A History of Malaysia

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A History of Malaysia

Barbara Watson Andaya

and

Leonard Y. Andaya

M MACMILLAN

© Barbara Watson Andaya and Leonard Y. Andaya 1982

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 33-4 Alfred Place, London WC1E 7DP.

Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

First published 1982 Reprinted 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991

Published by MACMILLAN EDUCATION LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire R021 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world

ISBN 978-0-333-27673-0 ISBN 978-1-349-16927-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-16927-6

F or Elise and Alexis

Contents

Foreword Xl

Acknowledgements XIV

Preliminary Note xv

Abbreviations XVI

Maps XVIll

Introductioll: The Environment and Peoples of Malaysia 1

1. The Heritage of the Past 7

The Reconstruction of Early Malaysian History: Historio-graphical Considerations 7

Early Trade and the Products of the Malay Archipelago 10 Indian Influence in 'The Land of Gold' 14 Chinese Trade and the Rise of Early Malay -Indonesian

Entrepots 17 Srivijaya and Its Rivals 20 The Bases of Srivijaya's Power 23 The Weakening of Srivijaya's Authority 26 From Srivijaya to Me1aka: Two Differing Accounts 31 Melaka's Heritage 34

2. Melaka and Its Heirs 37

The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: Historiographical Considerations 37

In the Tradition of Srivijaya 39 Reasons for Melaka's Success 42 Nature of the Melaka State 44 Melaka's Territorial Expansion 50 Islam and the Spread of Melaka Culture 51 The Portuguese Conquest of Melaka 55 Brunei and Perak: Two Typical Responses to the Fall of

'Melayu'Melaka 57 Thai Influence in the Malay States 62 The Dutch and J ohar's Ascendancy 68

Vlll CONTENTS

3. The Demise of the Malay Entrepot State, 1699-1819 76

The Eighteenth Century: Historiographical Considerations 76 The Consequences of Regicide in J ohor 77 Bugis Influence in the Malay States 80 Developments in the Peninsula outside Riau-J ohor 84 Economic and Political Challenges in the Eighteenth Century 89 The Growing Influence of Non-Malay Groups in the Peninsula 93 Expansion of Bugis Influence 97 English-Dutch Rivalry and the Impact on Malay Trade 99 The Curtailment of Bugis PoWer and the Decline of Riau 102 The Resurgence of the Thais and the Establishment of Penang 106 The Demise of the Malay Entrepot State 108

4. 'A New World Is Created', 1819-74 114

The Nineteenth Century: Historiographical Considerations 115 Relations between Siam and the Northern Malay States 116 The Creation of New Political Units in the Peninsula 122 The Creation of New Political Units in Borneo 124 The Campaign against Piracy 130 Changing Patterns of Trade in the Malay States 133 Chinese Domination of Commercial Agriculture and Mining 135 Chinese-Malay Relations 139 Malay Conflicts and Straits Settlements Involvement 143 The Debate on 'Civilization' 150 The Pangkor Treaty 154

5. The Making of 'British' Malaya, 1874-1919 157

The Extension of British Control 157 The Residential System 172 The 'Plural Society' 1 75 Differing Rates of Development in the Protected States 181 The Federated Malay States 182 The Expansion of British Interests in Borneo 184 The Incorporation of the Northern Malay States into British

Malaya 191 The Inclusion of J ohor under British Rule 198 Hardening of Ethnic Divisions in the New 'British Malaya' 200

6. The Functioning of a Colonial Society, 1919-57 205

Sources for the Colonial Period 206 Establishing the Framework for an Export Economy 207 The Tin Industry 210 Early Plantation Crops 211

CONTENTS m

The Rubber Industry 213 The Palm Oil Industry 216 Padi (Wet-rice) Farming 217 Economic Development in North Borneo and Sarawak 219 Education under Colonial Government 222 Education in Sarawak and Borneo 235 Colonial Government and the Decentralization Debate 240 Final Years of Company and White Raja Rule in Borneo 245 Japanese Occupation and the Immediate Post-War Years 247 Malayan Union and the Federation of Malaya 254 The MCP and the Emergency 257 Independence 261

7. The Forging of a Nation, 1957-80 265

Independent Malaya/Malaysia: Sources and Historiographical Problems 265

The Alliance 266 The Formation of Malaysia 270 Maintaining the Unity of the Federation 275 Ethnic Disturbances of May 1969 and Emergency Government 280 Economic and Social Restructuring: The New Economic Policy 282 A Diversified Export Economy 289 Political Restructuring: The National Front (Barisan Nasional) 291 The New Malaysian 295

Conclusion: Some Themes in Malaysian History 299

Notes and Further Reading 305

Glossary 330

Index 337

Foreword

Although a small country, Malaysia has been given more than its share of attention by foreign scholars especially those from the English­speaking world. Two reasons perhaps account for this. Malaysia, since the mid-nineteenth century, has had a flourishing economy; its society is unique - it is, one might say 'Asia in miniature'.

