HISTORY OF MALAYSIA

The first people to live in Malaya were Stone Age hunter-gatherers. They arrived as early as
8,000 BCE. Later Stone Age farmers came to Malaya and displaced them. (The hunter-gatherers
continued to exist but they retreated into remote areas). The farmers practiced slash and burn agriculture.
They cleared an area of the rain forest by burning it then grew crops. After a few years, the land would be
exhausted and the farmers would clear a new area. However, within a few years, the old area would
become covered in vegetation and would become fertile again.

After 1,000 BCE metal-using farmers came to Malaya. They made tools from bronze and iron
and they settled along the coast and along rivers. They lived partly by fishing, partly by growing crops. In
the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, centralized states arose in Malaya. The greatest was Kedah in the North.
The Malayans became highly civilized. Malayan civilization was heavily influenced by India. (Malays
traded with India from the 3rd century CE. After that contact with India was common). Malayan laws and
writing show Indian influence. The religions of Buddhism and Hinduism were also introduced into
Malaya at that time.

In the 7th and 8th centuries the state of Srivijaya of Sumatra rose to dominate much of Malaya. It
was a kingdom in Sumatra with its capital at Palembang. Srivijaya controlled the coasts of Java, the
Malay Peninsula, and part of Borneo. However Srivijayan only really controlled the coast. Their influence
did not extend far inland. The prosperity of Srivijaya was based on trade with both India and China.
Srivijaya controlled the Malacca Straits, which were the main passage between the Indian Ocean and
China Sea. As a result, it grew rich and powerful. Srivijaya was able to dominate the region until the 11th
century. Then its power declined and by the 13th century, Srivijaya had lost control completely.

Later Melaka rose to dominate Malaya. A man named Parameswara founded it at the end of the
14th century. He became the ruler of Temasek, Singapore Island. However, the Thais overthrew him.
Parameswara fled with some followers and settled by a river called Bertram. According to legend when
he was hunting a mouse deer turned and kicked one of his dogs. Parameswara took this as an omen and
decided to found a settlement there. Since he was standing under a Melaka tree at the time he named it
Melaka. Parameswara converted to Islam. (Islam first reached the region during the 8th century. It made
many converts between the 14th and 16th centuries). During the 15th century, the new settlement
prospered and grew. The wealth and power of Melaka were based on trade with Arab, Chinese and Indian
ships sailing there. The great wealth of the city-state of Melaka came to the notice of the Portuguese. In
1511 they sent an expedition led by Alfonso de Albuquerque to capture it. Melaka soon fell to the
Portuguese artillery. However, the son of the Sultan of Melaka founded Johor.

Johor grew to be one of several powerful trading states in what is now Malaya. In the early 16th
century, Johor made several unsuccessful attempts to recapture Melaka. However, Johor remained hostile
to Portuguese Melaka. Then in the early 17th century, they made an alliance with the Dutch against their
mutual enemy the Portuguese. The Dutch made two unsuccessful attempts to capture Melaka in 1606 and
1608. They then turned their attention to Java. Finally, in 1641 the Dutch laid siege to Melaka again.
Johor assisted them. After a terrible siege, in which many people died, Melaka finally fell to the Dutch.
Another rich and powerful state was Aceh, in Sumatra. However, the Sultanate of Aceh reached its peak
in the early 17th century then began to decline. Brunei was another powerful state. Already strong in the
15th century, it grew stronger in the 16th after the Portuguese captured Melaka. The power of Brunei was
at its peak in the early 16th century, but it declined at the end of the century. In the early 17th century, the
Dutch drove out all other Europeans from the area. For the rest of the 17th century, they were friends with
Johor and the two powers dominated the region. In 1673 the forces of the kingdom of Jambi sacked the
capital of Johor, Batu Sawar. However, Johor eventually managed to inflict defeat on Jambi. At the end of
the 17th century, Johor was still the most powerful state in Malaya. However, in 1699 Sultan Mahmud
was assassinated. That event marked the beginning of the end of Johor power.

A new power arose in the 18th century. A people called the Bugis originally came from Sulawesi.
At the end of the 17th century, they began to settle, peacefully, in the territory of Johor. They were
allowed to settle but they soon became very powerful. In 1717 a man named Raja Kecil claimed he was
the son of the assassinated Sultan Mahmud. He and his followers seized the capital of Johor. The reigning
Sultan, a man named Abdul Jalil, was overthrown. However, he fled to the east coast of the Malay
Peninsula with his followers and set up a rival court there. From then, both men claimed to be the ruler of
Johor. Abdul Jalil was murdered on the orders of his rival, Raja Kecil. The Bugis then turned on Raja
Kecil. They captured the capital and made Abdul Jalil's son Sulaiman a ruler. However, Sulaiman was
only a puppet ruler. From then on the Bugis held the real power.

