Note 3: Struggle for Independence

STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE

Introduction
-

Generally means to
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.

Independence of a country : ___________________________. Its people choose their own

way to live and how to develop their country.

Independence is usually gained by the feeling of love to the country, to live freely and in
peace, desire to see the country develop and willing to sacrifice for the country.

3 main stages :1) ____________________________

2) ____________________________
3) ____________________________

Struggle involving bloodshed

Against Siam :
-

Siam tried attack Malacca and Pahang but failed

1821 1900 occupied Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu

Portuguese :
-

Sultan Mahmud tried to get back Malacca 5 times : 1515, 1516, 1519, 1523, 1524 but failed
Johor and Acheh tried between 1533 1596 but failed

Dutch :
- ruled Malacca for 180 years
- Sultan Ibrahim (Selangor) and Raja Haji (Johor) tried to defeat them but failed
British :
1) _______________(a district between Malacca and Negeri Sembilan)
- British said it is part of Malacca, so the people have to pay taxes
- _________________ (local leader) said it is not part of Malacca and refuse to pay taxes
- British attacked Naning in 1831 & 1832, Dol Said fought back but finally lost. So Naning
became part of Malacca until now
2) Selangor

British appointed Tengku Kudin as representative with ___________________ as

resident
opposition from _________________, but ________________ got help from British

3) Perak
-

________________ was first resident and Sultan Abdullah as Sultan according to

Pangkor Treaty.
factors causing opposition from locals :
a) ______________________________
b) _____________________________________________________
c) Birch forced Sultan Abdullah to give up power by signing an agreement in 1875
d) he tried to abolish slavery which had been going on in Perak for a long time
e) he tried to make drastic changes
f) arrogant (proud) attitude of Birch not understanding local customs and doing things
as he likes
Birch was attacked when visiting Pasir Salak by Datuk Maharaja Lela and his followers
and Birch was killed.

4) Negeri Sembilan
-

Tengku Antah was appointed as ruler (Yam Tuan Besar) by the people of Terachi,
Gunung Pasir, Hulu Muar and Jempol, but not accepted by Datuk Kelana.
Tengku Antah did not accept Datuk Kelana as leader of Sungai Ujung and the
appointment of an Assistant Resident there.
1875, dispute between them over Terachi area, Datuk Kelana got help from British and
Tengku Antah lost.
1876, Tengku Antah had to sign treaty with British; he was accepted as Ruler but had to
receive a British resident

5) Pahang
- 1888, _____________________, the British resident, introduced the post of
____________________________, preventing the local noblemen from continuing to
collect taxes.
- 1891, _____________________ and his son ________________ with Datuk Bahaman
attacked the British, had some victories at first but later lost.
6) Sarawak
- 1853, James Brooke tried to occupy Rajang river area, which threatened Sharif
Masahor, the Governor of Sarikei who was appointed by the Sultan of Brunei.
- 1860, Sharif Masahor and Datu Patinggi Abdul Gapur attacked Brooke but he managed
to control it.
- 1853, an Iban leader from upper Skrang rivernamed ____________________ (or
famous as Rentap) attacked the British who tried to occupy Iban territory and control
their pirate and headhunting activity. In 1861, he lost to Brookes army.
- 1893, ___________________, another Iban leader at upper Batang Lupar river also
fought the British but finally lost in 1908.
- in the 1920s, Asun, a Dayak leader also tried to fight the British at Kanowit river.

7) Sabah
-

_______________, A noblemen at Sugut river went against the British North Borneo
Company from 1894 to 1900. He had some victories but was killed in 1900. The reason
was the British imposed many taxes on the people.
1915, _____________________, a leader from the Murut tribe attacked the British but
was killed. Reason : British interfered with their agricultural activity, took their land to
build roads and forced them to build roads without any pay.

8) Kelantan
-

1914, British appointed Encik Latiff from Singapore as District Officer of Pasir Puteh.
This threatened Engku Besar Tun Ahmad the local nobleman.
British imposed many taxes : head tax, coconut, fruit. The taxcollectors were very
arrogant with bad manners.
__________________ (famous as Tok Janggut), a religious teacher and his followers
did not pay taxes and started attacking the British. They had some victories and got
support from other noblemen. In 1915, he was killed

9) Terengganu
-

1925, villagers from Kuala Telemong gathered to protest British laws.

