Brief History

In 1786 the sultan of Kedah granted the island of Penang to the British East India Company; until 1867 it was known to the British as Prince of Wales Island. Malacca was first occupied by the British from 1795 to 1818, and was formally ceded by the Dutch in 1825; meanwhile Singapore was acquired in 1819. Penang, Malacca, and Singapore were united in 1826 as the Straits Settlements, which came under British India until 1867, when they became a crown colony. The governors of the Straits Settlements (1826-1946) are listed below. During the Second World War the Straits Settlements, along with Britain's other territories in south-east Asia, were overrun by the Japanese, who were in occupation of Malacca and Penang from December 1941 and Singapore from February 1942.

Sarawak was granted in 1842 by the sultan of Brunei to James Brooke, who became the first 'white raja' of Sarawak, in return for his help in putting down a rebellion. Sarawak was then gradually enlarged, through further gifts from the sultan of Brunei, and through purchase from the British North Borneo Company. In 1946 Sarawak was given to the British crown by Sir Charles Vyner Brooke, and became a crown colony. Listed below are the rajas (1842-1946) and the governors (1946-63) of Sarawak. In 1963 Sarawak became part of the Federation of Malaysia

Labuan, a small island off Borneo, was ceded to Britain by the sultan of Brunei in 1846, with James Brooke acting as first lieutenant-governor from 1847; it became a crown colony in 1848, but was entrusted to the British North Borneo Company in 1890 and then to the governor of the Straits Settlements in 1905. The lieutenant-governors (1847-56) and governors (1856-90) of Labuan are listed below.

North Borneo was ceded by the sultan of Brunei to a British syndicate led by Alfred Dent in 1877; from 1881 it was administered by the British North Borneo Company, becoming a full protectorate in 1882. (Brunei itself became a British protected state in 1888 and a full protectorate in 1906.) During the Second World War North Borneo was occupied by the Japanese. In 1946 North Borneo, now incorporating Labuan, became a British crown colony. In 1963 North Borneo, renamed Sabah, joined the Federation of Malaysia (see below). The governors of British North Borneo (1881-1963) are listed below.

Imperial History of Tanganyika
Austin in Malaya
British residents were appointed in Perak and Selangor in 1874, and in Negri Sembilan and Pahang in 1888; these four states formed the Federated Malay States in 1896, with the government in the hands of a resident-general (from 1911 chief secretary, and from 1936 federal secretary) responsible to the governor of the Straits Settlements acting as high commissioner for the Federated Malay States. The administrators of the Federated Malay States from 1896 to 1942 are listed below. From 1904 the governor of the Straits Settlements also acted as high commissioner for the 'unfederated Malay states' (Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu, joined in 1914 by Johor).

In 1946 Singapore became a separate colony, while Malacca and Penang were united with the federated and unfederated Malay states to form the Union of Malaya. This was replaced by the Federation of Malaya in 1948, with the governor elevated to a high commissioner. The Federation of Malaya achieved internal self-government in 1955 and independence in 1957. Below are listed the governor (1946-8), high commissioners (1948-57), and chief minister (1955-7) of the Federation of Malaya.

In 1957 Tunku Abdul Rahman became the first prime minister of independent Malaya.

flag
Imperial Flag
map of Malaya
1840 Map of South East Asia
1854 Map of South East Asia
Straits Settlements Map
1901 Map of South East Asia
Malaya 1955 Map
Political/Communications Map of Malaya
Map of CT Units in Malayan Emergency
Physical Map of Malaya
Penang and Northern Malaya 1962 Map
1965 Map of Singapore and Southern Malaya
Images of Imperial Malaya
Historical Malaya
Images
National Archive Malaya Images
Video
Malay States, 1939
a British pre-war perspective on life in the Malaysian archipelago.
Administrators
1867 - 1957
Individuals
1786 - 1957
Articles
Operation Sharp End: Smashing Terrorism in Malaya 1948 - 1958
This series of recollections shows the sheer variety of jobs and situations that members of the Malayan Police had to undertake during the decade of the Malayan Emergency. In many ways the police were more of a paramilitary force with enormous counter-insurgency responsibilities placed upon them. It is also the account of an ultimately highly successful collaboration at all levels although many did indeed pay a high price indeed to keep the Communist threat at bay.

My Service in Malaya
by Martin Lewis

Jungle Patrols
David Brent explains the challenges and difficulties of sweeping the Malayan jungles in the search for Communist Terrorists in the 1950s. He details the cooperation required between the various police, paramilitary and army units in coordinating and conducting these necessary but unpleasant jungle patrols.

