Malaysia 1965: Challenging the Terms of 1957

Abstract

The most important event in Malaysia in 1965 was the separation of Singapore on August 9. Separation has been interpreted abroad as due to a clash of Malay and Chinese interests. It is better attributed in the first instance to the inability or unwillingness of the central government to allow a major political figure an important role in national decision making, and in the second to an unsuccessful challenge by the Singapore government of the formal and informal rules by which politics are conducted in Malaya. The provisions of the Malayan constitution of 1957 reflected the division of political and economic power between the major ethnic groups in the peninsula at that time. The division of power then was the result of historical circumstances as well as nearly five years of political bargaining. The bargaining had been between the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA), which together with the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) made up the Alliance. Formed in 1952, the Alliance, as the party of independence, won an overwhelming victory in Federal elections in 1955. This gave Alliance leaders the right to draft the 1957 constitution of independent Malaya. They aimed to perpetuate their respective political and economic positions, which they and the departing British considered the best obtainable for their communities and in the best interest of the country as a whole. The formal terms of 19571 gave the preponderance of political power to the Malays by allowing them citizenship on a more liberal basis than other communities. Islam was made the official religion, and Malay, the sole official language from 1967. The Supreme Head of State was chosen from and by the nine Malay sultans. The now famous Article 153 gave special to the Malays in respect to education, positions in the public service, and the issuance of business permits and licenses. Without such privileges the Malays were believed, for historical and cultural reasons, to be at a disadvantage with non-Malays in competitive situations. The Chinese, on the other hand, were given fairly wide opportunity to become citizens, and all persons born in Malaya on or after August 31, 1957, regardless of race, were citizens.2 Outside of government, the use of the Chinese and other languages was not restricted. Chinese property and investments