British Malaya History

In 1824 British hegemony in Malaya was formalized by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty, the decisive event in the formation of modern Malaysia. The Dutch evacuated Malacca and renounced all interest in Malaya, while the British recognized Dutch rule over the rest of the East Indies. This imposed an arbitrary frontier on the Malay world, one which has never been overcome. Penang, Malacca and Singapore were united as the Straits Settlements, ruled by a British Governor in Singapore.

During the 19th century, the British concluded treaties with the Malay states, installing “residents” who advised the Sultans and soon became the effective rulers of their states. The wealth of Perak’s tin mines made political stability there a priority for British investors, and Perak was thus the first Malay state to agree to the supervision of a British resident. Johore alone resisted, holding out until 1914.

In 1909 the weakened Siamese Kingdom was compelled to cede Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu to the British. (Siam retained the Sultanate of Patani, leaving a Muslim minority in southern Thailand which has been a source of much trouble for successive Thai governments.)

During the late 19th century the British also gained control of the north coast of Borneo, where Dutch rule had never been established. The eastern part of this region (now Sabah) was under the nominal control of the Sultan of Sulu, a vassal of the Spanish Philippines. The rest was the territory of the Sultanate of Brunei.

In 1841, a British adventurer, James Brooke, leased Kuching from the Sultan and made himself the “White Raja” of Sarawak, steadily expanding his territory at Brunei’s expense. North-eastern Borneo was colonized by British traders, and in 1881 the British North Borneo Company was granted control of the territory under the distant supervision of the governor in Singapore. The Spanish Philippines never recognized this loss of the Sultan of Sulu’s territory, laying the basis of the subsequent Filipino claim to Sabah. In 1888 what was left of Brunei was made a British protectorate, and in 1891 another Anglo-Dutch treaty formalized the border between British and Dutch Borneo. Thus the borders of modern Malaysia were formed, in complete disregard of ethnic and linguistic factors, by the colonial powers.

By 1910 the pattern of British rule in the Malay lands was established. The Straits Settlements were a Crown Colony, ruled by a governor under the supervision of the Colonial Office in London. Their population was about half Chinese, but all residents, regardless of race, were British subjects. The first four states to accept British residents, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, were termed the Federated Malay States: while technically independent, they were placed under a Resident-General in 1895, making them British colonies in all but name. The Unfederated Malay States (Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu) had a slightly larger degree of independence, although they were unable to resist the wishes of their British Residents for long. Johore, as Britain’s closest ally in Malay affairs, had the privilege of a written constitution, which gave the Sultan the right to appoint his own Cabinet, but he was generally careful to consult the British first.