Malayan Union

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This article is part of
the History of Malaysia series

Prehistoric Malaysia (40,000-2,000 BCE)

Gangga Negara (2nd-11th century CE)

Langkasuka (2nd-14th century)

Pan Pan (3rd-5th century)

Srivijaya (3rd century -1400)

Majapahit (1293-1500)

Sultanate of Kedah (1136-present)

Sultanate of Malacca (1402 - 1511)

Sultanate of Johor (1528-current)
Jementah Civil War (1879)
White Rajahs (1841-1946)

British Malaya (1874-1946)

Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824
Burney Treaty (1826)
Straits Settlements (1826-1946)
Klang War (1867-1874)
Pangkor Treaty of 1874
Federated Malay States (1895-1946)

Unfederated Malay States (19th century-1946)

Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909

Battle of Penang (1914)

North Borneo (1882-1963)

Mat Salleh Rebellion (1896-1900)

World War II (1941-1945)

Battle of Malaya (1941-42)

Parit Sulong Massacre (1942)

Battle of Singapore (1942)

Syburi (1942-1945)

Battle of North Borneo (1945)

Sandakan Death Marches (1945)

Malayan Union (1946-1948)

Federation of Malaya (1948-1963)

Malayan Emergency (1948-1960)

Bukit Kepong Incident (1950)

Independence Day (1957)

Federation of Malaysia (1963-present)

Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation (1962-1966)
Brunei Revolt (1962-1966)
Expulsion of Singapore (1965)
May 13 Incident (1969)

New Economic Policy (1971-1990)

Operation Lalang (1987)

1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis (1987-88)

Asian financial crisis (1997-98)

This article is part of the History of Malaysia series

Prehistoric Malaysia (40,000-2,000 BCE)
Gangga Negara (2nd-11th century CE)
Langkasuka (2nd-14th century)
Pan Pan (3rd-5th century)
Srivijaya (3rd century -1400)
Majapahit (1293-1500)
Sultanate of Kedah (1136-present)
Sultanate of Malacca (1402 - 1511)
Sultanate of Johor (1528-current)
Jementah Civil War (1879)
White Rajahs (1841-1946)
British Malaya (1874-1946)
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824
Burney Treaty (1826)
Straits Settlements (1826-1946)
Klang War (1867-1874)
Pangkor Treaty of 1874
Federated Malay States (1895-1946)
Unfederated Malay States (19th century-1946)
Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909
Battle of Penang (1914)
North Borneo (1882-1963)
Mat Salleh Rebellion (1896-1900)
World War II (1941-1945)
Battle of Malaya (1941-42)
Parit Sulong Massacre (1942)
Battle of Singapore (1942)
Syburi (1942-1945)
Battle of North Borneo (1945)
Sandakan Death Marches (1945)
Malayan Union (1946-1948)
Federation of Malaya (1948-1963)
Malayan Emergency (1948-1960)
Bukit Kepong Incident (1950)
Independence Day (1957)
Federation of Malaysia (1963-present)
Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation (1962-1966)
Brunei Revolt (1962-1966)
Expulsion of Singapore (1965)
May 13 Incident (1969)
New Economic Policy (1971-1990)
Operation Lalang (1987)
1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis (1987-88)
Asian financial crisis (1997-98)

The Malayan Union was a confederation of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements excluding Singapore, which was placed as a crown colony under direct British rule. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to simplify the administration of British colonies in the Malay Peninsula. It was formed on April 1 1946 by the British.

Few of the key details of the Union were:

Malayan citizenship that would give equal rights to all would be citizens regardless of race
citizenship based on the jus soli principle
the transformation of the title Sultan to President.

In a way, the Sultans, the traditional rulers of the Malay states, would concede all their powers to the British Crown except in the matters of culture and religion. The Union would be ultimately placed under the rule of a British Governor.

The idea of the Union was first expressed by the British on October 1945 in the aftermath of the Second World War. Sir Harold MacMichael was assigned the task of gathering the Malay state rulers' approval for the Malayan Union in the same month. In a short period of time, he managed to obtain all the Rulers’ signatures through intimidation.

On April 1, 1946, the Malayan Union officially came into existence with Sir Edward Gent as its first governor. The capital of the Union was Kuala Lumpur.

The Malays opposed the creation of the Union. The opposition was mainly due to the way Sir Harold MacMichael acquired the Sultans’ signatures, the erosion of the Sultans’ powers and the offering of citizenship to recent immigrants mainly the ethnic Chinese because their economic dominance was seen as a threat to the economic development of the Malays. The United Malays National Organization, or UMNO, a Malay political association formed by Dato’ Onn Jaafar on March 1, 1946, led the opposition against the Malayan Union.

In the end, due to tremendous internal pressure inside the Malayan Union, the British finally conceded to the local opposition. The Malayan Union ceased to exist on January 31, 1948. It was replaced by the Federation of Malaya (Persekutuan Tanah Melayu in Malay) which recognised the position of the Malays as the definitive people of Malaya as well as outlining stricter conditions on the granting of citizenship.

The Federation of Malaya would later become part of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963.

Malayan Union

See also