1928, Farmers Uprising led by _____________________, a religious teacher and
lawyer, and other religious teachers protested laws that prevented them from opening
land for agriculture, also because of many types of taxes introduced by the British.

Japanese :
-

the Communist Party of Malaya established the Malayan Peoples Anti Japanese Army
(MPAJA).
Tentera Wataniah Pahang was started by Some Malays in Pahang.
some British army officers who didnt fled when the British army surrendered hid in the
Jungle and started the Special Training School 101 to train local people to fight the
Japanese.
Captain Spencer Chapman with some locals started Forced 136.
Kapten Mohd. Salleh Sulaiman started Askar Melayu Setia Perak.
in Sabah, Gerila Kinabalu was started by Musa and Albert Kwok Fen Nan; had connections
with guerillas from Sulu led by Imam Marajukan.
these groups used guerilla warfare : hiding in the jungle and launching attacks on Japanese
army from time to time.

Struggle for independence from 1900 - Japanese Occupation

-

Beginning early 1900s, the struggle started to become based more on nationalism and not
involving bloodshed.

Factors causing it :-

1) more people were educated, either western or religious

2) Indonesian nationalism struggle against Dutch
3) Japanese victory over Russia in the Russia-Japanese War showing that Europeans
can be beaten by Asians
4) Islamic Reform Movement in Egypt
5) Young Turks Movement in Turkey
-

Methods used :1) Written media

- newspaper and magazines
- express ideas, views, give information and news from leaders to the people
- examples :a) _______________ (first published 1906). Main figues involved include Syed
Syeikh Al-Hadi from Kaum Muda (Islamic Reform group)
b) Saudara (1928), Syed Syeikh Al-Hadi
c) Majlis (1935), Abdul Rahim Kajai. First national level paper
d) Warta Malaya
e) Utusan Melayu (1939), Abdul Rahim Kajai and Ishak Muhamad
f) Warta Sarawak, its slogan The drawn has come, rise up my people
- the publications usually condemns British policies and urging them to improve the
condition of the Malays
- received influence from Indonesia
2) Associations/Unions
a) _____________________, founded by Eunos Abdullah in 1926. It was the first Malay
union
b) Selangor Malay Union (1938), Tengku Ismail Tengku Yasin
c) Perak Malay Association (1937), Wan Mohd. Nor Wan Nasir
d) Pahang Malay Association
e) Negeri Sembilan Malay Association
f) Kelantan Malay Association
g) Malayan Brotherhood of Pen Friends
h) Sarawak Malay Association (1939)
i) similar associations in Sabah
- most of these associations urge the British to improve the situation of Malays in
education and economy
- Young Malays Union (Kesatuan Melayu Muda KMM) was the first political
organisation. Founded by __________________ in 1938. Most of its members
were students from the Sultan Idris Teachers Training College. Key figures
include Ishak Haji Muhamad and Ahmad Boestamam. The union was considered
radical by the British and its leaders were caught but was later freed by the
Japanese. Among its aim were :-

a) unification of all states

b) independence of Malaya
c) unification of Malaya and Indonesia
Chinese and Indians gave concern to the happenings in China and India

Chinese who were born in Malaya or the Straits Settlement formed the Strait
Born Chinese Association and we headed by Tan Cheng Lock
the Indians formed the Indian Youth Association and later the Central Indian
Association of Malaya in 1937. It was headed by Dr. A.W. Soosay to look after
the welfare of the Indians

The struggle after Japanese Occupation

Malayan Union
-

____________________, British announced the establishment of Malayan Union.

Reasons :1)
2)
3)
4)

to protect British interest

standardize administration
cut cost
prepare Malaya for self-government

Characteristics of Malayan Union :1) 9 states (Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, Selangor, Pahang, Negeri
Sembilan, Johor), Penang and Malacca
2) Kuala Lumpur is the administration centre
3) Malaya will get a British Governor
4) Malay rulers will have no power and only becomes advisors to the Governor
5) Singapore is not included and remains as a British colony
6) citizenship based on jus soli :
a) age 18 and above and stayed in Malaya for 10 years from a period of 15 years
b) anybody born after Malayan Union is established

Opposition against Malayan Union

-

From Malay nationalist led by Dato Onn Jaafar. Reasons :1) ________________________________________________
2) ________________________________________________
3) ________________________________________________

March 1946, the Malayan Malay Congress chaired by Dato Onn met in Kuala Lumpur. It
was attended by 41 organizations. Among the results of the congress were to oppose the
establishment of Malayan Union, hold demonstrations at major towns and establish the
United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to protect Malay interest.

