Federation of Malaya
The Federation of Malaya ( Persekutuan Tanah Melayu Malay ) was established on 1 February 1948, included the British settlements of Penang and Malacca and the nine Malay States ( Federated Malay States and Unfederated Malay States):
- Perlis
- Kedah
- Perak
- Selangor
- Negeri Sembilan
- Johore
- Pahang
- Terengganu
- Kelantan
It replaced the Malayan Union was founded in 1946. While the Malay states were protectorates, Penang and Malacca remained British Crown Colonies. Like the Malayan Union did not also cover the Federation Singapore, which was previously normally considered part of Malaya. In Penang, there was the headquarters of the ANZAM, which was a network for the defense of Malaya and Australia and New Zealand involved with.
The Federation of Malaya was posted on August 31, 1957 an independent state within the Commonwealth - the date is now celebrated as the Independence Day of Malaysia Hari Merdeka. In 1963, the Federation was under the new name Malaysia by Singapore, Sarawak and British North Borneo, which was later renamed Sabah, extended. In the fall of 1964, there were massive riots between Chinese and non-Chinese residents of Singapore. After heated ideological conflict between the municipal government and the Federation government in Kuala Lumpur, as well as due to fears on the Malaysian side that the unrest could reach out beyond the city, Singapore was expelled from the federation on August 7, 1965.
At the time of independence Malaya had to Japan the highest per capita income in Asia. The economy was based mainly on agriculture and the export of agricultural products.
The Malays, who made up about 52 % of the population, dominated the politics and the public sector, but were relatively poor. Most Malays went occupations in agriculture by low productivity. The Chinese (37 %) had more economic power and dominated most of the modern professional groups. The young country's policy was therefore characterized by the dilemma of having to achieve on the one hand, the economic policy goals, but on the other hand maintain the harmony among ethnic groups and political stability.