Malaya

“ Before the Japanese occupation, the States and Settlements of the Federation of Malaya, together with Singapore, formed three distinct political groups; these were (1) the Crown Colony called the Straits Settlements, which included the Settlements of Singapore, Malacca and Penang, (2) the Federated Malay States, comprising the States of Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and Selangor which had entered into a Federation by treaty in 1895, and (3) the remaining five States of Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Trengganu known as the Unfederated Malay States. ”

“ Malaya, with its warmth, ample rainfall and many streams, is naturally the land of the rice swamp and coconut palm. As we travel southwards from Penang, the rice fields stretch monotonously mile after mile over the flat lands between the railway and the sea. These 27 great levels do not make good pictures, but here is one of them. The native in the foreground is beckoning eastern fashion, with the hand pointed downwards. The ditch beside him is an irrigation channel. The water is impounded in rough reservoirs on the valley slopes and allowed to flow down to these channels ”

“ As this is possibly the last occasion on which we shall have an opportunity of discussing at any length the problems of Malaya, since the territory of Malaysia will be independent on August 31, and we do not normally discuss the affairs of independent countries in this House, perhaps I may be allowed to say a word or two about a man whom I consider to be a really great man of our time, the father, to a large extent, both of Malaya and of Malaysia. ”

“ The tense feline growl of the tiger grew more distinct. The Prince’s hand sought the jewelled handle of his kris. There was a swift rush in the darkness, a crashing among the rubber-vines, a short, quick snarl, and then all was still.
If you run amok in Malaya, you may kill your enemy or your dearest friend, but you will be krissed in the end like a pariah dog. ”

“ May it not be, therefore, that Malaya or Malayu46 was the name by which the earliest Sanskrit-speaking 39 adventurers from India denominated the rude tribes of Sumatra and the peninsula with whom they came in contact, just as Jawi is the name given to Malays by the Arabs, the term in either case being adopted by the people from those to whom they looked up with reverence as their conquerors or teachers? ”

“ Once, however, made King of Malaya, the modern Malwa, a province of Western Upper India, he so distinguished himself that the Hindu fabulists, with their usual brave kind of speaking, have made him “bring the whole earth under the shadow of one umbrella.” ”

“ It was premature and it left out Sarawak, which, at that time, was an anachronism under the Brooke family next door to an anomaly under the chartered company with me as its Governor. In those days we dreamed of a greater Malaya, such as this Federation envisages, which would develop to the benefit of all its constituent parts and work in amity with its great neighbour, now the Republic of Indonesia. That would have been a largely Moslem bloc linking South-East Asia with the Pacific. Of course, we did not foresee at that time the problems which would overshadow that sort of dream. ”

“ It has, moreover, been pointed out that had the Malays been driven southwards by the stronger races of the mainland of Asia, it might be expected that the people inhabiting the country nearest to the border between Siam and Malaya would belong to the Malayan and not to the Mon-Annam or Mon-Khmer stock. As a matter of fact the Sâkai of the interior of the peninsula belong to the latter race. ”

“ Malaya and Borneo are tropical estates and can only be developed by special methods. In dealing with these estates we have given considerable space to the subject of administration, since without order and security it is impossible to utilize those natural resources with which our geography is concerned. These resources include the minerals and the whole range of tropical products, together with the available human material, the Chinese or Indian labourer and the native Malay. Foreign capital, British or Chinese, under British direction provides the driving force for progress. ”

“ The future position and status of the Malay Rulers in particular cannot finally be judged before liberation when it will be possible to assess not only their individual records but also and especially the attitude of the people of Malaya to the advantages or otherwise of maintaining the Sultanates as institutions in the several States. ”

“ They are all raised above the ground on piles, and usually have a kind of verandah 29 on one side; the interior is dark, as the native is not fond of windows. We notice the bamboo and the coconut palm near every house and shall probably come on the stream not very far away. This is the real Malaya: the aspect of the towns is very different. Here we find streets of houses and shops, but these are largely given 30 up to the natives of India or China, as we may guess from the signboards in the picture before us. ”

“ Some years later I was amused to receive a letter from a gentleman who was, if I remember, a schoolmaster somewhere in Malaya. This gentleman, an earnest student of folklore, was writing an article on some singular things he had observed amongst the Malayans, and chiefly a kind of were-wolf state into which some of them were able to conjure themselves. He had found, as he said, startling resemblances between the magic ritual of Malaya and some of the ceremonies and practices hinted at in "The White People." ”

“ So regarded, British Malaya—as the united Colony and Protectorate would naturally be styled—stands easily first of all those British Colonial possessions which do not enjoy responsible government Moreover, this is a possession in which the nation may feel some legitimate pride, for no part of it has been acquired by conquest; no people and no potentate complain that our influence has injuriously affected their liberties, their dignity, or their comfort Neither the Colony nor the Protectorate has any debt whatever, though many great and useful works have been constructed out of revenue. ”

“ From the Straits Times some passages are quoted respecting the arrival of the French Flagships in Singapore, and the courtesy of the Admiral in allowing the Band to play on the Esplanade.
23. Three columns are given up to a series of paragraphs giving news from Java and the adjoining Malay States, and it is worthy of notice that so large a number of places contribute news from this part of Malaya. Such names are found as Semarang, Sêrubaya, Bogor, Periâman, Menâdo, Bantan, Cherbân, Ambûn, Karâwang, and Pâlau Banda. ”

