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CHAPTER 2 : POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS AFTER INDEPENDENCE

2.0 Definition of nation-building :
 Process of constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. This process aims at the unification of the people
within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. Nation building can involve the use of propaganda or major
infrastructure development to foster social harmony and economic growth.

 Process whereby a society with diverse origins, histories, languages, cultures and religions and religions come together within the
boundaries of a sovereign state with a unified constitutional and legal dispensation, a national public education system, an integrated
national economy, shared symbols and values, as equals, to work towards eradicating the divisions and injustices of the past; to foster
unity; and promote a countrywide conscious sense of being proudly South African, committed to the country and open to the continent
and the world.

 A distinctive concept which relates to the development of politics characterised by stability and the people’s firm commitment to it. To
achieve this, nation building involves the utilisation of skills of social and political engineering. The index of nation building is the
degree of political cohesion and integration.

2.1 The Formation of Malaysia

2.1.1 Factors for the formation of Malaysia
 Independence through unification
 Understanding for development
 Ethnic balance and unity
 Collective fight against communism
 Economic Cooperation
 United in International Relations

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2.3 The Emergency Period 1948-1960 Reactions towards MCP and Communism Communist uprising in Malaya

 Communism: came to Malaya during  Malays:  MCP failed to spread their ideology
the 1920s through a branch of the Against communism; through subtle means;
Kuomintang Party; It was contrary to the teachings  Resorted to violence & guerrilla
 Malayan Communist Party (MCP) was of Islam. tactics;
established in 1930;  Indians:  Also influence by change in MCP
 Membership: majority Chinese; Suspicious towards the MCP; leadership & the Asian Congress of
 Main goal: overthrow British & form Members were mostly Communist Youth;
Communist Republic of Malaya; Chinese.  June 1948: MCP launched an armed
 Formed the Malayan Races Liberation  Chinese: revolt in Malaya;
Army @ Three Stars; Most were against the MCP;  1948 – 1951: MCP attacked estates,
 Formed the Min Yuen (supply & spy Focused towards improving mines, police stations & the public;
units): their socio-economic Aim: cripple the economy of Malaya.
Obtain food & medical supplies condition.
for MCP guerrillas in the jungle;
Obtain info on British activities.

Declaration of Emergency Briggs Plan Military Measures

16 June 1948: British HC, Sir Edward  Introduced by Sir Harold Briggs;  6 Oct 1951: Sir Henry Gurney was
Gent, declared state of Emergency in  Aim: relocate Chinese squatters from killed by communists;
Perak & Johor; the edge of the forest to new villages  1952: Replaced by Sir Gerald
17 June 1948: state of Emergency & launch starvation movement against Templer;
declared for whole of Malaya; the MCP;  Used military tactics:
23 July 1948: MCP was officially  Began on 1st June 1950; Deployed 13 battalions of
outlawed.  By February 1952: >400,000 squatter English soldiers, Malays &

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Emergency Laws 1948: gave police & relocated to +400 new villages; Gurkhas;
army power to arrest/detain suspected  Restrict the Chinese from supplying Training 67,000 special
communists w’out trial; food, medicine & info to MCP Malay soldiers;
Roadblocks & curfews were imposed in guerrillas hiding in the jungle; Formed a home guard system
active areas;  Assessment: weakened the Min Yuen with 210,000 members;
Intro of the National Registration activities & forced the communists out Recruit help from the
System: of the jungle. Commonwealth military.
Citizens aged 12 > must register  British launched aggressive attacks
& own an ID card. on the communists;
The British implemented several  Prevented food from being smuggled
measures to combat the MCP. to MCP guerrillas.

Psychological Warfare (Templer Baling Negotiations End of Emergency Period

Plan)

 Initiated by Sir Gerald Templer  28 & 29 December 1955 at Baling,  Reasons for MCP’s failure:
Made citizenship easier for non- Kedah;  Govt tactics;
Malays;  Govt representatives: Tunku Abdul  Lack of local support;
Grant pardon to MCP members Rahman, David Marshall & Tan  Lack of protection & support from
who surrendered; Cheng Lock; other communist countries.
Rewarded those who provided  MCP representatives: Chin Peng,  31 July 1960: Tunku Abdul Rahman
info on communist activities; Chen Tien & Rashid Maidin; officially proclaimed the end of the
Distributing pamphlets calling  Negotiations failed: Emergency.
for the MCP to surrender;  MCP’s request to be legally 
Introduced the “White Area” recognised was rejected by the govt;
and “Black Area”;  Govt’s counter offer & call to lay
Enforced curfews in areas where down their arms was rejected the
soldiers were hunting MCP.

