History of Malaysia : 1963-2000

Country in Southeast Asia, comprising the Malay Peninsula, bounded north by Thailand, and surrounded east and south by the South China Sea and west by the Strait of Malacca; and the states of Sabah and Sarawak in the northern part of the island of Borneo (southern Borneo is part of Indonesia).

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Government

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Malaysia is a federation of 13 states: Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, and Trengganu, plus the capital city, Kuala Lumpur, and the island of Labuan, which are separate federal territories. Each state has its own constitution, head of state, and elected assembly, led by a chief minister and cabinet, and legislates on matters outside the federal parliament's sphere.

Under the 1957 constitution, a monarch is elected for five-year terms by, and from among the hereditary rulers of Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, and Trengganu. The paramount ruler's powers are similar to those of the British monarch, including discretion in the appointment of a prime minister and in granting a dissolution of parliament. Generally, the monarch acts on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet, who wield effective power.

The two-chamber federal legislature or parliament is composed of a 70-member upper house or senate, the Dewan Negara, comprising 40 members nominated by the head of state, four from the two federal territories, and two members elected by each of the 13 state assemblies for six-year terms, and a house of representatives, the Dewan Rakyat, whose 192 members are elected for five-year terms from single-member constituencies by universal suffrage. The senate can only delay bills already approved by the dominant house of representatives, whose majority party or coalition provides the prime minister, who governs with a cabinet selected from parliament.

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History

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For the history of Malaya prior to the formation of Malaysia see Malayan history to 1963.

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The formation of Malaysia

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Malaysia was formed in 1963 out of a number of former British colonies: the Federation of Malaya (comprising 11 states), which had achieved independence in 1957; Singapore, which had been self-governing since 1959; and two territories in northwestern Borneo, Sarawak and Sabah (then known as North Borneo), which by 1960 were well advanced on the road to independence.

The newly elected government of Singapore was in favour of merging with Malaya, and in 1961 Tunku Abdul Rahman, prime minister of Malaya, took the initiative and suggested that a plan should be devised whereby Singapore, North Borneo, Brunei (another British territory in Borneo that had achieved autonomy), and Sarawak would be brought closer together with Malaya in political and economic cooperation.

The proposal was on the whole well received. Trade benefits would accrue from the creation of a larger economic unit, and resources could be pooled. There would also be political advantages. For Malaya amalgamation with Singapore with its largely Chinese population would be offset by the largely indigenous populations of the states in Borneo. For Singapore it was a means of ending colonial status, and for Sarawak, Brunei, and North Borneo it would advance the date of independence. There was also the advantage that the existing central government at Kuala Lumpur was already federal in structure.

Britain was also favourable to the proposal. In 1962 a joint Malayan and British commission under Lord Cobbold concluded, after testing public opinion, that most people in Sarawak and North Borneo were in favour of federation; and a referendum in Singapore showed a considerable majority for the merger.

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Brunei opts out
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In Brunei, however, political power passed in the elections of September 1962 to the People's Party, which maintained that before the move towards Malaysia was made there should be unification of the three Borneo territories under the Sultan of Brunei as constitutional ruler. A revolt within the party tried to bring about this state by force, but it was speedily repressed.

 

Nevertheless Brunei ultimately decided to remain outside the federation, possibly because with its small population and large riches in the form of oil it was unwilling to share its prosperity. Also, the Sultan of Brunei's status within the proposed federation was called into question, and this matter carried considerable political weight against joining.

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The secession of Singapore

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Malaysia was established in September 1963 with Tunku Abdul Rahman as prime minister, but both from within and without the new, enlarged federation immediately ran into serious difficulties.

Internally, Singapore, second to Malaya in population and more than three-quarters Chinese in composition, threatened to upset the communal balance on which Malayan politics and government had hitherto depended. Singapore's leaders became involved in the politics of the Malay Peninsula, notably in the 1964 federal elections. In the following year they organized the Malaysian Solidarity Convention, and questioned the 'special position' of the Malay community by advocating a 'Malaysian Malaysia' policy. Consequently Tunku Abdul Rahman demanded that Singapore leave the federation, which it did in August 1965.

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External threats

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Externally, the formation of Malaysia prompted President Sukarno of Indonesia to announce in 1964 a policy of 'Confrontation', which attempted (unsuccessfully) to bring down the new state by military means. In 1966, after the overthrow of Sukarno, the guerrilla war was ended by negotiation. From 1966 the 11 states on the Malay Peninsula were known as West Malaysia, and Sabah and Sarawak as East Malaysia. The Philippines disputed the sovereignty of East Malaysia in 1968 through their claim on Sabah.

