Federation of Malaya
The
Federation of Malaya, or in
Malay Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, was a federation of 11 states formed in
1948 from the nine
Malay states and the
British settlements of
Penang and
Malacca.
From
1946 to 1948, the 11 states formed a single
crown colony known as the
Malayan Union. Due to opposition from
Malay nationalists, the Union was disbanded and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the symbolic positions of the rulers of the Malay states.
Within the Federation, while the Malay states were
protectorates of the
United Kingdom, Penang and Malacca remained British colonial territories. Like the Malayan Union before it, the Federation did not include
Singapore, which before this time had usually been considered to be part of
Malaya.
The Federation achieved independence within the
Commonwealth of Nations on
August 31,
1957. In
1963, the federation together with
Singapore,
Sarawak and
British North Borneo (which was renamed
Sabah) formed a new federation called
Malaysia.
Singapore separated from
Malaysia to become an independent republic on
August 9,
1965.
*
Federal Legislative Council*
Peninsular Malaysia