Writings on the Malay Peninsula, in English, paralleled the growth of British economic interests in the region in the first half of the nine­teenth century as it became necessary to introduce the area to the British public. It was at this juncture that what might be considered the first history of the Malay Peninsula, in English, was published -The Malayan Peninsula Embracing Its History, Manners and Customs of the Inhabitants, Politics, Natural History &c. from its earliest Records - in 1834. The author (P. J. Begbie), a military officer, devoted much space to a discussion of the Naning War (1831-2) in which he had participated; the book nonetheless dealt rather elaborately with the history as well as various other aspects (including botany) of the Malay States.

T. J. Newbold, another professional soldier, published his Political and Statistical Accounts of the British Settlements in the Straits of Malacca in two volumes in 1839. Quite apart from providing a useful political and social history of the Malay states, this work is still con­sidered a mine of information on the contemporary economy of the Straits Settlements and the Peninsula.

The next attempt to write a history of the Malay Peninsula, however, occurred more than fifty years later. ~ublished in 1906, Frank Swet­tenham's British Malaya: An Account of the Origin and Progress of Br':tish Influence z"n Malaya was more an apologia for British colonialism than an exposition of Malay history and society as Begbie's and Newbold's books had been. Indeed Swettenham practically established the framework for Malayan history which remained unquestioned for the next fifty years. It is his view of Malayan history which the modem generation of scholars describe as Euro-centric.

Following upon Swettenham's footsteps came R. J. Wilkinson and R. O. Winstedt, two officials considered authorities on Malay culture, literature and history much as Swettenham himself was then revered as an expert on things Malay. Originally interested in the Malays, Wilkinson first wrote his 'History of the Peninsular Malays' as part of a larger project entitled Papers on Malay Subjects; it was published in

xu FORWORD

1908. Subsequently, it was revised and expanded to include the estab­lishment of British political control and was published in 1923 as A History of the Peninsular Malays with Chapters on Perak and Selangor. Winstedt was the more prolific of the two. He edited Malaya: The Straits Settlements and the Federated and Unfederated Malay States (1923), wrote 'A History of Malaya' (1935) as well as 'A History of Malay Literature' (1939) both in the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society; Britain and Malaya 1786-1941 (1944); The Malays: A Cultural History (1947) and Malaya and Its History (1948). Although both Wilkinson and Winstedt were avid students of Malay literature and culture, they, like Swettenham, saw Malayan history largely in political terms and, more specifically, as the story of the conquerors rather than the conquered, the rulers rather than the ruled.

The 1930s, however, saw the appearance of the American, Rupert Emerson, whose valuable work - Malaysia: A Study in Direct and Indirect Rule (1937) - elicited from Frank Swettenham the comment that it was 'full of highly contentious writing'. Emerson was less con­cerned with writing Malaysian history than a critique of Imperialism. Still his book provided a refreshing contrast to those of Winstedt (on Malayan history) if only because he was under no constraint to reveal frankly the motives behind the formulation of colonial policies.

For a period of more than fifty years since the publication of Swet­tenham's British Malaya, Malayan history had been cast in a particular mould, Emerson's Malaysia notwithstanding. In making the first attempt to reshape it, K. G. Tregonning(formerly Raffles Professor of History first of the University of Malaya and later the University of Singapore) remarked that for too long Malayan history had been viewed 'from the deck of a foreign ship'. He would like to take Malaya itself 'as my frame of reference, ... considering the activities of the many peoples in it as my interest'. His book A History of Modern Malaya (1964) broke new ground even if Malaysian historians today are of the opinion that it has obvious shortcomings: it is too preoccupied with modem developments and hence completely relegates the indigenous society to a position of obscurity and inconsequence.

In 1969,J. M. Gullick, ex-Malayan Civil Servant and a social anthro­pologist by training, published a book entitled Malaysia which treated the new nation (formed in 1963) not as a unified whole but as three separate entities: Malaya, Singapore and the Borneo Ter­ritories. His conceptualization of Malayan histpry is nonetheless inter­esting. It does not differ substantially from Tregonning's but hi~ approach is clearly influenced by his social science training. While not neglecting chronology, he provides more than just a political and economic perspective of Malayan history but, like all earlier authors who had ventured to write standard texts on Malayan history, he was

FOR WORD Xlli

unable to furnish an integrated view of the subject and, in particular, to provide a continuous thread linking the Melaka sultanate with the period of modern developments. In this respect, the present work by Leonard and Barbara Andaya is a major triumph.

The writings of Leonard and Barbara Andaya on the eighteenth­century history of the Malay states have, in the past few years, contri­buted immensely to the enrichment of Malaysian historiography. Using largely Dutch sources and without ignoring indigenous material, they have not only filled long-existing gaps but corrected a number of erroneous dates, speculations and assumptions.

