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History and Government
History: The region now known as Malaysia was first mentioned in Chinese and Sanskrit records of the seventh and eighth centuries. In subsequent centuries the area was under the influence and loose control of various Thai and Indonesian empires, including the great Sumatra-based civilisation of Sri Vijaya. This was followed in the 14th century by the Majapahit empire based in Java. Sri Vijaya and Majapahit, Bhuddist and Hindu respectively, both left a mark on the peninsula. But even by the 14th century, Islam – already well established in parts of India – was steadily spreading eastwards through the substantial trade between India and Malaya. The first Muslim empire in Malaya, based on the trading port of Malacca on the western side of the peninsula, was formed under the rule of King Parameswara in the first quarter of the 15th century. Early in the 16th century, the Portuguese moved in and, after capturing Malacca, established a number of fortified bases in the region. Sultan Mahmud, the ruler of Malacca at the time, was unable to recapture it immediately. However, his successors, who had moved to Johore on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, noted the arrival of the Dutch in the region at the end of the century and formed an alliance with them to expel the Portuguese in 1641.
Over the next century and a half, the Dutch steadily expanded throughout the region until the Dutch East Indies became the heart of a most prosperous colonial trading operation. Coming at the end of the 18th century, the British were relatively late arrivals to the region, but they were to play a key role following the European wars of the 1790s and, in particular, the defeat of the Netherlands by France in 1795. Rather than hand them over to the French, the Dutch passed control of some of their most valuable resources to the British in what became a series of exchanges. Gradually, during the 19th century, the British took control of the peninsula using economic pressure (particularly their monopoly of the tin trade) rather than outright military force: local rulers were permitted substantial internal autonomy provided that they posed no threat to British interests. The Federated Malay States were created as an entity in 1895, and remained under British colonial control until the Japanese invasion of 1942. After the defeat of Japan in 1945, the 11 states were once again incorporated as British Protectorates and in 1948 became the Federation of Malaya.
In the same year, communist guerrillas – the bulk of whom were ethnic Chinese – launched an armed struggle aimed at establishing an independent socialist state. 'The Emergency', as the colonial authorities dubbed it, lasted formally until 1960. However, the serious fighting was over by the mid-1950s and in 1957, Britain proceeded with its plan to grant independence to the Federation of Malaya.
In 1963 the Federation of Malaya merged with Singapore and the former British colonies of Sarawak and Sabah (North Borneo) to form Malaysia. Singapore seceded to become an independent state in its own right in 1965, leaving Malaysia in its present form. Tunku Abdul Rahman, who had taken over as premier of the federation in 1957, remained as Prime Minister of the newly expanded republic. He remained in office until 1970, when he was replaced by Tunku Abdul Razak. The dominant political organisation was the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) which allied itself with several smaller formations to create the Barisan Nasional (NF, National Front). In 1982, the NF won the general election scheduled for that year under the new leadership of Mahathir Mohammed.
Over the last two decades, Mahathir has stamped his authority on Malaysian politics, with an increasingly autocratic style of leadership and a ruthless attitude towards political opponents and ex-subordinates. This tendency was starkly illustrated by his treatment of his former deputy and heir apparent, Anwar Ibrahim, with whom he had fallen out over aspects of Malaysia's economic policy in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. There were also stirrings within the party that Mahathir was by now an electoral liability and that a change of leadership was long overdue. Arrested on fabricated charges of homosexual behaviour and corruption, Anwar was subjected to a show trial and imprisoned for six years.
Anwar and his wife became a focus of opposition to Mahathir. Many people, including influential figures within UMNO, believed that Mahathir had finally overreached himself. The acid test came at the general election of November 1999. The NF had comfortably won every poll in the 1980s and '90s. Despite defeat in some key areas, and a constituency victory for Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah, Mahathir ran a well-judged campaign which returned the NF to office with a substantial majority. The opposition movement to Mahathir, both inside and outside the NF, was comfortably handled by the veteran premier with a mixture of repression and political manoeuvring. Now in his late 70s, he shows no sign whatever of relinquishing power and his position appears as solid as ever.
Since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, human rights issues have been subordinated to the campaign against militant Islam. Mahathir has made use of this to crack down on his political opponents, including the residual supporters of Anwar, as well as Malaysia’s own Islamic fringe.
Mahathir's truculence applies equally to his foreign policy. On occasion he has cut off relations with both Britain and Australia because of uncomplimentary media coverage. Though a fierce anti-communist, he established diplomatic relations with Vietnam and Malaysia's other communist neighbours in 1989, despite strong objections from Washington. He is a nationalist and a strong proponent of Asian regional solidarity, believing that East Asia should develop political clout to match its economic power. Yet Malaysia is also an active member of the Commonwealth and hosted the 1989 Commonwealth Conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Government: Malaysia has a complex federal political system, with extensive local power still in the hands of nine hereditary sultans, who elect the head of state (entitled HM the Yang di-Pertuan Agong) every five years from among their number. There are 13 states plus two ‘Federal Territories’ (Kuala Lumpur and the island of Labuan). Legislative power is in the hands of the bicameral parliament comprising the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives), with 192 members directly elected for a five year term, and the 70-strong Dewan Negara, or Senate, of which 40 members are appointed by the Head of State and 30 members elected by the country’s 13 regional assemblies. Executive power is held by the Prime Minister, who is formally appointed by the head of state but in practice by the leader of the largest party in the Dewan Rakpat. The Prime Minister governs with the assistance of an appointed ministerial cabinet.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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