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These include Langkasuka
and Lembah Bujang in Kedah, as well as Beruas and Gangga Negara in Perak and Pan
Pan in Kelantan. It is thought that
originally these were Hindu or Buddhist
nations. Islam arrived in the 14th century
in Terengganu.
In the early part of the 15th century, the
Sultanate of Malacca (Kesultanan Melaka) was
established under a dynasty which was
started by a prince by the name of
Parameswara from Palembang who fled from the island Temasek
(now known as Singapore). With Malacca as
its capital, the sultanate controlled the
areas which are now Peninsula Malaysia,
southern Thailand (Patani), and the eastern
coast of Sumatra. It existed for more than a
century, and within that time period Islam
spread across most of the Malay archipelago (Kepulauan
Melayu). Malacca was an important trading
port.
Portugal made Malacca a colony in 1511 by
military conquest, thus ending the Sultanate
of Malacca. The first Malacca sultan was
Parameswara. However, the last Sultan fled
to Kampar in Sumatra and died there. One of
his sons went to northern peninsular
Malaysia and established the Sultanate of
Perak, and another son went to the south of
the peninsula and made his capital there.
This new kingdom was the continuation of the
old Malacca sultanate but now known as the
Sultanate of Johor, which still exists
today. After the fall of Malacca, three
nations struggled for the control of Malacca
Strait: the Portuguese (in Malacca), the
Sultanate of Johor, and the Sultanate of
Aceh; and this conflict went on till 1641,
when the Dutch (allied to the Sultanate of
Johor) gained control of Malacca.
The British
Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements was
established in 1826, and Britain gradually
increased its control over the rest of the
peninsula. The Straits Settlements consisted
of the three ports of Singapore, Penang, and
Malacca. Penang (Pearl of The Orient) was
established in 1786 by Captain Francis Light
as a commercial outpost granted by the
Sultan of Kedah. Malacca came into British
hands after the Anglo-Dutch Treaty; and two
years later the Straits Settlements were
formed. These settlements were collectively
ruled from the British East India Company
seat of government in Calcutta until 1867
when their administration was transferred to
the Colonial Office in London.
It was also about this time that many Malay
states decided to obtain British help in
settling their internal conflicts. Less than
ten years after the transfer of power was
completed with several west coast Malay
States coming under British influence. The
role of the merchants of the Straits
Settlements saw British government
intervention in the affairs of the tin
producing states in the Malay Peninsula.
Coupled with Chinese Secret Society
disturbances and civil war, British gunboat
diplomacy was employed to bring about a
peaceful resolution that favoured the
merchants of the Straits Settlements.
Finally, the Pangkor Treaty of 1874 paved
the way for British expansion; and by the
turn of the 20th century the states of
Pahang, Selangor, Perak, and Negeri Sembilan,
known together as the Federated Malay States
(not to be confused with the Federation of
Malaya), were under the rule of British
residents appointed to advise the
rulers/Sultans.
The other Peninsular states were known as
the Unfederated Malay States and, while not
directly under rule from London, had British
advisors in the Sultans' courts. The four
northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan,
and Terengganu were previously under Thai
control. British North Borneo (currently the
state of Sabah) was a British Crown Colony
formerly under the rule of the Sultanate of
Sulu, whilst the huge jungle territory of
Sarawak was the personal fiefdom of the
Brooke (White Rajah) family.
Following the Japanese occupation during
World War II, popular support for
independence grew, coupled with a communist
insurgency. Post-war British plans to form a
"Malayan Union" were scuppered by strong
Malay opposition who wanted a more pro-Malay
system, demanding only single
citizenship as opposed to the
dual-citizenship option which would have
allowed the significant immigrant
communities to have claimed citizenship in
both Malaya and their country of origin.
Independence was achieved for the peninsula
in August 31, 1957 under the name of the
Federation of Malaya. (Hari Merdeka.)
Singapore's request to be part of this
independent state was rejected by London at
the time.
A new federation under the name of Malaysia
was formed on September 16, 1963 through the
merger of the Federation of Malaya and the
British crown colonies of Singapore, North
Borneo (renamed Sabah), and Sarawak, the
latter two colonies being on the island of
Borneo. The Sultanate of Brunei, though
initially expressing interest in joining the
Federation, pulled out due to opposition
from certain segments of the population as
well as wrangling over the payment of oil
royalties.
The early years of independence were marred
by conflict with Indonesia (Konfrantasi)
over the formation of Malaysia, Singapore's
eventual exit in 1965, and racial strife in
the form of racial riots in 1969 (popularly
known as Mei 13). The Philippines also made
an active claim on Sabah in that period
based upon the Sultanate of Brunei's secession
of its north-east territories to the
Sultanate of Sulu in 1704. The Philippine
claim is still on-going.
After the racial riots of 1969, the
controversial New Economic Policy - intended
to increase the share of the economic pie
owned by the bumiputras as opposed to other
ethnic groups - was launched by Prime
Minister Tun Abdul Razak. Malaysia has since
maintained a delicate ethno-political
balance, and developed a unique rule
combining economic growth and a political
rule that favours bumiputras (a group
including mostly ethnic Malays) and moderate
Islam.
Between the 1980s and the early 1990s,
Malaysia experienced significant economic
growth under Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad,
the 4th prime minister of Malaysia. The
period saw a shift from an agriculture-based
economy to one based on manufacturing and
industry in areas such as computers and
consumer electronics. It was during this
period too that the face of Malaysias'
landscape was changed dramatically with the
emergence of mega projects that were to
propel Malaysia worldwide. Notably among
these projects are the Petronas Twin Towers
(once the tallest building in the world), KL
International Airport (KLIA), the Sepang F1
Circuit, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), and Putrajaya (Malaysian Government's new
administrative city).
In the late 1990s, Malaysia was shaken by
the Asian financial crisis. Opposition to
certain aspects of the existing system were
put down by the government. The opposition
runs the gamut from socialists and
reformists to a party that advocates the
creation of an Islamic state.
In 2003, Dr. Mahathir, Malaysia's longest
serving prime minister, retired in favour of
his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi or fondly
known as Pak Lah. His new government has
advanced a moderate view of an Islamic state
defined by the term Islam Hadhari. |