Former British officers who served in Malaya (Frank Swettenham, R.O. Winstedt, George
Maxwell, Cecil Clementi Smith).

Non-Malays formed the Malayan Democratic Union (MDU) because the establishment of
Malayan Union in undemocratic and Singapore is not included.

British continued with it and officially launched Malayan Union on 1/4/1946. Edward Gent
became the first governor, but the ceremony was boycotted by the Malay Rulers.

Because of severe opposition, the British held discussions between Malay Rulers, Dato
Onn Jaafar and Edward Gent and decided to replace Malayan Union with another system.

In July 1946, Malayan Union ended.

Federation of Malaya
-

It replaced Malayan Union. The Govenor was replaced by a High Commissioner and state
governments were given responsibility over land, health, local government, education and
agriculture.

A Working Committee was formed to draw up a constitution.

All-Malayan Committee of Joint Action (AMCJA), consisting of non-Malayas from the

Malayan Democratic Union, Malayan Indian Congress, (MIC), Malayan New Democratic
Youth League and some labour unions protested because the Working Committee didnt
have any non-Malay representative.

Malays from the Malayan Malay National Party (Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya-PKMM)
led by Dr. Burhanuddin Al-Helmy, Aware Youth Movement (Angkatan pemuda Insaf API)
led by Ahmed Boestamam and Conscious Women Movement (Angkatan Wanita SedarAWAS) led by Shamsiah Fakeh also protested because they said the Working Committee
compromised too much with the British and the Malays will lose out. They combined to form
Peoples Power Centre (Pusat Tenaga Rakyat-PUTERA).

PUTERA and AMCJA combined and was led by Dr. Burhanudin. In 1947 they came up with
the Peoples Constitution but was rejected by the British because the British saw them as
radicals. However this was the first coalition / co-operation between the races in the struggle
for independence.

Due to this, the British set up a special committee consisting of non Malays to get
suggestions.

The working Committee made changes to the constitution and was approved by the Rulers.

21/2/1948, the Federation of Malaya was officially launched.

Towards Independence
-

After Federation of Malaya was Established, awareness to gain independence increased.

In 1948, Emergency was declared. The Malayan Communist Party said they wanted to free
the country from British. This put pressure on the British to give independence in order to
prevent the communist from gaining control of the country.

Various parties were established during this time.

Community leaders became aware for the need to establish unity in order to convince the
British to give them independence.

____________________ wanted to open UMNO party to all races but did not get any
support.

In 1951, he resigned from being UMNO chairman had founded Independence Malaya Party
(IMP). Tunku Abdul Rahman replaced him.

In 1952, Kuala Lumpur Town Council election, UMNO-MCA coalition (MCA Malayan
Chinese Association founded in 1949 and led by Tan Cheng Lock) won 9 out 12 seats
contested. Later they also won elections at Johor Bahru, Muar, Malacca town councils.

In 1955, British became more interested with them than IMP because they got more support
from the people.

Dato Onn Jaafar formed Parti Negara (Nation Party) in 1954 after IMP failed.

MIC joined them to form Alliance Party and they won 51 out of 52 seats in the first general
election that same year. Tunku Abdul Rahman became the first Chief Minister of the
Federation of Malaya.

1956, Tunku Abdul Rahman led a group to London to discuss about getting independence.
Members of the group were : 4 from Alliance Party, 4 from Malay rulers and representatives
from British government in Malaya.

8/2/1956, London Treaty was signed and date was set for independence. In June 1956,
Reid Commission led by Lord Reid drafted the constitution for the new country. The
commission included 2 from Britain, 1 India, 1 Pakistan, 1 Australia. The constitution was
passed by the Federal Legislative Council on 15/8/1957. It is based on parliamentary
democracy and constitutional monarchy.