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communists.

Impact of the emergency period

Positive Effects: Negative Effects:

Created unity among the citizens of  Loss of life (9581 MCP members, 2461 civilians, 1851 members of the security
Malaya; force);
Proof to the British that Malaya was  Loss of property;
ready for independence.  Economy was crippled;
 Widened the social gap;
 Increased racial tensions.

THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA

The idea was proposed several times:

 Since 1887: merge Malaya with Strait Settlements & Crown Colonies in Borneo;
 Proposed again in 1931(2) to protect British interests;
 Also suggested by Ghazali Shafie in 1954;
 Proposed by Tunku Abdul Rahman, David Marshall & Tan Cheng Lock in 1955;
 Suggested by Lee Kuan Yew in 1959;
 27 May 1961: serious proposal by T.A.R.

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REACTIONS TOWARDS MALAYSIA

 Sabah:  Sarawak:  Brunei:

Chinese population Chinese community did not support the The Sultan supported the idea;
opposed idea Others: wanted independence first before joining
Bumiputeras were divided Malaysia;
Rekindled the spirit of Bumiputeras were highly divided Parti Rakyat Brunei, led by A.M Azahari opposed the
nationalism idea:
Formation of political Also renewed spirit of nationalism Wanted to merge Brunei with Sabah & Sarawak to
parties (USNO, UKNO, form North Kalimantan.
UCNO etc) Formation of political parties (SNAP, Brunei eventually withdrew from the proposal:
SUPP, PANAS etc) Caused by dissatisfaction:
o Position of the Sultan within the Conference
of Rulers;
o Status of Brunei within Malaysia;
o Financial-related issues (oil).

 Singapore:  Indonesia:  The Philippines:

Generally well accepted; Strongly opposed the idea
Support from People’s Reasons: Also opposed the idea
Action Party (PAP) under T.A.R did not consult with Sukarno Reasons:
Lee Kuan Yew; Formation of Malaysia would prevent Pres. Macapagal claimed rights over Sabah
Opposed by the socialist Indonesia from creating Indonesia Raya Accused M’sia as unstable & open to communist
United People’s Party Accused Malaysia of being a neo- subversion
(UPP); colonialism plot M’sia cannot protect North Borneo from communists
UPP wanted independence 20 January 1963: Plans to establish MAPHILINDO
under a different ideology. Indonesia launched the
Confrontation policy

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Opposition was reduced

after several talks
Peace resumed after
Suharto came into power
Confrontation ended in
August 1966

STEPS TOWARSD FORMATION OF MALAYSIA

 Borneo Dialogue:  Malaysia Solidarity & Consultative Committee

Btwn governors of Sabah & S’wak, HC of Brunei & Chaired by Donald Stephen
the Commissioner-General in S’pore Explain the concept of M’sia to the people
Obtain feedback & ideas from the people

 Malaysia Solidarity & Consultative Committee  London Mission:

Chaired by Donald Stephen British invited Tunku to discuss the merger in greater
Explain the concept of M’sia to the people detail
Obtain feedback & ideas from the people

 Cobbled Commission  Inter-Governmental Committee

To ascertain the views/opinions of the people of Work out conditions for Sabah, S’wak & Brunei
Brunei, Sabah & S’wak regarding M’sia Formulate a constitution which takes into account
Make necessary recommendations Sabah, S’wak & Brunei’s demands

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Results:

 1/3 supported unconditionally

 1/3 supported but with conditions
 1/3 divided btwn becoming indpndnt first
before joining & those who want to remain
under British rule

 Singapore Referendum

on 1 Nov 1962
Gauge the views/opinions of the people of S’pore
Choose btwn 3 alternatives:
 Alternative A – agree to merger based on conditions in the Spore White Paper (397,626 votes)
 Alternative B – agree to merger unconditionally (9,442 votes)
 Alternative C – agree to merger with terms & conditions almost similar to those received by Sabah, S’wak & Brunei
(144, 077 votes)

 The Withdrawal of Singapore

Birth of Malaysia

 Originally set for 31 Aug 1963

 Changed to 16 Sept 1963
 To accommodate UN Mission to verify the wishes of the people of Sabah, S’wak & Brunei

