Q. What problems are germane to the decolonization process in Malay Peninsula? [UPSC GS1-2017]
Ans:
Malay Peninsula (except the southwestern Thailand as Thailand was never formally under colonial rule) was under British influence since late 18th century. The decolonization of Malaya Peninsula was a part of the series of decolonization movements going across the Asia and Africa after world war II and it got full independence by late 1950s. ©crackingcivilservices.com
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Malaya was liberated from Japanese occupation in 1945, but there were some problems to be faced before the British were prepared to withdraw.
- It was a complex area which would be difficult to organize.
- It consisted of nine states each ruled by a sultan, two British settlements, Malacca and Penang, and Singapore, a small island less than a mile from the mainland.
- The population was multiracial: mostly Malays and Chinese, but with some Indians and Europeans as well.
- In preparation for independence it was decided to group the states and the settlements into the Federation of Malaya ( 1948), while Singapore remained a separate colony.
- Each state had its own legislature for local affairs; the sultans retained some power but the central government had firm overall control.
- All adults had the vote and this meant that the Malays, the largest group, usually dominated the affairs.
- Economic problems:
- Malaysia’s roads and infrastructure were greatly damaged by Second World War, they had to be rebuilt.
- International commodity prices and exchange rates were in a constant state of flux due to the Post-WW2 reorganizations across the world.
- 1/3rd of Malaysian jobs and majority of its foreign exchange earning came from rubber plantations but with the invention of synthetic rubber, the owners were gradually cutting down wages and workforce. The resultant unemployment was a breeding ground for communist insurgency and political unrest.
- Therefore, government of Malaysia lacked the fiscal resources to carry out developmental activities.
- Chinese communist guerrillas led by Chin Peng, who had played a leading role in the resistance to the Japanese, now began to stir up strikes and violence against the British, in support of an independent communist state.
- The British decided to declare a state of emergency in 1948, and in the end they dealt with the communists successfully, though it took time, and the state of emergency remained in force until 1960.
- Their tactics were to resettle into special guarded villages all Chinese suspected of helping the guerrillas. It was made clear that independence would follow as soon as the country was ready for it; this ensured that the Malayas remained firmly pro-British and gave very little help to the communists, who were Chinese.
- The move towards independence was accelerated when the Malay Party , under their able leader Tunku Abdul Rahman, joined forces with the main Chinese and Indian groups to form the Alliance Party, which won 51 out of the 52 seats in the 1955 elections. This seemed to suggest stability and the British were persuaded to grant full independence in 1957, when Malaya was admitted to the Commonwealth.
- Formation and collapse of Federation:
- The Federation of Malaysia was set up in 1963.
- Malaya was running well under Tunku’s leadership, and its economy, based on exports of rubber and tin, was the most prosperous in south-east Asia.
- In 1961, when the Tunku proposed that Singapore and three other British colonies, North Borneo (Sabah), Brunei and Sarawak, should join Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia, Britain agreed.
- After a United Nations investigation team reported that a large majority of the populations concerned was in favour of the union, the Federation of Malaysia was officially proclaimed (September 1963).
- But, Brunei decided not to join, and eventually became an independent state within the Commonwealth (1984).
- Although Singapore decided to leave the Federation to become an independent republic in 1965, the rest of the Federation continued successfully.
- The Federation of Malaysia was set up in 1963.
To conclude, poverty removal, economic development, racial integration, communist insurgency and merger of Singapore were the prominent challenges germane with the decolonization of Malay peninsula. ©crackingcivilservices.com
