Malaysia's independence was not handed on a silver platter (Graphic by Dayang Norazhar/The Mole)
The Federation of Malaya is not a mere recipient of independence from the British as described by national laureate A.Samad Said. The independence was not handed to those who had fought for it on a silver platter, blogger John F Seademon wrote.
“There was an attempt by A Samad Said to twist history by calling Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak and others whom had fought for the independence of Malaya ‘British Lackeys’ (Barua British), and belittled the efforts by representatives of the Federation of Malaya (including the Chinese and Indian) by saying the independence was handed to them on a silver platter.”
“That was not the case at all,” Seademon wrote in response to Samad's statement last year.
When the Federated and Unfederated Malay States were perfidiously annexed by the British and lumped in with the Crown Colonies of Penang and Melaka via the Malayan Union on 1st April 1946, it was done so using threats and blackmail on the Malay rulers without consulting the people who were the Rulers’ subjects.
Malays all over peninsula protested in January of 1946 when they first heard about the British plan. This led to more than 40 Malay political and cultural organisations (Pas had not been born yet) met and 41 of these decided to form Umno under the leadership of Dato’ Onn Jaafar, Umno was formed in March 1946.
It was through this galvanisation of the Malays, united against the Malayan Union that caused the very architect of the Malayan Union, Sir Edward Gent, to declare the Malayan Union unworkable given the resistance by the Malays, a month after it was formed.
In 1949, the British government announced that it was to grant eventual independence to Malaya, and issued another in 1952 saying that independence will only be given if the various races were united. But UMNO and MCA called the British’s bluff and fielded their candidates for the 1952 Kuala Lumpur Municipal Election on a common ticket. We all know how that went. That paved way for the Alliance when MIC joined forces and the Alliance won the 1955 General Elections resoundingly.
And how did the struggle for independence go soon after? It was not smooth at all. We all know the British created for the Tunku and TH Tan a hell of roadblocks that they had to lobby friends in the British Parliament before the Colonial Office would even see them.
This led to a question: “Who are we independent from?”
“The answer is FEUDALISM, the very system that brought the British advisors in.”
For more of the above article, read here.
(The Mole will be publishing the Road to Merdeka series in the run up for our Merdeka Day. )