“ The future prosperity of Malaya depends on the proper use of the land. Hitherto the rubber and tin industries have made outstanding contributions to the country's economy and the present relatively high standard of living of the people could not have been achieved without them. It is essential that the orderly development of these industries should be facilitated. But it would be most unwise to neglect the development of Malaya's other natural resources. The population has increased rapidly in recent years. ”

“ Here is a group of these native 18 rulers and British officials, representing the two sides of the combined administration.
Though we read a great deal about piracy and misrule in the old days, we must not think of the natives of Malaya as wholly given over to barbarism. The States, just as in India, had their own form of government and social organization, long before they came under our influence. They had their courts, palaces and public [82] 19 buildings. The palace of the Sultan of Selangor, which we see here, reminds us strongly of some of the magnificent buildings in India. ”

“ It is common knowledge that external capital and private enterprise have played a conspicuous part in the development of the Malayan economy, and it is no less than my duty at the present time of change and evolution in our political and constitutional affairs to make it clear that the Federation Government willingly recognises the contribution which overseas capital and enterprise have so made ... ”

“ Though in these lands they have for not less than a thousand years enjoyed the position of the dominant race, they all possess a tradition that they are not indigenous, and that their first rulers “came out of the sea,” with a large band of Malayan warriors in their train. In the peninsula especially, where the presence of the Malays is more recent than elsewhere, many traditions exist which point to a comparatively recent occupation of the country. It has been remarked that there is evidence that the Malays had attained to a certain stage of civilization before ever they set foot in Malaya. ”

“ The Chinese in Malaya, as the author has observed at first hand, are probably more prosperous than any other Chinese have ever been anywhere in the world. Under capitalism today the Chinese communities in Malaya have achieved a degree of wealth, health, and education which Communist China will be remarkable to have achieved if it survives and succeeds for the next hundred years. ”

“ In a series of meetings in London this week British and Malayan Ministers examined the proposal to create a 'Federation of Malaysia' which would embrace the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei. ”

“ If Malaya is to be a democratic country the Government of each State must be controlled by its elected Legislative Assembly, and we must envisage the possibility that from time to time the party in power in one or more of the States may differ in outlook, and policy from the party in power in the Federation. It appears to us that in such circumstances the present division of powers would probably lead to friction and might well have graver consequences. We therefore recommend that in future legislative power and executive responsibility should always go together. ”

“ They consider that for each of the nine Rulers to have subjects of his own would not conform to the principle of a common citizenship, the preservation of which is imperative if Malaya is to have a united people. ”

“ As your Lordships, I think, are aware, the Governments of Malaya and Singapore have agreed in principle to the creation of a common market which would extend to the whole of Malaysia, and this idea has been accepted by North Borneo and Sarawak. ”

“ There was some difficulty with the Malayan Delegation about the position of Her Majesty the Queen in relation to the British Settlements of Penang and Malacca, but the Conference ultimately recorded a clear understanding that nothing in the terms of reference should be taken to prejudge the recommendations of the Commission on this matter. ”

“ Hose, the present Bishop of "Singapore, Labuan and Sarawak," which is the official title of his extensive See which includes the Colony of the Straits Settlements—Penang, Province Wellesley, Malacca and Singapore—and its Dependencies, the Protected States of the Malay Peninsula, the State of Sarawak, the Crown Colony of Labuan, the Territories of the British North Borneo Company and the Congregation of English people scattered over Malaya. ”

“ Even now Malaya only produces about half the basic foodstuffs necessary to feed the people and further development of agriculture is urgently necessary if Malaya is not to have to rely to a dangerous extent on imported foodstuffs. ”

“ We recommend that all those born in the Federation on or after Merdeka Day should be citizens by operation of law. We received many representations that the principle which has come to be known generally in Malaya as jus soli should be given retrospective effect. We are not satisfied that it is entirely possible or desirable to provide that all those who were born in Malaya, whatever be the date of their birth wherever they may be now, and whatever be the present nationality, should be retrospectively made citizens of the Federation by operation of law. ”

“ So a person residing in a Malay State may be a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies though his ancestral connection with British territory is remote. For example, if the paternal great grandfather of a Malay was born in one of the Settlements and migrated say in 1880 to a State then under British protection then his sons, grandsons and great grandsons have become British subjects by birth, and those alive in 1949 or born since 1948 have all become citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies. ”

“ We must start from the present position as we find it, taking account not only of the history and tradition of Malaya but also of existing social and economic conditions. Much that is good has already been achieved and we would not seek to undo what has been done. But many existing arrangements are inappropriate for a self-governing and independent country, and, in recommending the form which the necessary political and administrative changes should take, we have borne in mind that the new provisions must be both practicable in existing circumstances and fair to all sections of the community. ”

“ WHEREAS Malaysia was established on the 16th day of September, 1963, by a federation of the existing states of the Federation of Malaya and the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore into one independent and sovereign nation ”

“ The three Governments would similarly send observers to the two territories to witness the investigations of the working teams and the Federation of Malaya would do its best to ensure the co-operation of the British Government and of the Governments of Sabah and Sarawak. ”