 15 February 1942, born outside British Malaya or the Straits Settlements only if their fathers were citizens of the Malayan Union and those who reached 18 years old and who had lived in British Malaya or Singapore "10 out of 15 years before 15 February 1942". The group of people eligible for application of citizenship had to live in Singapore or British Malaya "for 5 out of 8 years preceding the application", had to be of good character, understand and speak the English or Malay language and "had to take an oath of allegiance to the Malayan Union". However, the citizenship proposal was never actually implemented. Due to opposition to the citizenship proposal, it was postponed then modified, which made it harder for many Chinese and Indian residents to obtain Malayan citizenship.[3]
The Sultans, the traditional rulers of the Malay states, conceded all their powers to the British Crown except in religious matters. The Malayan Union was placed under the jurisdiction of a British Governor, signalling the formal inauguration of British colonial rule in the Malay peninsula. Moreover, while the State Councils were still kept functioning in the former Federated Malay States, they lost the limited autonomy that they enjoyed, left to administer only some less important local aspects of government, and became an extended hand of the Federal government in Kuala Lumpur. Also, British Residents replacing the Sultans as the head of the State Councils meant that the political status of the Sultans was greatly reduced.[4]
A Supreme Court was established in 1946 of which Harold Curwen Willan was the only Chief Justice.[5]
Opposition, dissolution of the Malayan Union and the creation of the Federation of Malayaedit
The Malays generally opposed the creation of the Union. The opposition was due to the methods Sir Harold MacMichael used to acquire the Sultans' approval, the reduction of the Sultans' powers, and easy granting of citizenship to immigrants. The United Malays National Organisation or UMNO, a Malay political association formed by Dato' Onn bin Ja'afar on 10 May 1946, led the opposition against the Malayan Union. Malays also wore white bands around their heads, signifying their mourning for the loss of the Sultans' political rights.
After the inauguration of the Malayan Union, the Malays, under UMNO continued opposing the Malayan Union. They utilised civil disobedience as a means of protest by refusing to attend the installation ceremonies of the British governors. They had also refused to participate in the meetings of the Advisory Councils, hence Malay participation in the government bureaucracy and the political process had totally stopped. The British had recognised this problem and took measures to consider the opinions of the major races in Malaya before making amendments to the constitution. The Malayan Union was dissolved and replaced by the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948.
^CAB 66/50 'Policy in Regard to Malaya and Borneo'
^Ariffin Omar, Bangsa Melayu: Malay Concepts of Democracy and Community, 1945–1950 (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 46. Cited in Ken'ichi Goto, Tensions of Empire: Japan and Southeast Asia in the Colonial and Postcolonial World (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2003), p. 222
^Carnell, Malayan Citizenship Legislation, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 1952
^Lee Kam Hing. . CPI. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
^Ming Ho, Tak. Generations: The Story of Batu Gajah. p. 165.
Zakaria Haji Ahmad. Government and Politics (1940–2006). p.p 30–21. ISBN981-3018-55-0.
Marissa Champion. Odyssey: Perspectives on Southeast Asia – Malaysia and Singapore 1870–1971. ISBN9971-0-7213-0
malayan, union, malay, kesatuan, malaya, jawi, كساتوان, مالايا, union, malay, states, straits, settlements, penang, malacca, successor, british, malaya, conceived, unify, malay, peninsula, under, single, government, simplify, administration, following, opposit. The Malayan Union Malay Kesatuan Malaya Jawi كساتوان مالايا was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government to simplify administration Following opposition by the ethnic Malays the union was reorganised as the Federation of Malaya in 1948 Malayan UnionKesatuan Malaya Malay 1946 1948Flag Coat of armsLocation of the Malayan Union dark blue StatusBritish colonyCapitaland largest cityKuala Lumpur3 8 N 101 41 E 3 133 N 101 683 E 3 133 101 683Common languagesMalay official EnglishReligionSunni Islam official BuddhismRoman CatholicismHinduismProtestantismMalaysian folk religionAnimistic religionKing 1946 1948George VIGovernor 1946 1948Sir Edward GentHistorical eraDecolonisation Established1 April 1946 Disestablished31 January 1948CurrencyMalayan dollarPreceded by Succeeded by British Military Administration Federation of MalayaToday part ofMalaysia Contents 1 Formation of the Malayan Union 2 Opposition dissolution of the Malayan Union and the creation of the Federation of Malaya 3 List of member states 4 Evolution towards Malaysia 5 See also 6 ReferencesFormation of the Malayan Union editPrior to World War II British Malaya consisted of three groups of polities the protectorate of the Federated Malay States five protected Unfederated Malay States and the crown colony of the Straits Settlements On 1 April 1946 the Malayan Union officially came into existence with Sir Edward Gent as its governor combining the Federated Malay States Unfederated Malay States