How did MALAYSIA get independent from British?

Question

Does anyone know that how Malaysia get it's independent so easily from British?

Please give me as many answer as you all can.

Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

India gained its independence in 1947 and Burma became independent in 1948, so by comparison Malayan independence (1957) was not especially quick or easy.

Malaya and the other British territories in the region were occupied by the Japanese during the war. The fall of the Singapore in 1942 shattered the myth of western colonial superiority, fueling nationalism in the region. In Britain it was widely accepted that there could be no going back to before the war and that independence was now inevitable.

Britain was more unambiguous in its policy of decolonization than other colonial powers such as France. Independence for Malaya became declared British policy in 1948. After the war there was a Labour Government, which was more interested in economic problems at home than in maintaining the empire. Britain had been bankrupted by the war and wished to scale back its global commitments.

The path to independence took several years. It was complicated by conflicts between the different parts of the future Malaysian Confederation (Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah), and also by ethnic conflicts between the Malays and the Chinese. In the early 1950s Britain fought a successful war against Communist insurgents, who claimed to be fighting for independence.

An interesting question is why the British were able to defeat the Communists, whereas the French in nearby Vietnam failed to. The Communists were mostly strong among ethnic Chinese (the most disadvantaged group), which meant that they had little support among the majority Malays. The Communists also alienated ordinary Malays through their terrorist tactics. Britain’s counter-insurgency tactics were relatively low key, and are today seen as a model of successful counter-insurgency warfare.

With the Communists defeated, Malaysian politics were dominated by moderate politicians whom it was relatively easy for Britain to deal with.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malayan_Eme...

http://www.mymalaysia.net.my/Malaysia_Hi...

http://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R957/

http://uk.geocities.com/tafk2/sneeze/dec...