The first imprint of the British into Malaya was in Kedah. English East India Company took over Penang Island from Kedah and occupied Singapore Island off the southern tip of the peninsula in 1819. The British placed Malacca, Penang and Singapore under an administrative entity, under the British Colonial Office called the Straits Settlement. British officials began intervening in the Malay Sultanates by the 1870s, exerting political influence (mainly by force) through a system of British residents (or advisers). 

    The states of Pahang, Selangor, Perak and Negeri Sembilan, called the Federated Malay States, were under the rule of British residents who took orders from the High Commissioner in Singapore, who in turn received orders from the Colonial Office. The other peninsular states (Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, previously under Siam/ Thailand) were known as the Unfederated Malay States and had British advisors. British North Borneo (Sabah) was a British Crown Colony under the rule of the Sultanate of Sulu. The territory of Sarawak became a fiefdom of the Brooke family. Intervention into Malayan internal affairs without understanding the culture resulted in the murder of the first British resident to Perak [see history of Perak]. Britain ruled Malaya until 1941 when the Japanese invaded Malaya.

Japanese Occupation

The Japanese regarded the Malays as liberated from British imperialist rule which gained them some cooperation from the Malay civil service and intellectuals. The Chinese however were regarded as enemies and received harsh treatment from the Japanese. Thousands were killed in Malaya and Singapore and Chinese schools were closed. This led to the setting up of resistance group such as the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), which was the backbone of the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA), which was assisted by the British soas to fight the Japanese. The Japanese occupied Malaya until 1945.

Malaysia's Independence