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Whose history? Which narrator?

“History has to be rewritten in every generation, because although the past does not change, the present does; each generation asks new questions of the past, and finds new areas of sympathy as it re-lives different aspects of the experiences of its predecessors.” - Christopher Hill.

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Whose history? Which narrator?

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  1. “History has to be rewritten in every generation, because although the past does not change, the present does; each generation asks new questions of the past, and finds new areas of sympathy as it re-lives different aspects of the experiences of its predecessors.” - Christopher Hill

  2. Whose history? Which narrator? Exploring Malaysia’s story 18th century A.D. – May 13, 1969 With emphasis on ethnicity, class and gender

  3. Before British Colonialism • Feudal system – Sultans, elite class and peasants • Patriarchal society • Subsistence (agricultural) economy Gomez, Tracing the Ethnic Divide: Race, Rights and Redistribution in Malaysia. (169)

  4. Women in pre-colonial Malaya • Peasants: • Gender equality was necessary in production: padi work, fish processing, weaving, trade • Elites: • Women were primarily viewed as “sexual commodities confined to…reproduction” (pg 72) • Females with no male heir could rule (e.g. Kelantan, Bentan, Pantani, Acheh.). • Women could own slaves or invest in mines • Slaves: • Sexual exploitation of female slaves was common. Ng, The Organization of Gender Relations in Rural Malay Community.

  5. Britain’s economic interests • Industrialization prompted Britain to seek new markets • Invention of tin-canning (1810) - demand for tin increased • Malaya had tin • Acquisition of major ports: Penang (1786), Malacca (1795), Singapore (1819).

  6. Britain’s Indirect Rule • Making deals with sultans • Resistance by chiefs/peasant leaders • Pangkor Treaty (20 Jan, 1874) • British resident to advise sultan on all matters except religion and custom • At times, Britain used force to obtain control.

  7. Political Structures Form • (1877) State Councils formed: Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Pahang • (1896) The 4 states formed a federal body (FMS). • Structure of Malay peninsula by 1914: • Straits Settlement (Penang, Singapore, Melacca) • Federated Malay States (FMS) • Unfederated Malay states (Perlis, Kedah, Trengganu, Johore)

  8. Social Structures Form • Patriarchal hierarchy is now centralized and institutionalized • Malay Civil Service staffed almost exclusively by British men • Malay Administrative Service staffed predominately by male English-educated Malay bureaucrats and functionaries • Clerical service also consisted of English-educated male personnel (Ng, 74-75)

  9. Private Property • 1880s: Torrens Land Law established certified ownership of land, abolishing the previous system based on usage. • Many women peasants lost land inheritance due to the male-dominated system. • All unused land became property of the state; this was in turn sold cheaply to primarily British capitalists. • Peasant farmers often became tenant farmers for rich land owners, thus creating class differentiation. (Ng, 76-77, 79).

  10. Economic Demands • (1888) Motor companies need rubber to make tires. • Wage laborers imported • “Divide and control”; ethnic groups were segregated geographically and occupationally • Chinese labored in tin mines • Indian laborers imported to clear jungles and build roads; work on rubber estates • Malays remained in rural areas to grow food to feed laborers

  11. Economic role of Chinese • In the region two decades prior to the British: • regional trade, agriculture, artisans, tin mining. • From 1850-1900, a large immigration movement for labor in tin mines; predominantly urban settlements.

  12. Roles of Chinese women • Originally, they came • with husbands, • as prostitutes or • as domestic slaves. • During the 1930s, the Depression and politics in China pushed thousands of Chinese women to immigrate to the Malay Peninsula.

  13. Economic role of Indians • Initially recruited to work in sugar and coffee plantations in Penang. • Later, British brought Tamils from southern India to work rubber plantations. • A minor percentage worked in urban mercantile trade, moneylending and lower civil service occupations.

  14. Female Indian labourers • Female workers were not brought in until the late 1920s. • Earned less than men. • Lower literacy rate, thus often worked on plantations. • When positions were cut, women were the first to go. (Ng, 81)

  15. Economic role of Malay peasants • If peasants lost their land, they often worked for wealthy land owners. • Rice was needed to feed the urban population. • British held a rubber monopoly, resisting Malay farmers’ attempts to grow it. • Malays had to grow rice: • 1917 – Rice Lands Enactment forced food production • 1918 – Food Production enactment

  16. Capitalism effects women • Men worked to grow cash crops while women maintained subsistence activities at home. • Men’s work valued more highly than women’s. • Women were not allowed to tap rubber • The travel and isolation made them vulnerable • Local weavers were put out of work due to the introduction of manufactured goods. Ng, 78-79

  17. Immigrant Labour • Awful living conditions and health: malaria, dysentry, beri-beri. • Economic Depression (1922-28) • Thousands of tin mine workers and rubber state laborers out of a job; some repatriated to China and India. • Land ownership and rice growing was restricted by Britain for Malays. Musimgrafik, 78-84

  18. Education of the elite • 1905: Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK) established for sons of aristocrats and chiefs. • 1910: Graduates of this system filled newly formed Malay Administrative Service (MAS) • 3 effects: • Developed and maintained the colonial class structure • An unequal and ethnically divided education system • Maintained gender inequality (Ng, 82)

  19. Education opportunities for women • 1817: first girls’ school established (English) • An English education had opportunities for secondary or tertiary education. • 1884: first vernacular (Malay) school for girls in TelokBlanga, Johore. • Girls were taught needlework, lace-making, cooking and weaving. • 1942: Malay Girls College was established.