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Continuing tensions within the federation

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Since the withdrawal of Singapore and the end of Confrontation, the history of Malaysia has been dominated by the attempt to build a nation-state. This faces two great problems. The most serious of these is the difficulty in uniting the country's three main ethnic communities, Malay, Chinese, and Indian, where the differences of culture and language are further exacerbated by those of socioeconomic status. Of the three communities the Malays have dominated the political life of the country, while the Chinese and Indians hold the preponderance of economic power.

Secondly, the danger has always existed that Sarawak and Sabah – separated as they from the rest of Malaysia by 650 km/400 mi of the South China Sea – might secede from the federation. In 1972 it was decided – primarily as an attempt to play down any differences and no doubt suggested by the obvious analogy with East and West Pakistan (the former just having seceded as Bangladesh) – that West Malaysia should be renamed Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia simply Sarawak and Sabah.

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Race riots and the state of emergency

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Tunku Abdul Rahman's multiracial style of government was successful until serious and widespread anti-Chinese riots broke out in May 1969. These riots followed a fall in support for the United Malays' National Organization (UMNO) in the federal election and were indicative of Malay resentment of the economic success of the Chinese business community.

A state of national emergency was declared, and for the next 21 months the country was ruled by a National Operations Council, which established joint civilian–military rule. During this period the government amended the 1948 Sedition Act, effectively limiting debate on communal issues. Towards the end of 1970, Tun Abdul Ruzak, deputy prime minister and head of the National Operations Council, took over as prime minister from Tunku Abdul Rahman.

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The restoration of democracy

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After the restoration of parliamentary rule in February 1971 Abdul Ruzak, in an effort to broaden consensus politics in Malaysia, expanded his Alliance Coalition into a ten-party National Front, including previous opposition parties in its ranks. This gained a resounding victory in the 1974 general elections, winning 135 of the 154 parliamentary seats. In 1976 power passed swiftly and smoothly to Datuk Hussein Onn, who became Malaysia's third prime minister following the sudden death of Abdul Razak.

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The pro-Malay policy
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The most significant result of the events of May 1969 was an attempt, announced in the five-year plan (1971–75), to restructure Malaysian society. The aim was to raise the percentage of ethnic-Malay-owned businesses from 4% to 30% by 1990, and to extend the use of pro-Malay (bumiputra) affirmative-action quota systems for university entrance and company employment. Economic expansion, it was hoped, would greatly ease this redistributive process and at the same time offer the opportunity to eliminate poverty among all Malaysians.

The Malay advancement programme created, however, considerable Chinese and Indian discontent. This in turn contributed to the reemergence of a communist guerrilla movement on a scale at least equivalent to that towards the end of the 1948–60 emergency (see Malayan history to 1963). Relations with the Chinese community further deteriorated later in the decade as a result of the federal government's refusal to welcome Vietnamese refugees. There was also a revival of fundamentalist Islam among Malays in the west and north.

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Foreign relations in the 1970s
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 The foreign relations of Malaysia underwent a significant shift in the 1970s. During the 1960s Malaysia involved itself in regional alliances of a strongly pro-Western, anti-communist character, such as the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). However, after 1970 Malaysia progressively modified its policy toward one of less strict alignment.

In 1974, after two years of negotiations, Malaysia established diplomatic relations with China, although the problem of 220,000 stateless Chinese permanently resident in Malaysia remained unsolved. In security terms, Malaysia, along with other ASEAN members, became increasingly reliant on friendships established with the USA and China. Close economic links were developed with Japan and joint ventures encouraged. From the 1970s relations with other communist powers and Islamic nations also improved.

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Developments in the 1980s
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Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamed became the new leader of UMNO and prime minister in 1981 and pursued a more narrowly Islamic and Malay strategy than his predecessors. He also launched an ambitious industrialization programme, seeking to emulate Japan. He was reelected in 1982 and 1986 but encountered opposition from his Malaysian Chinese Association coalition partners. There was also Christian–Muslim conflict in Sabah, and slower economic growth as a result of the fall in world tin, rubber, and palm-oil prices.

In 1987, in the wake of worsening Malay–Chinese relations, Mahathir ordered the arrest of more than 100 prominent opposition activists, including the Democratic Action Party (DAP)'s leader Lim Kit Siang, and a tightening of press censorship. These moves precipitated a rift in UMNO, with former premier Rahman and former trade and industry minister Razaleigh Hamzah leaving to form a new multiracial party grouping, Semangat '46. In 1988 a reconstituted UMNO Baru (New UMNO) was set up by Mahathir. The prime minister also announced some relaxation of the 1971 economic policy that favoured ethnic Malays – Malay equity ownership having reached only 18% by 1987 – as part of a more consensual 'Malay unity' programme.