and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca under one administration The capital of the Union was Kuala Lumpur The former Straits Settlement of Singapore was administered as a separate crown colony The idea of the Union was first expressed by the British in October 1945 plans had been presented to the War Cabinet as early as May 1944 1 in the aftermath of the Second World War by the British Military Administration Sir Harold MacMichael was assigned the task of gathering the Malay state rulers approval for the Malayan Union in the same month In a short period of time he managed to obtain all the Malay rulers approval The reasons for their agreement despite the loss of political power that it entailed for the Malay rulers has been much debated the consensus appears to be that the main reasons were that as the Malay rulers were resident during the Japanese occupation they were open to the accusation of collaboration and that they were threatened with dethronement 2 Hence the approval was given though it was with utmost reluctance When it was unveiled the Malayan Union gave equal rights to people who wished to apply for citizenship It was automatically granted to people who were born in any state in British Malaya or Singapore and were living there before 15 February 1942 born outside British Malaya or the Straits Settlements only if their fathers were citizens of the Malayan Union and those who reached 18 years old and who had lived in British Malaya or Singapore 10 out of 15 years before 15 February 1942 The group of people eligible for application of citizenship had to live in Singapore or British Malaya for 5 out of 8 years preceding the application had to be of good character understand and speak the English or Malay language and had to take an oath of allegiance to the Malayan Union However the citizenship proposal was never actually implemented Due to opposition to the citizenship proposal it was postponed then modified which made it harder for many Chinese and Indian residents to obtain Malayan citizenship 3 The Sultans the traditional rulers of the Malay states conceded all their powers to the British Crown except in religious matters The Malayan Union was placed under the jurisdiction of a British Governor signalling the formal inauguration of British colonial rule in the Malay peninsula Moreover while the State Councils were still kept functioning in the former Federated Malay States they lost the limited autonomy that they enjoyed left to administer only some less important local aspects of government and became an extended hand of the Federal government in Kuala Lumpur Also British Residents replacing the Sultans as the head of the State Councils meant that the political status of the Sultans was greatly reduced 4 A Supreme Court was established in 1946 of which Harold Curwen Willan was the only Chief Justice 5 Opposition dissolution of the Malayan Union and the creation of the Federation of Malaya editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp Protest against the Malayan Union by Malays The Malays generally opposed the creation of the Union The opposition was due to the methods Sir Harold MacMichael used to acquire the Sultans approval the reduction of the Sultans powers and easy granting of citizenship to immigrants The United Malays National Organisation or UMNO a Malay political association formed by Dato Onn bin Ja afar on 10 May 1946 led the opposition against the Malayan Union Malays also wore white bands around their heads signifying their mourning for the loss of the Sultans political rights After the inauguration of the Malayan Union the Malays under UMNO continued opposing the Malayan Union They utilised civil disobedience as a means of protest by refusing to attend the installation ceremonies of the British governors They had also refused to participate in the meetings of the Advisory Councils hence Malay participation in the government bureaucracy and the political process had totally stopped The British had recognised this problem and took measures to consider the opinions of the major races in Malaya before making amendments to the constitution The Malayan Union was dissolved and replaced by the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948 List of member states edit nbsp Johor nbsp Kedah nbsp Kelantan Malacca nbsp Negeri Sembilan nbsp Pahang Penang nbsp Perak nbsp Perlis nbsp Selangor nbsp TerengganuEvolution towards Malaysia edit nbsp Evolution of MalaysiaSee also editBumiputera Malaysia References edit CAB 66 50 Policy in Regard to Malaya and Borneo Ariffin Omar Bangsa Melayu Malay Concepts of Democracy and Community 1945 1950 Kuala Lumpur Oxford University Press 1993 p 46 Cited in Ken ichi Goto Tensions of Empire Japan and Southeast Asia in the Colonial and Postcolonial World Athens Ohio University Press 2003 p 222 Carnell Malayan Citizenship Legislation International and Comparative Law Quarterly 1952 Lee Kam Hing Road to Independence 1 Birth of Umno and Malayan Union CPI Archived from the original on 11 May 2013 Retrieved 30 March 2017 Ming Ho Tak Generations The Story of Batu Gajah p 165 Zakaria Haji Ahmad Government and Politics 1940 2006 p p 30 21 ISBN 981 3018 55 0 Marissa Champion Odyssey Perspectives on Southeast Asia Malaysia and Singapore 1870 1971 ISBN 9971 0 7213 0 Sejarah Malaysia 1 3 08 N 101 42 E 3 133 N 101 700 E 3 133 101 700 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Malayan Union amp oldid 1203200823, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