31/8/1957, Federation of Malaya gained independence. _________________________

became the first Prime Minister.

Formation of Malaysia

Emergency in Malaysia was declared in 1960. The influence and activities of

the communist terrorists gradually decline to the success of the Briggs Plan
and Psychological Warfare conducted by Sir Gerald Templer.

There were lacks of support by the locals to the communist terrorists

activities.

The emergency era resulted in heavy casualties and economic destruction in

Malaya.

1961, the proposal for the formation of Malaysia was initially made - Malaya,
Singapore, Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak
Why was it introduced?

Security reason threat of communism. How did the British

eradicate Communism?
1.__________________2._________________________________

To balance racial composition

To speed up independence

Accelerate economic development

To hasten the attainment of the independence of Brunei, Sabah,

Sarawak and Singapore.

Support came from:

Opposition came from:

Malaya

Brunei

Singapore

Philippines

Sabah & Sarawak

Indonesia

British
1. Brunei

Resistance came from Brunei Peoples Party led by

________________________

Wanted to form a country called __________________________

The main issue that contributed to Bruneis withdrawal from Malaysia

is its oil.

2. Philippines

Believed that they had the right over Sabah

British and Malaya ignored this claim, consequently, Philippines ended

all ties with Malaysia

Philippiness President who strongly opposed to the formation of

Malaysia was ______________.

3. Indonesia

Enlarged Malaysia posed a threat to Indonesia's leadership in South

East Asia

Sukarno create bigger country called ____________________

Campaign/war held against Malaysia

Indonesian confrontation

Heavy propaganda, sabotages, guerilla bands, military attacks

etc.

Despite the instability created, Malaysia was officially born on

September 16th, 1963.

Confrontation intensified!

Road to Peace

1967, Sukarno was overthrown from power

June 1966, peace treaty between Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia

was established

THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE

Purpose:

To draw up a constitutional proposal for S&S

To work out the safeguards for the special interest of S&S

Report:

Published on 27 Feb 1963

Meet up 18 times

Imparts as S&Ss agreement of entry into Malaysia

Closely follows the Sabahs 20 Points

States the rights and privileges of S&S

Assures S&Ss social welfare will be uphold

Protects S&S from any extortions or imperialism

Guideline of a master plan in forming Malaysia

THE INTER-GOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE

Road to formation of Malaysia in the North Borneo States

Proposal by Tunku Abdul Rahman for proposal to group the Federated Malay
States, Singapore, Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei Darussalam into a
federation called Malaysia.

COBBOLD COMMISSION-Formed jointly by British and Malayan

governments on 16 January 1962. The Cobbold Commissions main
purpose was to examine the reaction of the people of Sabah and
Sarawak to the formation of Malaysia.

the planning was delicate and at times controversial within the territories
concerned and also within the British connection.

Sabah along with Labuan and Sarawak accepted the offer by Tunku Abdul
Rahman.

This decision was challenged by Indonesia and the Philippines.

Road to formation of Malaysia in the North Borneo States

To resolve this, Tunku Abdul Rahman, met with the leaders of Indonesia at
that time was President Sukarno and Macapagal of the Philippines in Manila
agreeing upon having the UN conduct a survey in Sabah and Sarawak.

On 1 August 1962, following a series of meetings in London, it was agreed

that the proposed Federation of Malaysia be officially declared on 31 August
1963

However Bruneis entry into Malaysia was unsuccessful and broke down in
June 1963.

Singapores Separation.

It was apparent that the races in Malaya and Singapore were dangerously
polarizing towards the Chinese and Malay extremes.

Speech delivered by the PAP leaders during their political campaign created
serious racial discomfort.

Lee Kuan Yew started Malaysia for Malaysian campaign with the aim to
fight for the equal right between Chinese and Malay.

The separate Singapore with the Federation of Malaysia was announced on

August 9th 1965.

FORMATION OF MALAYSIA ( ADDITIONAL )

Ideas for unifying the states
-

1888, British government discussed on the idea but didnt do anything.

1932, the idea came up again after British had control over the 9 Malay states, Sarawak and North
Borneo (Sabah) to ease administration but again no action was taken.

