Federation of Malaya, and Singapore

Rare, detailed c.20th map of Malaysia and Singapore produced by the Directorate of Colonial Surveys in 1948 and printed by the the War Office in 1948.

The Federation of Malaya comprised the nine Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca, were inaugurated on 1 February 1948 to replace the Malayan Union. The exclusion of Singapore, which remained a separate crown colony, was the sole feature of the Malayan Union that was retained in the new federation. Officially formed on 1 April 1946, the Malayan Union was the outcome of British efforts to improve administrative efficiency through the creation of a unitary state as the first step towards the eventual self-government of Malaya. However, the Malayan Union scheme, which entailed the surrender of Malay sovereignty over the Malay states and the extension of common citizenship to immigrant communities,  was viewed  as a severe blow to Malay political standing. Widespread Malay opposition to the scheme prompted the British to pursue confidential consultations with representatives of the newly formed United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and the Malay rulers. The decision to replace the Malayan Union with a federation was made by the British Colonial Office in July 1946, and an Anglo-Malay Working Committee was convened to draw up the details. The working committee proposed a federation of the peninsular states and settlements, with increased safeguards for the special position of the Malays and the sovereignty of the Malay rulers, as well as more restrictive citizenship requirements.

The federation achieved independence on 31 August 1957. On 16 September 1963 the federation became Malaysia, by bringing Singapore (self-governing since 1959), Sarawak and North Borneo (Sabah) into the federation as new states. Singapore was expelled from the federation on 9 August 1965.