The Functioning of a Colonial Society, 1919–57

Abstract

By 1919 the entire Malay peninsula had come under some kind of British control. The Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States (FMS) had been under British influence longest, and consequently their various institutions were more closely co-ordinated than those in the Unfederated Malay States (UMS). The latter continued to maintain their own system of governance but came under increasing British pressure urging incorporation into the FMS. Despite this pressure the unfederated states maintained their status till the outbreak of World War II.