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Developments in the 1990s
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In the 1990 general election, Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamed's ruling coalition captured 127 of the 180 national assembly seats. Semangat '46 lost five of its 12 seats. However, Islamic (PAS) and Chinese (DAP) party allies polled well locally. The pro-Malay economic policy expired in December 1990 and was replaced by a new programme, the 'new development policy', which was less discriminatory against non-Malays and aimed to achieve an eightfold increase (7% a year) in national income by the year 2020. GDP growth during the 1980s averaged 8% a year.

Mahathir bin Mohamed was reelected president of UMNO Baru in 1993. During 1994 he temporarily suspended all new trading contracts with the UK after allegations in the British press of an aid-for-arms deal between the two countries in 1988. In the 1995 general election, UMNO Baru increased its majority, securing its biggest victory since independence in 1957. In May 1996 the eight-year rift within UMNO was healed when Razaleigh Hamzah led his Semangat '46 party back into the UMNO fold.

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Environmental problems
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 In the summer of 1997 smoke from vast forest fires on Sumatra and Borneo severely affected Malaysia, causing health risks, transport problems, and industrial difficulties. In Sarawak a state of emergency was imposed in September. The haze was believed to have contributed to the collision in late September of two cargo ships in the Strait of Malacca, resulting in the deaths of 29 crewmen. The problem continued into 1998, causing (as of February) $300 million of damage to tourism, industries, and health.

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Economic crisis
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After a decade of spectacular growth, Malaysia entered a sharp recession, with the economy shrinking by 5% in the first half of 1998. In February 1998, to mitigate the impact of the regional economic crisis, it was announced that the bumiputra racial laws that favoured Malay businesses would be relaxed. In March, in response to the Asian financial crisis, it was announced that 17,000 of Malaysia's 1 million foreign workers (chiefly illegal immigrants from Indonesia) would be immediately repatriated and that a further 200,000 would also go after August 1998.

In June 1998 Prime minister Mahathir bin Mohamed brought back into the cabinet, as economic overlord, a close ally, Daim Zainuddin. This reduced the influence of Anwar Ibrahim, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, an economic conservative with leadership ambitions. Currency controls were introduced.

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Anwar Ibrahim scandal
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 In August 1998 Anwar Ibrahim was sacked amid charges about his personal life and alleged corruption. He led anti-government protests in Kuala Lumpur and was arrested in September 1998. In November 1998 Zainur Zakaria, the lawyer defending Anwar Ibrahim, was jailed for three months for contempt of court after claiming a high-level conspiracy against his client, but was later reprieved pending an appeal. In December, with her husband's trial continuing, Anwar Ibrahim's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, formed a new opposition group, the Movement for Social Justice. In early January 1999, Malaysia's chief of police, Abdul Rahim Noor, resigned saying he took full responsibility for injuries received by the former deputy prime minister. Ibrahim, who was in court facing sex and corruption charges, then turned the tables on his accusers by issuing a writ for compensation against the police who arrested him. Noor was later – in April 1999 – indicted on a charge of assaulting Ibrahim. Nevertheless, Ibrahim went on trial for a second time in June 1999, accused of sodomy. This caused widespread opposition riots in September, and 13 opposition politicians were arrested. In August 2000, Ibrahim was sentenced to nine years imprisonment on 8, having been found guilty of sodomy, although he continually insisted that he was the victim of a plot made by Mahathir bin Mohamed. The sentence was given in addition to his six-year sentence for corruption, which he received in April 1999. Human rights groups and many foreign governments expressed outrage at the sentence.

Prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, in November 1999 called a general election in a sudden announcement which would pit Asia's longest-serving leader against a growing movement for political reform. Although the newly united Alternative Front opposition, which for the first time was led by a Muslim, Fadzil Noor, doubled its number of seats and won control of two state assemblies, Mahathir bin Mohamed's ruling National Front coalition kept power. However, an election monitoring group suggested that there had been interference with ballot papers.

In January 2000, in what appeared to be a purge by Prime Minister Mahathir's government, three leading opposition figures were charged with sedition or provoking racial discord, crimes punishable by imprisonment. One of Ibrahim's lawyers, Karpal Singh, was one of those arrested.