other · Maritime Southeast Asia
Federation of Malaya
Origins
The Federation of Malaya replaced the Malayan Union on 1 February 1948, restoring the sovereignty of the nine Malay rulers and joining their states with Penang and Malacca under a British high commissioner. Months later the Malayan Communist Party launched an armed revolt, and the government declared the Malayan Emergency.
Rule and society
Under the Briggs Plan and High Commissioner Gerald Templer, half a million rural Chinese were moved into new villages to cut off the guerrillas. The Alliance of UMNO, the Malayan Chinese Association and the Malayan Indian Congress won the 1955 election under Tunku Abdul Rahman, who negotiated independence on 31 August 1957. A rotating king, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, was chosen from the rulers.
Decline and legacy
The Emergency was declared over in 1960, though communist guerrillas remained on the Thai border. On 16 September 1963 the federation joined with Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia, which kept its constitution and institutions.
Lineage
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- Federation of Malaya was a protectorate of British Empire1948 CE – 1957 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Federation of Malaya. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/federation-of-malaya
- MLA
- “Federation of Malaya.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/federation-of-malaya. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Federation of Malaya.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/federation-of-malaya.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Federation of Malaya’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/federation-of-malaya (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