Apart from being an outstanding example of how Malaysian history can be treated as a cohesive whole, the strength of the present work lies in its treatment of the pre-nineteenth century period. Tracing the origin pf the Melaka sultanate to its Sumatran roots, Leonard and Barbara Andaya proceed to explain not only the factors which contri­buted to the growth of that sultanate but also the beginnings of Malay political culture as we know it today. Other authors have tended to see Malay society as of marginal importance for the period 1511-1800 but here the development of the indigenous society is followed through until the nineteenth century which saw the emergence of a more com­plex society.

For many years historians have doubted the plausibility of writing a standard work on Malayan/Malaysian history which does not depend heavily on the colonial presence as the pivot. Their treatment of Malaysian history (in particular the period 1400-1945) tends to be fragmented. When confronted with the need also to integrate the history of the peninsula with that of Sabah and Sarawak the task appeared to them insurmountable. Admittedly, it is difficult to marry disparate parts but for the historian who is perceptive it is possible to discern common denominators.

Quite apart from having skilfully woven together the entire span of Malaysian history, Leonard and Barbara Andaya have not, unlike previous authors, neglected to discuss education and religion (in par­ticular Islam). Therefore, while the work is comparatively more tightly structured, it is also more comprehensive and the authors have presen­ted a viewpoint which is not only new but more in keeping with current local interpretation of Malaysian history.

September 1981 Khoo Kay Kz"m Professor of Malays£an History

Department of H£story lln£7Jp.r.,,£t'V nf Mnln'Vn

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the help of a number of col­leagues: Professors Nicholas Tarling and David Lim, Associate Professors Grant Anderson, Warwick Neville and Andrew Pawley, Drs Richard Phillips and John Terrell, and especially Professor Khoo Kay Kim. Our thanks also to Barbara Batt, Freda Christie and Sisilia Tonga who cheerfully and efficiently typed the manuscript, and to Jan Kelly who drew the maps.

Preliminary Note

The new spelling system adopted by Indonesia and Malaysia has been followed for Malay words. The most notable features of this system are the use of 'c' and 'sy' respectively to represent English ch/Dutch tj and English sh/Dutch sj. The spelling of place names follows current practice; for example, Melaka and Kuching.

The spelling of titles in Malaysia has not yet been standardized. In this book most honorifics have been rendered in the new spelling (thus Syah, not Shah), but some states still retain the old form for state titles, for example 'Dato' rather than 'Datuk'. Where relevant this differentia­tion has been maintained. 'Dato' has also been used when an individual held--tnat titl~ but died before the new spelling was introduced (for example, Dato Onn). Chinese words have been romanized according to the Wade-Giles system since pinyin is not yet widely used in the liter­ature on Malaysia.

All dollar figures quoted are in Straits (later Malayan/Malaysian) dollars or ringgit. In the nineteenth century the value of the Straits dollar fluctuated, but in 1904 it was pegged to sterling at the rate of M$1.00 to 2s.4d. (about US$.40-60 in pre-World War II terms). From 1947 to 1974 M$3.00 was equal to about US$1.00. The ringgit has appreciated since 1973 when Malaysia opted out of the Sterling Area and floated the ringgit against the US dollar and the British pound. The value of the ringgit towards the end of 1981 was approxi­mately M$2.22 to US$1.00.

Throughout the text the term 'Thai' refers to the ethnic group which came to settle in present-day Thailand, as well as to the citizen of that state which was officially decreed as Thailand in June 1939. Before the latter date the various Thai kingdoms are called by their specific names, such as Sukhothai and Ayudhya. The terms 'Siam' and 'Siamese' are used for the Thai kingdom and people reunified under the Chakri dynasty in 1782 until the official name change in 1939.

ANU ASA ASEAN BKI

CCP Cod. Or. DAP EIC FAMA FELDA FMS FSGCP FWCP Gerakan GLU jMBRAS

jSBRAS jSEAH jSEAS JSS KA KMT MBRAS MCA MCP MCS MIC MPAJA MRLA NCC NEP OB PAP PAS PETA PMFTU

Abbreviations

Australian National University Association of Southeast Asia Association of Southeast Asian Nations Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde Ooumal of the Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology) Chinese Communist Party Codex Orientalis Democratic Action Party English East India Company Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority Federal Land Development Authority Federated Malay States Fort St George Council Papers Fort William Council Papers Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Malaysian People's Movement) General Labour Unions journal of the Malayan (later Malaysian) Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society journal of Southeast Asian History journal of Southeast Asian Studies journal of the Siam Society Koloniaal Archief (Colonial Archives) Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Malayan Chinese Association Malayan Communist Party Malayan Civil Service Malayan Indian Congress Malayan Peoples Anti-J apanese Army Malayan Races Liberation Army National Consultative Council New Economic Policy Overgekomen Brieven (Incoming Correspondence) People's Action Party Parti Islam Sa-Melayu (Pan-Malayan Islamic Party) Pembela Tanah Air (Defender~ of the Fatherland) Pan-Malayan Federation of Trade Unions

PPP SFR SITC SSR UMNO UMS VBG

VOC

ABBREVIA TIONS

People's Progressive Party Sumatra Factory Records Sultan Idris Training College Straits Settlements Records United Malays National Organization Unfederated Malay States

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