Malay Rulers Research Articles

British Relations with the Malay Rulers from Decentralization to Malayan Independence, 1930–1957. By Simon C. Smith. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1995. x, 232 pp. $59.00 (cloth).

British Relations with the Malay Rulers from Decentralization to Malayan Independence, 1930–1957. By Simon C. Smith. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1995. x, 232 pp. $59.00 (cloth).

British Relations with the Malay Rulers from Decentralization to Malayan Independence, 1930-1957.

British Relations with the Malay Rulers from Decentralization to Malayan Independence, 1930-1957.

Book Reviews

Book Reviews

British relations with the Malay rulers from decentralization to Malayan independence, 1930-1957

British relations with the Malay rulers from decentralization to Malayan independence, 1930-1957

Accommodation and Acceptance of Non-Muslim Communities within the Malaysian Political System

To what extent has the Malaysian political system accommodatednon-Malay and non-Muslim communities? Why has this happened, andhow should political accommodation develop in the future?BackgroundTo understand the accommodation of non-Malay and non-Muslimcommunities, one must have a clear view of Malaysian history. Present-dayMalaysieit is worth repeating over and over agaik-evolved from aMalay-Muslim- polity. The illustrious Melaka kingdom, with Malay as itslanguage and Islam as its religion, marked the genesis of this polity, which,in a sense, has remained an integral part of this region for more than fivecenturies. Although this kingdom ended in 1511, its successor states retainedthe defining characteristics of Malay-Muslim polities in relation tolanguage, religion, culture, politics, and administration. British colonialismacknowledged these sultanates as Malay-Muslim polities and concludedtreaties and agreements with them on that basis.The vast demographic transformation wrought by colonialism did notchange the nature of these polities, for the Chinese and Indian immigrantsof the early twentieth century remained largely “on the outside”: they werepart of the economic enclaves created by colonial rule. Neither the colonialadministration nor the Malay rulers regarded them as citizens.It was only after the Second World War that the situation changed dramatically.Many Chinese and Indians-the overwhelming majority ofwhom were first generation immigrants-were given citizenship rights on ...

UMNO Leaders and Malay Rulers: The Erosion of a Special Relationship

IN JANUARY 1993, the Malaysian parliament stripped the Malay rulers of their legal immunity.' Meanwhile, UMNO Baru, the backbone of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, withdrew all privileges not provided for under the constitution and considered removing the prefix from the titles of state institutions. These actions appeared to be in response to public outcry over royal transgression of the law. Yet, the campaign against royalty is all the more interesting given the fact that most of the rulers had close personal ties with the UMNO leadership and had helped entrench the latter's dominance over the Malaysian political process. Why then did the UMNO elites move against the sultans when they had all along tolerated royal misdemeanours? This article will argue that the declining relevance of feudal institutions in UMNO Baru's strategy of political dominance and its elites' perception of the rulers as potential contenders for executive power culminated in the revision of the position of the rulers in Malaysian politics. However, the process of redefinition itself was constrained by other factors that were beyond the control of the ruling regime.

The Rise, decline and survival of the Malay rulers during the colonial period, 1874–1957

(1994). The Rise, decline and survival of the Malay rulers during the colonial period, 1874–1957. The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History: Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 84-108.

Malaysia 1991: Consolidation, Challenges and New Directions

Malaysian politics, despite rapid socio-economic change, and with it, suggestions of nascent class pressures, has continued to be fashioned by the competing claims of ethnic groups, the challenges and demands of economic development, and Centre State relations. Additionally, the unceasing tussle between the forces of Islam and secularism, and the controversies over the proper role of Malay hereditary rulers as Constitutional monarchs and over the independence of the Judiciary and the proper role of the Bar Council have contributed to the complexity and richness of Malaysian political life. The governing Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, after the political turmoil of the late 1980s, appears to have consolidated its grip on the political centre. The ending of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1990 provided the country and its leaders with the opportunity to re-examine the country's politico-economic blueprint. This re-examination was conducted in the context of the lessons learned from the partial success of the NEP, the high growth years at the tail-end of the NEP period, a fresh electoral victory that confirmed the BN's strong grip on Central governmental power, and the real prospects of a harsh international economic climate wherein competitive edge and productivity are crucial ingredients of eco nomic success.