Encounters In Malayan Police Work
David Brent recalls the sounds, sights, textures and smells that he had enjoyed growing up in Malaya and later serving as a Malay Police officer during the height of the Malayan Emergency. He remembers many of the intresting characters he met and worked with and discusses some of the police work that had necessarily been modified by the Communist Insurgency.

The Malayan Emergency
David Brent explains how and why the British were able to defeat the Communist insurgency that raged in the Malay Peninsula from 1948 to 1960. He emphasises the importance of clear goals, intelligence gathering systems and sensitivity to the local culture and people and their political aspirations.

Jungle Trip from Grik to Temengor in Upper Perak District, Malaya
Mrs. M. C. Barkway explains the remarkable lengths that sometimes had to be undertaken in 1930s Malaya to visit schools in her capacity as a school inspector. She recalls one particular journey which entailed travelling through the jungle with elephants to visit a remote school in the jungled mountains before returning home on a raft down the Temengor and Perak rivers

Berkeley of Upper Perak
An account of Hubert Berkeley who was one of the more idiosyncratic imperial administrators in the remote parts of Northern Malaya from 1891 to 1925.

An Adventurous Trip to Upper Perak, Malaya, in 1950
R. E. Pitt explains the difficulties and pitfalls of travelling around Northern Malaya at the height of the 'Emergency' whilst trying to continue the work of the Public Words Department.

Emergency Days, Malaya 1948 - 50
R. R. H. Horsley recalls the security arrangements put into place whilst working with the Department of Mines in Malaya as the colony attempted to keep its economy going through the darkest days of the Emergency.

A Sketch of the Origins and Development of the Police in Malaya from 1786 - 1948
John H Grieve gives a brief oveview of the history of the Malayan police force from its inception in Penang in the 18th Century to the eve of the Malayan Emergency in 1948.

The Malayan Civil Service
Roderick MacLean gives a brief overview of the development and administration of the Malayan Civil Service from its ancestry in Penang in the Eighteent Century to its culmination with Independence for Malaysia and beyond.

Malayan Tales
David Brent recalls his time in the Malayan Police as they attempted to deal with the opium trade on the East coast of Malaya in the 1950s.

How Government Officers became Official Opium Dealers in the old Federated Malay States
J. S. A. Lewis, O.B.E. explains the odd series of events that saw British officials become involved in the sale and distribution of Opium throughout Malaya and his own role in permitting and regulating that trade. He further details how and why the government eventually wound down and ultimately banned the sale of Opium.

More Bumps in the Night
J. S. A. Lewis gives a vivid account of some ghostly goings-on whilst a custom's officer in Depression hit Malaya in the 1930s.

Memories of The Malayan Emergency
Brian Stewart remembers his time in Malaya working for the Chinese Secretariat (or Chinese Protectorate) which became an unexpectedly important institution in the fight against the Chinese rebels during the Emergency.

The British Return to Malaya in 1945
John Gullick explains his role in accompanying the British invasion of Malaya in September 1945 and attempting to reassert control in a land torn apart by war. He also explains how he had to deal with their recent allies turned rivals the MPAJA.

An Experiment in Democracy
John Gullick explains the role he played in helping to organise and run the first general election in Malaya in 1955 and how it helped embed a post-colonial transition of power.

Signed, Sealed and Delivered
John Gullick recalls his role in ensuring that the Negri Sembilan rulers could sign and seal the 1948 Federation of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur.

The Jester
John Gullick recalls the stories of 'Old Sinister' better known as Arthur Frederick Richards, 1st Baron Milverton.

Remembrance of Things Past
John Gullick considers the selective memories that have made it difficult for people to appreciate the constitutional contribution made by Britain to modern day Malaysia.

Malaya - A Magical Experience
David Brent explains how even the most mundane police duties could be transformed by the magical quality of the nature and fauna of Malaya.

A Brief Spell on the Frontier
Russell Jones recounts what it was like patrolling the Malaya - Thailand border in the late 1940s.

Resources
British Documents on the End of Empire: Malaysia
Timeline
1786 Penang ceded to East India Company by Sultan of Kedah
1819 Singapore Island is leased to the East India Company
1824 Malacca transferred to British control. Singapore leased in perpetuity
1826 The three become known as the Straights Settlements
1867 The Straights Settlements become a British Crown Colony
1870s First trials of rubber trees
1896 Federated Malay States formed from Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang
1904 The Unfederated States of Kelantan, Kedah, Terengganu and Perilis accept British advisors
1914 Johor accepts British advisors
1941 Japan invades Malaya
1942-45 Malaya and Singapore are occupied by the Japanese
1948-60 Communist insurgents cause 'Emergency' to be declared
1957 Federation of Malaya achieves independence
1959 Singapore achieves independence
1963 Malaysia formed
1965 Singapore withdraws from Malaysia. Becomes a city state.
Further Reading
Tales from the South China Seas
by Charles Allen