In the late 18th century, the British East India Company traded with, and partly controlled India.
At that time they began looking for a base in Malaya. In 1786 the British under Francis Light occupied
Penang and founded Georgetown. In 1800, they took Province Wellesley. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles
founded a British trading post at Singapore. By the treaty of London, 1824, the British and Dutch divided
the region between them. The Dutch surrendered Melaka to the British. The Dutch were given control of
Sumatra and all the area below the Malay Peninsula. The Straits Settlements, as they were called,
(Penang, Province Wellesley, Melaka and Singapore) grew rapidly partly due to an influx of Chinese and
Indian workers. By 1860, the population of Singapore was over 80,000. However, although the British
East India Company controlled islands and parts of the coast they did not control the interior of the Malay
Peninsula. Furthermore, until 1867 the East India Company controlled the Straits Settlements, not the
British Government. However, in 1867 they were made a crown colony. British control of Sarawak began
in 1841. In 1840, a man named James Brooke helped the Sultan of Brunei to crush a rebellion. As a
reward, he was given territory to rule and in 1841 he was granted the title of Raja of Sarawak. Brooke's
territory was enlarged in 1853. Meanwhile Siam (modern-day Thailand) invaded Kedah in 1821. They
deposed the Sultan. There were rebellions against Siamese rule in 1830-31 and in 1838-39. The Sultan
was restored in 1841 but Kedah remained a vassal state of Siam.

In 1853, the British government stopped charging duty on imports on tin. As a result export of tin
from Malaya to Britain boomed. Steamships and the opening of the Suez canal in 1869 further boosted
exports of tin. Chinese workers flocked to work in the tin mines of Malaya and on plantations. However,
in 1871, the Sultan of Perak died and there was a quarrel over who should succeed him. Furthermore,
Chinese secret societies fought over who would control the tin mines. The turmoil disrupted supplies of
tin to Britain. So one man who claimed he was the rightful heir to the Sultan, Raja Abdullah, made an
agreement with the British. It was known as the Pangkor Agreement. The British recognized Abdulla as
the Sultan of Perak. In return, he agreed to accept a British 'adviser' at his court who would 'advise' him
on all matters except those concerning Malayan religion and customs. Until 1874, the British restricted
themselves to trade and avoided becoming involved in Malayan politics. The treaty of Pangkor marked
the beginning of British political control of Malaya.

The British gradually increased their influence over Malaya. More states Selangor, Pahang,
Sungei, Ujong, Rembau, Negri Sembilan, Jelebu) were forced to accept British 'protection'. In 1895 the
'protected' states were persuaded to form a federation. Meanwhile in 1888 Brunei, Sarawak and North
Borneo became British protectorates. In the first years of the 20th century the British extended their
influence over the Northern Malay states (Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu) were formally absorbed into
British Malaya. In 1914 Johor also came under British rule. In the early 20th century, a new industry grew
up in Malaya-rubber. The Malayan rubber industry boomed. The Malayan tin industry also prospered and
an oil industry began in Singapore. During the 1920s the Malayan economy was prosperous but in the
1930s, during the depression, exports fell. In the early 20th century, while the economy was booming
many Chinese people came to live and work in Malaya. However after 1930 immigration was restricted to
try and help unemployment.

On December 8, 1941, the Japanese invaded Malay Peninsula and they quickly overran it. The
last British troops withdrew across the straits into Singapore Island on 31 January 1942. The Japanese
invaded Singapore on 8 February 1942. The last British troops surrendered on 15 February 1942. This
was a military disaster for the British. Meanwhile Japanese troops invaded Borneo. They captured
Kuching on 25 December 1941 and Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu) on 8 January 1942. During the Japanese
occupation the Chinese were treated the most harshly. Indians were treated less harshly. In 1944, when
the Japanese faced defeat, the British government decided to join all the Malayan states (except
Singapore) into a single unified state called the Malayan Union. (Singapore would be a separate crown
colony). However there was so much opposition to this plan it was scrapped. Instead on 1 February 1948
the Federation of Malaya was formed.

Meanwhile Malayan nationalism was growing. The first Malay organisation was the Kesatuan
Melayu Singapura, or Singapore Malay Union, which was formed in 1926. Others quickly followed it. In
1946 Malay organisations joined together to form the Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu, the
United Malays National Organisation. The Malayan Communist Party (MCP) was founded in 1930. In
1948 they began to attack European estate managers. As a result the government introduced a state of
emergency. However communist activity declined after 1949 when the British parliament promised
independence. The insurgency continued for some years but it was less of a threat. Communist activity
flared up again in the mid-1970s then died down.

In 1955, the Reid Commission was formed to prepare a constitution for Malaya. Malaya became
independent on 31 August 1957. The first prime minister of Malaya was Tunku Abdul Rahman (1903-
1976). He held office from 1957 to 1970. In 1963 Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah joined Malaya to form
the Federation of Malaysia. However in 1965 Singapore became a separate state.

During the 1960s there was tension between Malays and non-Malays. It culminated in violence
after an election in May 1969. The opposition parties gained seats while the governing party lost seats
(although they held onto power). On 13 May 1969 the supporters of the opposition parties held
celebrations in the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Supporters of the governing party held a counter-
demonstration. The two sides came to blows. After two days of violence the government declared a state
of emergency and parliament was suspended.
Slowly calm returned and parliament was reconvened in 1971. The Malaysian government then
adopted a new economic policy. It was remarkably successful. During the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's
Malaysia changed from being a poor, agricultural country to a rich, industrial one. The standard of living
of the Malaysian people rose dramatically. In 1991 the new economic policy was replaced by a new
development policy. Today Malaysia is a prosperous country. In 2020 the population of Malaysia was 32
million.