Nation state formation in Malaysia (1945-1974)

Nation state formation in Malaysia (1945-1974)

The aim of this research is to discuss the process of a nation state formation by the British colonial government after the Second World War (1945) until the formation of the National Front Party (1974). This research begins by examining the British government's effort to create a united Malaya...

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Main Author: Mohd. Ashraf Ibrahim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit UKM 2010
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/353/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/353/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/353/1/Mohd._Ashraf_Ibrahim_37.pdf
id ukm-353
recordtype eprints
spelling ukm-3532016-12-14T06:27:08Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/353/ Nation state formation in Malaysia (1945-1974) Mohd. Ashraf Ibrahim, The aim of this research is to discuss the process of a nation state formation by the British colonial government after the Second World War (1945) until the formation of the National Front Party (1974). This research begins by examining the British government's effort to create a united Malayan nation through the policy of common citizenship and education. The formation of the Malayan constitution then by the Reid Commission had formed the concrete basis for nation building after the country achieved its independence in 1957. This research examines the challenges and obstacles faced by the government in realizing the constitutional spirit in order to create a just and fair nation state. Among the earliest challenges and obstacles in the effort of nation state building was the fact that the inhabitants had different understanding and sometimes contesting nation of intent. In this context, this research looks at several aspects such as education, language and economics. Although the government faced difficulties to implement Article 152 and Article 153, the citizenship issues had been overcome successfully indeed. The challenges faced by Malaysia with the entry of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (1963) were given special attention, particularly over the issue of a Malaysian Malaysia and multilingualism. The May 13 incident and the effort to build "a new Malaysia" through the implementation of the New Economic Policy and the politics of consensus were also the main themes for this research. Besides using related secondary sources, this research had relied on the primary sources such as official reports from the Colonial Office (CO), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Prime Minister's Office (PREM) and the British Cabinet (CAB) from the National Archives in London. Official and private records that were kept at the National Archives, Malaysia were also used as references. This research found that the nation state built by the British was a concept imposed on the inhabitants of this country and therefore was artificial in nature. Consequently, Malaysia had faced problems in forming a strong nation after independence. Language, education and economy were still the main issues. The political situation had become more complicated because of the demands made by the opposition parties, especially by the PAP and DAP for the amendment of Article 152 and 153 to pave the way for a Malaysian Malaysia state. The climax of the debate and disputes were the separation of Singapore in August 1965 and the infamous May 13 racial riot in 1969. The introduction of the New Economic Policy and the politics of consensus were the efforts initiated by the government to overcome problems that were hindering the success of the development of a nation state. Penerbit UKM 2010 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/353/1/Mohd._Ashraf_Ibrahim_37.pdf Mohd. Ashraf Ibrahim, (2010) Nation state formation in Malaysia (1945-1974). Jebat: Malaysian Journal of History, Politics and Strategic Studies, 37 . p. 162. ISSN 2180-0251 http://www.ukm.my/jebat
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Local University
institution Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
language English
description The aim of this research is to discuss the process of a nation state formation by the British colonial government after the Second World War (1945) until the formation of the National Front Party (1974). This research begins by examining the British government's effort to create a united Malayan nation through the policy of common citizenship and education. The formation of the Malayan constitution then by the Reid Commission had formed the concrete basis for nation building after the country achieved its independence in 1957. This research examines the challenges and obstacles faced by the government in realizing the constitutional spirit in order to create a just and fair nation state. Among the earliest challenges and obstacles in the effort of nation state building was the fact that the inhabitants had different understanding and sometimes contesting nation of intent. In this context, this research looks at several aspects such as education, language and economics. Although the government faced difficulties to implement Article 152 and Article 153, the citizenship issues had been overcome successfully indeed. The challenges faced by Malaysia with the entry of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (1963) were given special attention, particularly over the issue of a Malaysian Malaysia and multilingualism. The May 13 incident and the effort to build "a new Malaysia" through the implementation of the New Economic Policy and the politics of consensus were also the main themes for this research. Besides using related secondary sources, this research had relied on the primary sources such as official reports from the Colonial Office (CO), the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the Prime Minister's Office (PREM) and the British Cabinet (CAB) from the National Archives in London. Official and private records that were kept at the National Archives, Malaysia were also used as references. This research found that the nation state built by the British was a concept imposed on the inhabitants of this country and therefore was artificial in nature. Consequently, Malaysia had faced problems in forming a strong nation after independence. Language, education and economy were still the main issues. The political situation had become more complicated because of the demands made by the opposition parties, especially by the PAP and DAP for the amendment of Article 152 and 153 to pave the way for a Malaysian Malaysia state. The climax of the debate and disputes were the separation of Singapore in August 1965 and the infamous May 13 racial riot in 1969. The introduction of the New Economic Policy and the politics of consensus were the efforts initiated by the government to overcome problems that were hindering the success of the development of a nation state.
format Article
author Mohd. Ashraf Ibrahim,
spellingShingle Mohd. Ashraf Ibrahim,
Nation state formation in Malaysia (1945-1974)
author_facet Mohd. Ashraf Ibrahim,
author_sort Mohd. Ashraf Ibrahim,
title Nation state formation in Malaysia (1945-1974)
title_short Nation state formation in Malaysia (1945-1974)
title_full Nation state formation in Malaysia (1945-1974)
title_fullStr Nation state formation in Malaysia (1945-1974)
title_full_unstemmed Nation state formation in Malaysia (1945-1974)
title_sort nation state formation in malaysia (1945-1974)
publisher Penerbit UKM
publishDate 2010
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/353/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/353/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/353/1/Mohd._Ashraf_Ibrahim_37.pdf
first_indexed 2023-09-18T19:30:39Z
last_indexed 2023-09-18T19:30:39Z
_version_ 1777404938394009600

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