  20. Global Influences of the early 20th century • Islamic reform in the Middle East • China’s anti-Manchu movement • Indian independence efforts through civil disobedience • Indonesia’s attempt for independence

  21. Social Activism • Political parties: • First Malay political party: KesatuanMelayuSingapura (SMU) (1926) • Communist Party of Malaya (1930) • Central Indian Association of Malaya (1936) • First Malay left-wing party: KMM Union of Malayan Youths (1937) • Unions and strikes: Caxton Press workers (1927), Rubber estate workers (March 1941)

  22. Japanese Occupation • 8th Dec. 1941, Japanese invade Malaya. • 1st Jan. 1942, CPM founded the MPAJA – Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army. • Involved all 3 ethnicities • Grew to 10,000 members • 15th Feb. 1942, British surrender. • Aug. 1945, Japanese surrender. • For 4-5 weeks, CPM/MPAJA governed until British reoccupation.

  23. British Reoccupy, Sept. 1945 • British dismantled MPAJA in Dec. 1945 • Forced Sultans to sign over power; Jan ’46 – Sir Edward Gent appointed High Commissioner. • Britain needed revenue from Malaya’s tin and rubber industry to pay WWII debts • Labourers were difficult to manage • Strikes, shut-outs and work-ins

  24. Malays organize • PKMM or Malay Nationalist Party(Sept. ‘45) • Youth (API) • Women (AWAS) – 1946 • Strong anti-colonial and nationalist stance; recruited among Malay rural gentry and peasantry. • Height of its membership exceeded 2000 • Colonial repression resulted in banning of the group in 1948; many detained. • MDU (Malayan Democratic Union) (Dec. ‘45)

  25. Becoming a Nation-State • Britain’s plan: Malayan Union • Opposition • “Independence” was not included. • March ’46, UMNO formed. • AMCJA/PUTERA people’s constitutional proposal • Nation-wide hartal 20th Oct ’47. • Compromise: • March congress; UMNO & British. • 1stFeb. ’48, Federation of Malaya replaced United Malayan plan.

  26. Political Parties • UMNO (1946) • Women’s wing: KaumIbu • MIC (1945) • MCA (1949) • CPM (1951) • Alliance (1953) • PAS (1955)

  27. Emergency (18th June 1948-1960) • Emergency Regulations enacted • Thousands were killed; 34,000 imprisoned without trial; 26,000 Chinese deported • Arrested political and militant activists • Banned MCP, MPAJA, and New Democratic Youth League • 600 “New Villages” set up (1950-60) Caldwell, 221-224

  28. Toward Merdeka • 1951 “Member System” • First federal election (1955) • Baling Talk • 28th Dec. ’55 – CPM and Alliance leaders met; ends in deadlock. • Tunku Abdul Rahmanand delegation in London: • 18 Jan - 6 Feb ‘56 • Reid Commission (June ‘56 - Feb ‘57) • Formulated constitution • Date for merdeka: 31st August 1957.

  29. Gap between rich and poor • Most political power - Malay aristocrats • Most economic power - Chinese • Rural Malay were extremely poor. • Government assistance for bumiputera: • RIDA (1950) – later MARA • FELDA (1956) • FAMA, etc.

  30. Malaysian Identity • Federation of Malaysia (1963) • + Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah • Bumiputera • Official language debate • “Malaysian Malaysia” vs. “Malay Malaysia”

  31. 1969 General Election Results • Alliance support had declined • MCA sustained heaviest defeat • UMNO support also declined

  32. The violence on May 13, 1969 • Official death toll in Kuala Lumpur: 196 • Three quarters of the casualties were Chinese Malaysians • 6000 were left homeless after fires

  33. Cause of such violence? Government’s Official Position: • Election ‘victory’ processions by opposition parties incited racial taunts • eventual riot in KL. • Another version: • Riots were orchestrated from within UMNO. • A segment of UMNO wanted to take power from the traditional Malay power holders within UMNO. Dr. KuaKia Soong

  34. Whose history? Which narrator? How was Malaysia shaped by British systems and structures? Did these structures affect ethnicity, class and gender? How does this history affect you? What is your role in shaping social structures?

  35. “The justification of all historical study must ultimately be that it enhances our self-consciousness, enables us to see ourselves in perspective, and helps us towards that greater freedom which comes from self-knowledge.” -Keith Thomas

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