Malayan Union ملايان اونياون
British colony
↓ 1946–1948 →
Flag Coat of arms
Capital	Kuala Lumpur
Language(s)	Malay, English
Political structure	Colony
King	George VI
Governor	Sir Edward Gent
Historical era	Decolonization
- Established	April 1, 1946
- Disestablished	January 31, 1948
Area
- 1948	132,364 km2 (51,106 sq mi)
Currency	Malayan dollar
Preceded by Succeeded by Federated Malay States Straits Settlements Johor Kedah Perlis Kelantan Terengganu Federation of Malaya
1 - FMS consisted of Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang 2 - Singapore taken out of the Straits Settlements and made a Crown Colony of its own

History of Malaysia
This article is part of a series
Prehistoric Malaysia
Early kingdoms
Chi Tu (100 BC–7th)
Gangga Negara (2nd–11th)
Langkasuka (2nd–14th)
Pan Pan (3rd–5th)
Srivijaya (7th–13th)
Majapahit (13th–15th)
Kedah Kingdom (630–1136)
The rise of Muslim states
Kedah Sultanate (1136–present)
Malacca Sultanate (1402–1511)
Sulu Sultanate (1450–1899)
Johor Sultanate (1528–present)
Colonial era
Portuguese Malacca (1511–1641)
Dutch Malacca (1641–1824)
Straits Settlements (1826–1946)
British Malaya (1874–1946)
Federated Malay States (1895–1946)
Unfederated Malay States (1909–46)
Kingdom of Sarawak (1841–1946)
North Borneo (1882–1963)
Japanese occupation (1941–1945)
Malaysia in transition
Malayan Union (1946–1948)
Federation of Malaya (1948–1963)
Independence (1957)
Federation of Malaysia (1963–present)
See also
Communications history
Military history
Timeline of history
Malaysia Portal v t e

The Malayan Union was a federation 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 so as to simplify administration. The Malayan Union later became the independent Federation of Malaya in 1948. The Federation of Malaya became the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, following the admission of Singapore, Sabah (North Borneo) and Sarawak to the new federation. Singapore left the federation and became independent in 1965.

Formation of the Malayan Union[link]

On April 1, 1946, the Malayan Union officially came into existence with Sir Edward Gent as its governor. The capital of the Union was Kuala Lumpur.

The idea of the Union was first expressed by the British on 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 of course 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.

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".

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, even though State Councils were still kept functioning in the former Federated Malay States, it lost the limited autonomy that they enjoyed as they administered some local and less important aspects of government and the Federal government in Kuala Lumpur controlling vital aspects. State Councils became an extended hand of the Federal government that had to do its bidding. Also, British Residents replacing the Sultans as the head of the State Councils meant that the political status of the Sultans were greatly reduced.^[3]

Opposition, dissolution of the Malayan Union and the creation of the Federation of Malaya[link]

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 the granting of citizenship to non-Malay immigrants and their descendants-especially the ethnic Chinese, not only because of their racial and religious difference but also because their economic dominance was seen as a threat to the Malays. The United Malays National Organization or UMNO, a Malay political association formed by Dato' Onn bin Ja'afar on March 1, 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. However, ex-Malayan government officials criticised the way these constitutional reforms were brought about in Malaya, even saying that it went against the principles of the Atlantic Charter. They also encouraged Malay opposition to the Malayan Union. The fact that people were allowed to hold dual nationalities meant there was a possibility that the Chinese and Indians would be loyal to their home country, rather than Malaya.

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 ceased to exist in January, 1948. It was replaced by the Federation of Malaya.

Evolution towards Malaysia[link]

Evolution of Malaysia

Gallery[link]

• Protest against Malayan Union.jpg

  Protest against the Malayan Union

See also[link]

• Bumiputra

Notes[link]

References[link]

• 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[2]