Swettenham
by Henry Sackville Barlow

A Rough Passage: Memories of Empire - Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Ken Barnes

A View From Within: The Last Years of British Rule in South-East Asia
by Christopher Blake

Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress
by Peter Elphick

The Incorporated Wife
by Hilary Callan

Hunting Terrorists in the Jungle
by John Chynoweth

Retired Except on Demand: The Life of Dr. Cicely Williams
by Sally Craddock

Crowded Hour
by Sjovald Cunyngham-Brown

Playing for Malaya: A Eurasian Family and the Pacific War
by Rebecca Kenneison

A Plain Russet-coated Captain
by John Day

Woodsmoke and Temple Flowers
by Jean Falconer

Hardly Ever a Dull Moment (History of Development Studies)
by Ernest (Fred) Fisk

Four Wheels and Frontiers: The First Overland Singapore To England Willy's Jeep Expedition
by Roy Follows

Clifford: Imperial Proconsul
by Harry A. Gailey

An Eastern Cadet's Anecdotage
by Andrew Gilmour

My role in the rehabilitation of Singapore: 1946-1953
by Andrew Gilmour

Goodbye to Empire: A Doctor Remembers
by John Goodall

Rulers and Residents: Influence and Power in the Malay States 1870-1920 (South-East Asian Historical Monographs)
by John M Gullick

Tales From The Godown
by Cecil Gutteridge

Tock tock birds - A Spider in the Web of International Terrorism
by Tim Hatton

British Malaya: A bibliographical and biographical compendium
by Robert Heussler

Completing a Stewardship: The Malayan Civil Service, 1942-1957: Malayan Civil Service, 1942-57 (Contributions in Comparative Colonial Studies)
by Robert Heussler

British Rule in Malaya: The Malayan Civil Service and Its Predecessors, 1867-1942
by Robert Heussler

From Syonan to Fuji-Go: The Story of the Catholic Settlement of Bahau in WWII Malaya
by Fiona Hodgkins

The Iconography Of Independence: Freedoms At Midnight
edited by Robert Holland

Too much to Tell
by Molly Huggins

Every Road Leads Back Home
by Dora Hutchings

Life in the Colonial Prison Service
by S. E. Hutchings

The Last Post: End of Empire in the Far East
by John Keay

British Civilians and the Japanese War in Malaya and Singapore, 1941-45
by Joseph Kennedy

Family of Ginger Griffins
by Pamela Lattimer

Sunset of the Raj - Fall of Singapore 1942
by Cecil Lee

Changi, the lost years: A Malayan diary, 1941-1945
by T.P.M. Lewis

My First Alphabet
by J Loch

Eastern Customs - The Customs Service in British Malaya and the Opium Trade
by Derek Mackay

Tinggal kenangan: The memoirs of Dato Sir Mahmud bin Mat
by Dato Sir Mahmud bin Mat

A Chequered Career
by W. P. Mathieson,

Colonial Postscript: The Diary of a District Officer
by John Morley

My Other Family: An Artist-Wife in Singapore 1946 - 1948
by Patricia Morley

Rainbow Through the Rain
by Geoffrey Scott Mowat

Jungle Soldier: The True Story of Freddie Spencer Chapman
by Brian Moynahan

Copper Mandarin
by Gerald Murphy

A Fighting Retreat: British Empire, 1947-1997
by Robin Neillands

Eastern Windows
by Francis Ommanney

A Spoonful of Rice with Salt
by George Patterson

Old Sinister: A Memoir of Sir Arthur Richards
by Richard Peel

The Memoirs of a Malayan Official
by Victor Purcell

Nippon Slaves
by Lionel de Rosario

Malcolm MacDonald: Bringing an End to Empire
by Clyde Sanger

Footprints, the Memoirs of Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke
by Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke

Out in the Midday Sun
by Margaret Shennan

Taman Budiman: Memoirs of an Unorthodox Civil Servant
by Mubin Sheppard

A Town Like Alice
by Nevil Shute

Smashing Terrorism in the Malayan Emergency
by Brian Stewart

Sunset Of The Empire In Malaya: A New Zealander's Life in the Colonial Education Service
by Thomas K Taylor

Facing the Bow: European Women in Colonial Malaya 1919-1945
by Jean Teasdale

Six Years in the Malay Jungle
by Carveth Wells

A Son of the Raj
by Leslie Wilson

Start from Alif, Count from One: An Autobiographical Memoire:
by Sir Richard Winstedt

Films
A Town Like Alice
Amazon
Discussion Lists
Sejarah Melayu


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