Malayan Union Citizenship: Constitutional Change and Controversy in Malaya, 1942–48

Responding to the new forces unleashed by the Second World War, Whitehall planners devised a new scheme that envisaged the creation of Malayan Union Citizenship. In a fundamental break from past practice, the new scheme sought to confer citizenship privileges on Malaya's non-Malay population. In the aftermath of the War the implementation of the new policy embroiled the Colonial Office in a major constitutional controversy that threatened not only Britain's traditional relationship with the indigenous Malay community but also the bases of British rule in Malaya.

British Rule in Malaya: The Malayan Civil Service and Its Predecessors, 1867–1942. By Robert Heussler. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press (Contributions in Comparative Colonial Studies, no. 6), 1981. xx, 356 pp. Map, Photographs, Bibliography, Index. $37.50.

British Rule in Malaya: The Malayan Civil Service and Its Predecessors, 1867–1942. By Robert Heussler. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press (Contributions in Comparative Colonial Studies, no. 6), 1981. xx, 356 pp. Map, Photographs, Bibliography, Index. $37.50.

British rule in Malaya: The Malayan civil service and its predecessors, 1867‐1942, Robert Heussler, Clio Press, Oxford, 1981, 356 pp.

Public Administration and DevelopmentVolume 3, Issue 2 p. 175-176 Book Review British rule in Malaya: The Malayan civil service and its predecessors, 1867-1942, Robert Heussler, Clio Press, Oxford, 1981, 356 pp. A. H. M. Kirk-Greene, A. H. M. Kirk-Greene St Antony's College, University of OxfordSearch for more papers by this author A. H. M. Kirk-Greene, A. H. M. Kirk-Greene St Antony's College, University of OxfordSearch for more papers by this author First published: April/June 1983 https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230030211AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume3, Issue2April/June 1983Pages 175-176 RelatedInformation

British Rule in Malaya.

British Rule in Malaya.

The Grooming of an Elite: Malay Administrators in the Federated Malay States, 1903–1941

Between 1874 and 1888, British colonial rule was imposed on the Malay states of Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Pahang later collectively called the Federated Malay States (FMS). Based on the various Anglo-Malay treaties, which maintained the fiction that the British Resident was an adviser to the Malay ruler, the British established a form of administration generally known as a system of indirect rule. In this new order, the Malay rulers retained their constitutional and ceremonial role, while the exercise of executive power was held firmly in British hands. In the rush for establishing a modern administration and accelerating economic development late in the nineteenth century, hardly any attention was paid to training Malays to share executive power with British officials at the higher level of government or to compete effectively with Indians, Eurasians, and Chinese for subordinate appointments. This sin of omission began to stir the British conscience at the turn of the century and, for the next four decades, the British pursued a policy of actively promoting Malay employment in the government. This paper discusses the central component of this policy, namely, the training, recruitment, and development of Malay administrators in the FMS.

British Planning for Post-war Malaya

There is perhaps no more startling example in the history of the British Empire of a casual, almost imperceptible shift of attitude in the Colonial Office having such dramatic repercussions as in Malaya in 1874. Authorised to “enquire and report” into conditions in the western Malay states, the new Governor, Sir Andrew Clarke, found himself carried away by forces on the spot, which had been building up for twenty years while the British government maintained a strict policy of non-involvement. Within weeks of arriving in Malaya, Clarke made agreements with three Malay rulers for British Residents to be attached to their states, and laid the foundations for the relentless spread of British protection over the whole peninsula. These repercussions mystified Colonial Office officials at the time and left future generations of historians to unravel the mystery of what had happened and why.