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2.4 13th May 1969 Incidents

 Happened after 1969 Elections – the opposition party Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Gerakan recorded encouraging victories.
 Election campaign became heated until discussion revolved around the racial issues and profiles of certain individuals.
 DAP and Gerakan organised an unauthorised grand scale parade on 11 and 12 May 1969
 UMNO (led by Datuk Harun Idris – Selangor Chief Minister), which felt challenged also held a parade upon their success in forming the
government after elections.
 The provocative parade of both parties ignited the sentiments of every race resulted to fights and riots.
 Racial riot happened in Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding area (Selangor)

Strategy to solve conflict The implications of 13th May Incidents

a) Imposing a curfew a) Declaration of emergency

b) Controlling the news in radio and television b) Formation of MAGERAN on 17th May 1969
c) Filtering the publication of newspapers c) Establishment of the National Unity Department
d) Arresting people who supporting the riot d) (JPN) and the National Goodwil Council (MMN)
e) Making election campaign illegals e) Establishment of the National Advisory Council
f) Declaring journals publish by political parties illegal (MAPEN) on 29th Jan 1970

2.5 Plural Society in Malaysia

Racial Composition before Independence Racial Composition After Independence

 After Malaya achieved independence, the total

Before the discovery of tin ore sites by Long Jaafar in population was 7.38 million:
1848, Malay formed the majority of the population.
Small number of Chines Traders and Indian workers i. Malay Peninsula – 6.28 million
came to work in coffee and sugarcane plantation. ii. Sabah – 0.41
Mid 19th Century – British Colonial Policies bought iii. Sarawak - 0.692 million
extra manpower to work in the various growing

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economic sectors.
•1921 - The Malay population shrunk from 54% to 49%.
•1931 - Declined to 45%

2.6 Unity and National Integration

Definition

Unity Integration

 Refers to the uniting of various groups that have  A process of uniting groups with different
different social and cultural backgrounds backgrounds into one entity bound by
common norms, values and interests.
 Uniting Sabah, Sarawak and the Penisula into one
country or federation, for example is an effort at  Integration is a situation of spontaneous
achieving national unity. Understanding

 “A process of uniting the members of a society and  The process of uniting various groups in the society through a
the country as a whole through national ideologies common identity by putting aside major differences without
so that the members of the society can build up an ignoring groups‟ original identity, such as the good
entity, common values and a sense of belonging”. norms and values;
(INTAN, 1982).
Unity & Integration

“Defined as the implementation of a process to produce a national identity among groups divided culturally,
socially and geographically in a political
unit.”
(Mardiana and Hasnah, 2014)

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Challenges and Problems

1 Communities lived in villages according to their respective races.

Segregation of Residential Areas and Settlements Felt safer, avoid disputes and misunderstandings.
Resulted from the British „divide and rule‟ policy.

2 Housing by race followed the separation of races in different

Racial Segregation in the Economic Sector economic sectors.
It did not make is possible for each race to meet up and mingle.

3 No single education formed by British - Malay (Malay and English

The Separation of the Education System vernacular schools), Indian (Tamil schools in estate) and Chinese
(own schools, teachers and textbooks are brought from China).

4 Every races endevoured to preserve their own identity,

Differences in political principles and Influences language and culture.

5 Malay were envious of the luxuries and success of Chinese.

Economic Issues Chinese and Indians were envious of the Malay‟s privileges.

6 Difficult to foster unity if every race could not tolerate the

Differences in Beliefs and Religions religious beliefs of other races.
7 Each ethic group has their own newspapers.
The Use of Vernacular Newspapers It hard for the ethnic to understand the language, culture and
sensitivities of other races.

8 Japan adopted an anti-Chinese bias and gave Malays the

Racial Sentiment Remained Strong (Japanese Rule) opportunity to take part in administrative sector.

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The strategies

Political efforts Economic Efforts Social efforts

National Ideology (Rukun Negara) New Economic Policy National Education Policy
Federal Constitution Vision 2020 National Culture Policy
Alliance Party National Social Policy

RUKUN NEGARA as National Ideology

WHEN? WHY?

• Achieve sense of unity

Created after the racial riot 13th May1969. • Preserve democratic way of life.
• Under the leadership of MAGERAN • Create a just society
• Create society with liberal approach
• Build a progressive society

WHO? WHAT?

National Consultive Council (MPN) is responsible for its Belief in God

formulation • Loyalty to King and Country
• Supremacy to Constitution
• Sovereignty of the Law
• Courtesy and Morality

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