1949, the British coordinated administration but there was no political unification (each state was
separate).

Ideas of unification also came from the people living the states. David Marshall, Singapores first
chief minister gave the idea of combining with Malaya in 1955. This idea was repeated by Lee Kuan
Yew, the second chief minister in 1959.

Others included Ghazali Shafie (1954) and Tan Cheng Lock (1955).

Tunku Abdul Rahman also mentioned the idea in 1955 but did not repeat it after that. Only on
27/5/1961, in front of foreign reporters in Singapore, Tunku mentioned it together with outlines of the
idea.

States that are concerned the idea are :a) Federation of Malaya
b) Singapore
c) Brunei
d) Sarawak
e) North Borneo (Sabah)

Encouraging Factors
1) To expedite the independence of Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei, Singapore.
2) Stop communist threat and maintain peace :- communist attacks at the Kalimantan Border in Borneo

groups in Singapore ruling party, the Peoples Action Party (PAP) were inclined to communist

3) Maintain unity and stability among races.

4) Increase regional economic development.
5) Britain wanted to protect its investment in the region.
6) Foster a new identity based on sharing of cultural heritage.

Reactions from the states

1) Singapore :- generally the idea for formation was accepted
- however, the socialist United Peoples Party (UPP), a splinter group from Lee Kuan Yews PAP
were against it
- in 1961, PAP lost 2 by-elections. This shows that those who were against the formation idea got
support from some of the people
2) Brunei :
- Sultan of Brunei liked it but some of the people felt that Brunei should get independence
separately first
- opposition was from the Brunei Peoples Party led by A.M. Azahari. They wanted to form another
country called Kalimantan Utara, which included Brunei, Sarawak and Sabah. They even started
an armed revolution but was later defeated
3) Sabah and Sarawak :
- generally the idea was accepted
- opposition came from Sarawak Peoples Party (SUPP), Sarawak National Party (SNAP), and
Sarawak Nation Party (PANAS) and community leader from Sabah
- their reasons were fear of domination from Malaya, afraid that the position of their religion and
language might be affected and the Chinese traderss fear of competition from Singapore
businessmen
4) Malaya :
- before 1961, some people in Malaya were afraid of imbalance between races when Singapore is
included, but when Sabah and Sarawak was also included, the idea was accepted
- however, the Pan-Malayan Islamic Party (PAS), had the idea of uniting Malaysia, Indonesia and
Philippines
5) Britain :
- the Britain government supported the idea
- they were concerned about Singapores internal security and communist influence
- however, some minor problems were brought up :a) the Governors of Sabah and Sarawak questioned the proper time for forming Malaysia
b) the British worried that Malaya and Singapore might dominate Sabah and Sarawak

c) proposition from Tunku Abdul Rahman to change the status of British army base in
Singapore
the major question was should the formation be done quickly or not
at one time the situation was threatened by a statement from the governors of Sarawak and Sabah
that the people wanted to combine the two states first before joining Malaysia. But this was
proven wrong by the survey conducted by Cobbold Commissio

Steps towards formation

1) Visit to Sabah and Sarawak (Jun 1961) by Tunku Abdul Rahman to give explaination on the issue
2) Visit to Brunei (Julai 1961)
3) Discussion with Singapore (August 1961)
- Lee Kuan Yew said opinion from the Singapore people should be obtained first
- the discussion decided on Singapores autonomy on education and labour; Federal government
responsible for defence, foreign relations and internal security.
4) Discussion on Borneo interest (November 1961)
5) Unity Consultative Committee (Mid 1961)
- as a result from action taken by Commonwealth Parlianment Association
- committee members included leaders from states that is going to form Malaysia with Donlad
Stephens as the chairman
- the committee gathered information and gave explaination
6) Cobbold commission
- formed by Britain and Malaya to get opinion from Sabah and Sarawak people
- Lord Cobbold was the chairman with 2 members from Britain and 2 members from Malaya
- conducted survey from February April 1962. Their report published in August 1962 showed that
70% of the people agreed on the idea
7) Malaysian Pre-Bill Discussion (July 1962)
- before the Cobbold report was published, the British members form the commission stated that :a) Malaysia should be formed in two stages and the process will be complete after 5 years
b) the Governors of Sabah and Sarawak should still have some autonomy on certain affairs
- Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak and Tan Siew Sin went to London and managed to
convince the British to accept the results from the Malayan members from the commission and to
continue the idea
8) Inter-Government Committee (August 962)
- at this stage, the idea of formation was understood by the people
- the next step was to plan the form of the country
- members of the committee included Loard Landsdowne, Tun Abdul Razak, Donald Stephen,
Abang Haji Mustapha, Temenggung Jugah, 1 British representative and 1 representative from
Malaya
- under them were 5 smaller committee responsible for constitution, finance, law, judiciary and
government department
- the committee met 18 times from 30/8 26/11/1962 and came up with a draft constitution which
became the basis of the Malaysian treaty that was signed in London on 9/7/1963