Britain's Search for Security in North Malaya, 1886–1897

In the last quarter of the nineteenth century Britain converted her paramountcy into effective control in the central and southern states of the Malay Peninsula (except Johore) through the device of British Residents whose advice the several Malay rulers were obliged to accept in “all matters of administration”. But strong local pressure for the extension of this system northwards into the Siamese part of the Peninsula was neutralized by the Foreign Office which sought alternative means of safeguarding British interests there. This paper examines the various arrangements considered when the intrusion of another European power appeared likely, culminating in a secret convention between Britain and Stem signed in April 1897.

Sir Frank Swettenham and the Federation of the Malay States

Modern Malaysian constitutional history can largely be analysed in terms of the fortunes of three federations: the Federated Malay States (1896), the Federation of Malaya (1948) and the Federation of Malaysia (1963). The last two are recent enough to fall within the domain of contemporary history. Still, it is possible to suggest that they share at least two characteristics with the first. To begin with, each assumed a highly centralized form of administration at the same federal capital of Kuala Lumpur. Protests over such centralizing tendencies led in the original case to the ‘decentralization movement’ fromc. 1920 toc. 1940, and in the third instance to Singapore's separation from the Federation of Malaysia in August 1965. Secondly, all three federations witnessed controversies before their final inauguration, and political conflicts thereafter. The F.M.S. was born only after two Colonial Governors had reported in favour of the proposal, and discontent among the Malay rulers was partly responsible for the decentralization movement just mentioned. The Federation of 1948 was partly a British attempt to arrive at amodus vivendiwith the Malay nationalists after the post-war Malayan Union scheme proved abortive, and it was attended by a Communist revolt and growing nationalist demands for self-government. The Malaysian Federation was the product of a ‘Battle for Merger’ (to use Mr Lee Kuan Yew's phrase), and created or exacerbated internal social and political tensions in addition to arousing Indonesian hostility.

American Educational Policy in the Philippines and the British Policy in Malaya, 1898-1935

The period under review begins with the American conquest of the Philippines and ends in the year when the Islands were granted Commonwealth status. British rule in Malaya, however, dates from 1786 and by 1935 the country was still very much under British control politically and economically. In this article an attempt will be made to show the interrelationships between political, economic and educational policies and practices in these two countries during that period.

The Malay Founder of Medieval Malacca

It is many years since at an Oriental Congress in Paris Dr. C. O. Blagden started the comparative study of the genealogy of the Malay rulers of medieval Malacca, comparing the account in the then best known version of the Sejarah Melayuor “ Malay Annals ” with the list of rulers recorded in Chinese sources (Essays Relating to Indochina, 2nd series, vol. 1, Notes on Malay Archipelago and Malacca, W. P. Groeneveldt) and in d′Albuquerque′s Commentaries (Hakluyt Soc, 1927). Since Dr. Blagden wrote his paper, there have been pubKshed under my name two other Malay sources for the genealogy of the Malacca dynasty: a chapter from a MS. of the Bustan al-Salatin by Shaikh Nur al-din (JRAS., Straits Branch, 1920, No. 81, pp. 39–47) and an earlier version of the “ Malay Annals ” (JRAS., Malayan Branch, 1938, No. 16). There is also new material in the Suma Orientalis of Tomé Pires (Hakluyt Soc., 1944, vol. ii, pp. 229–259). And there is a valuable paper on the Founder of Malacca by P. V. van Stein Callenfels (JRASMB., 1937, pt. ii, pp. 160–6).

Indian Influence in the Malay World

It might be thought that geography would have opened the Malay archipelago predominantly to the influence of China, but oddly enough the impact of her great civilization on the Malay world has been slight. As early as the seventh century a.d. Chinese monks sailed down to Sumatra to study the Buddhist canon, and eight centuries later the Sultans of Malacca and other Malay princes were still sending envoys to China as Malay rulers had done for hundreds of years. But China's difficult language and intricate ideographs, and her want of missionary zeal and of continuous overseas imperialism were barriers to other than trade relations. To the western half of the Malay archipelago India was nearer, and India got first into the field. With little exaggeration it has been said of Europe that it owes its theology, its literature, its science, and its art to Greece: with no greater exaggeration it may be said of the Malayan races that till the nineteenth century they owed everything to India: religions, a political system, medieval astrology and medicine, literature, arts and crafts.