In 1896, the post of High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States was created; the High Commissioner represented the British Government in the Federated Malay States, a federation of four British protected states in Malaya. The High Commissioner's official residence was King's House (now part of a hotel, Carcosa Seri Negara), located inside the Perdana Lake Gardens in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States. King's House served as an important place for royal dignitaries and distinguished guests.
The Governor of the Straits Settlements had always been ex-officio the High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States; the Governor's official residence was in Singapore, the capital of the Straits Settlements, and was known as Government House (now the Istana, official residence of the President of Singapore).
In each of the five protected states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu, and Johore (collectively referred to as the Unfederated Malay States), the British government was represented by an Adviser: the Adviser to the Government of Perlis; the Adviser to the Sultan of Kedah; the Adviser to the Government of Kelantan; the Adviser, Trengganu; and the General Adviser to the Government of Johore.
The Straits Settlements was dissolved in 1946. Singapore became a Crown colony in its own right. The rest of the Straits Settlements (i.e. Penang and Malacca) were merged with the Federated Malay States, Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Johore to form the Malayan Union, another Crown colony. The native rulers in the Federated Malay States, Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu, and Johore ceded their power to the United Kingdom, thus turning these territories into British colonies. The new Crown colony of the Malayan Union was headed by a Governor – the Governor of the Malayan Union.
In 1948, the British government returned power to the native rulers of the former protected states, and the Malayan Union was transformed into the Federation of Malaya – a federation of protected states and Crown colonies (Penang and Malacca had remained Crown colonies throughout the Malayan Union era). The Federation of Malaya was headed by the High Commissioner for Malaya.
When Malaya gained independence from the United Kingdom, the position of the High Commissioner for Malaya as the de facto head of state was replaced by the Paramount Ruler, or the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, of Malaya, appointed by the rulers of the nine Malay states. The title 'High Commissioner' became that of the senior British diplomat in the independent Malaya (and later in Malaysia), as is normal in Commonwealth countries.
Federated Malay States, Malayan Union, Federation of Malaya | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
№ | Portrait | Name | Tenure | |
From | Until | |||
High Commissioner for theFederated Malay States (1896–1946) | ||||
1 | Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell | 01 january 1896 | 7 December 1899 | |
2 | James Alexander Swettenham | 8 December 1899 | 18 February 1901 | |
3 | Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham | 26 September 1901 | 12 October 1903 | |
4 | Sir John Anderson | 15 April 1904 | 9 April 1911 | |
5 | Sir Arthur Henderson Young | 9 September 1911 | 24 August 1920 | |
6 | Sir Laurence Nunns Guillemard | 3 February 1920 | 5 May 1927 | |
7 | Sir Hugh Charles Clifford | 3 June 1927 | 20 October 1930 | |
8 | Sir Cecil Clementi | 5 February 1930 | 16 February 1934 | |
9 | Sir Shenton Whitelegge Thomas | 9 November 1934 | 15 August 1945 | |
Japanese occupation of Malaya From 31 January 1942 to 15 August 1945. | ||||
British Military Administration (15 August 1945 – 30 March 1946) | ||||
Governor of theMalayan Union (1946–1948) | ||||
10 | Sir Gerard Edward James Gent | 1 April 1946 | 30 January 1948 | |
High Commissioner forMalaya (1948–1957) | ||||
11 | Sir Gerard Edward James Gent | 1 February 1948 | 4 July 1948 | |
12 | Sir Henry Lowell Goldsworthy Gurney | 1 October 1948 | 6 October 1951 | |
13 | General Sir Gerald Walter Robert Templer | 15 January 1952 | 31 May 1954 | |
14 | Sir Donald Charles MacGillivray | 31 May 1954 | 31 August 1957 |
The Malayan Union was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government to simplify administration. Following opposition by the ethnic Malays, the union was reorganised as the Federation of Malaya in 1948.
States of Malaya has a number of possible meanings:
The "Unfederated Malay States" was the collective name given to five British protected states in the Malay Peninsula during the first half of the 20th century. These states were Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu. In contrast with the four adjoining Federated Malay States of Selangor, Perak, Pahang, and Negeri Sembilan, the five Unfederated Malay States lacked common institutions, and did not form a single state in international law; they were in fact standalone British protectorates.
The history of postage stamps and postal history of Malaysia, a state in Southeast Asia that occupies the south of the Malay Peninsula and Sarawak and Sabah in the north Borneo, includes the development of postal services in these periods:
The term "British Malaya" loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the term "British India", which excludes the Indian princely states, British Malaya is often used to refer to the Federated and the Unfederated Malay States, which were British protectorates with their own local rulers, as well as the Straits Settlements, which were under the sovereignty and direct rule of the British Crown, after a period of control by the East India Company.
This article lists important figures and events in Malayan public affairs during the year 1948, together with births and deaths of significant Malayans. Malaya left the British colonial Malayan Union; the Federation of Malaya took place on 1 February.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1946, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans. Malaya remained under British Military Administration until the establishment of the Malayan Union on 1 April.
This article lists important figures and events in Malayan public affairs during the year 1949, together with births and deaths of significant Malayans.
The Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It came into operation on 31 July 1957.
Malaysia first issued revenue stamps as the Straits Settlements in 1863, and continues to do so to this day. Over the years, a number of entities in modern Malaysia have issued revenue stamps.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1940, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1909.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1939, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1938, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1937, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1936, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1925, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1934, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1933, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans.
This article lists important figures and events in the public affairs of British Malaya during the year 1931, together with births and deaths of prominent Malayans.