9) Singapore Referendum Campaign (September 1962)

- due to the Singapore Discussion
- involved heated debate between those who supported the idea and those who opposed it in
campaigning to the people
- PAP who supported the idea of formation succeeded because they managed to convince majority
of Singapore people that :a) citizenship status remain
b) Singapores international trade will be affected if it does not join to form Malaysia
c) by joining Malaysia, the communist influence can be controlled
- 1/9/1962, referendum conducted and the result showed than 70% of the people agreed to the idea
10) United Nation Mission (1963)
- some uncertainties were still present from people of Sabah and Sarawak
- also due to reaction from Indonesia and Philippines
- Tunku Abdul Rahman met President Sukarno (Indonesia) and Macapagal (Philippines) in Manila
and agreed that UN conduct a survey in Sabah and Sarawak
- the mission was headed by Micheal more and the result showed that more than 2/3 of the people
agreed
11) Final meeting in London (7 9/1/1963)
- attended by Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and the British government
- Brunei backed off at the last moment and didnt join Malaysia
- 16/9/1963, Malaysia was officially formed
Brunei Issue
-

Brunei didnt join Malaysia because Sultan of Brunei didnt get what he wanted for Brunei.

Brunei wanted several things :1) 10 seats in the Parliament

2) continue control over its oil
3) financial autonomy at the early stage
4) maintain all it a investment
5) maintain its low tax rate
6) continue its education and welfare programmes
7) its security ensured by the federal government
8) seniority of its sultan in the Conference of Rulers is counted since the date he became Sultan
(1950) and not 1963

Most of the issues were resolved either by compromise or with Malaya accepting the conditions
except for No.2 and 8. With that Brunei decided not to join Malaysia

Response from Indonesia and Philippines

-

Philippines claimed that Sabah should be part of their country.

Even after the UN Mission report, Philippines still disagreed and stopped diplomatic ties with
Malaysia

Indonesia launched a confrontation on 20/1/1963 with the slogan Destroy Malaysia (Ganyang
Malaysia). Reasons were :-

a)
b)
c)
d)
-

they were not invited for discussion in forming Malaysia

Malaysia will weaken Indonesias importance and position in the region
Sukarno planned to form a bigger country called Great Indonesia (Indonesia Raya)
according to historians, Sukarno wanted to divert the peoples attention from internal problems in
Indonesia

Indonesia launched military attacks at the border of Sabah and Sarawak and landed soldiers in Johor.
(But Malaysia managed to control the situation in 1965).
Malaysia was seen as a neo-colonialist element.

Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) had influence over Sukarno and felt that forming Malaysia was a
threat to communism in the region.

1965, PKI failed in gaining control over Indonesia and Sukarno was overthrown. General Suharto
replaced him.

Peace discussions were held involving its foreign minister Adam Malik and relationship was
established in August 1966.

Singapore Retreats
-

PAP started to undermine MCAs role in guarding Chinese interest. This was disliked by MCA and
UMNO.

27/4/1964, Singapore proposed a United Opposition Front against the Alliance Party with the slogan
Malaysia for Malaysians.

Riots occurred on 21/7/1964 and 2/9/1964.

Extremist from UMNO eg. Jaafar Al-Bar called for the Malays to unite to go against Singapores
ideas.

Solution be separated from Malaysia.

7/8/1965, Lee Kuan Yew and Tunku Abdul Rahman signed an agreement to separate.