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The Malayan Chinese Association, 1948–65

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Margaret Roff
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Extract

In 1948, the Chinese alone of the three major communities of Malaya had no single political or quasi-political organisation concerned to foster and further their interests within that country. The United Malays National Organisation had evolved under the leadership of Dato' Onn bin Ja'afar to press Malay opposition to the Malayan Union scheme, with the enfeebling of the Sultans and the modification of the special position of the Malays that it involved. Having achieved this specific aim, it remained to work for the general welfare of Malays, air their felt grievances and assert their claimed rights. Fragmentation within the Indian community along religious and racial lines was reflected in the multiplication of organisations claiming to speak for it, though by 1948 the Malayan Indian Congress was beginning to emerge as the chief of these, and to draw others within its ambit. But, although many of the more important mainland Chinese political parties, including the Kuomintang and Communists, had their branches or counterparts within the Malayan Chinese community, the political strength of the community was dispersed and it spoke with no clear voice on matters concerning it as a whole. This is especially illustrated in its failure to organise any effective counter to U.M.N.O's crusade against the Malayan Union scheme, although the Chinese stood to gain much by its retention, and lost much when it was revoked. Tan Cheng Lock, and others aware of the long-term implications of the change, made efforts to arouse the Chinese to defend their newly gained rights, but the majority remained apathetic and politically disengaged. It would seem that many of the more conservative Chinese had serious reservations about their political future within Malaya, or felt that those predominantly Chinese organisations primarily concerned with local Malayan politics were dangerously tainted with left-wing bias: yet the organisations representative of the conservative group — the Chinese Chambers of Commerce and the Chinese Assembly Halls — appeared to have little access to, or influence upon Government.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Southeast Asian History , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , September 1965 , pp. 40 - 53
Copyright
Copyright © The National University of Singapore 1965

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References

1. For accounts of this see Tadin, Ishak bin, “Dato' Onn and Malay Nationalism, 1946–1951”, Journal of Southeast Asian History, I, 1, 03 1960, pp. 56–68CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Hawkins, G., “Reactions to the Malayan Union”, Pacific Affairs, XIX, 3, 09 1946.Google Scholar

2. Seng, Png Poh's “The Kuomintang in Malaya”, in Papers on Malayan History, Tregonning, K. G. (ed), (Singapore, 1962)Google Scholar gives some idea of the aims and scope of the activity in Malaya of one such China-based party.

3. For detailed provisions, especially relating to citizenship, see Malayan Union Constitutional Proposals, (London, H.M.S.O., 1948).Google Scholar

4. See Lim, Soh Eng, “Tan Cheng Lock: His Leadership of the Malayan Chinese”, J.S.E.A.H. I, 1, 03 1960, especially pp. 36–41.Google Scholar

5. For a recent article see Short, Anthony, “Communism and the Emergency”, in Gungwu, Wang (ed) Malaysia: A Survey (Melbourne/London, 1964)Google Scholar. An official history of the Communist insurrection is in preparation by the same author.

6. Letter from Tan Cheng Lock to the Rt. Hon. Colonel Oliver Stanley, Secretary of State for the Colonies; written at Bangalore, Bombay, and published in Memorandum on the Future of Malaya (Singapore 1947).Google Scholar

7. Lyttelton, Oliver, Chandos, Viscount, The Memoirs of Lord Chandos, (London, 1962), p. 368.Google Scholar

8. Representation at the national level of the Association depended upon branch membership numbers, so that there was a great temptation for the branches to inflate their figures.

9. From A Collection of Speeches and Writings by Dato Sir Cheng-Lock Tan (Published by M.C.A., Kuala Lumpur, n.d.)

10. Federation of Malaya Agreement, 1948 (Kuala Lumpur, 1952).

11. The fullest published treatment of Tan Cheng Lock's (and M.C.A.'s) association with Dato' Onn and I.M.P. is in Lim, Soh Eng, opcit. pp.48–52Google Scholar

12. See Tan Siew Sin (Chairman Publicity Subcommittee), Malayan Chinese Asciation Statement on Federal Citizenship (Kuala Lumpur, n. d. (1949)) Tan Siew Sin, son of Tan Cheng Lock, was born in Malacca 1916, and educated there and at Raffles College Singapore. Appointed to the Federal Legislative Council 1948; Chairman Malacca M.C.A. 1957; Minister of Commerce and Industry 1957; National Chairman M.C.A. 1961, and Minister ot Finance since 1959.

13. In an interview 20th May, 1963.

14. The Communities Liaison Committee was set up in 1949, apparently at the suggestion of Malcolm McDonald, the British Commissioner General for Southeast Asia. Its members were leaders from each of the communities, and although it had no clearly defined function, it set itself to analyse causes of inter-racial friction with a view to alleviating them.

15. It must be remembered that it was he who led and organised Malay opposition to the Malayan Union, at least partly on the grounds that it allowed almost all residents of Malaya to become citizens.

16. See Malayan Constitutional Documents (Kuala Lumpur, 1958)Google Scholar and Carnell, F. G., “Malayan Citizenship Legislation”, International and Comparative Law Quarterly I, 10, 1952. pp. 504–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

17. After leaving U.M.N.O. in 1951, Onn established the Independence of Malaya Party which was professedly non-communal and had as its main aim the achievement of Malaya's independence within ten years. After the electoral successes of the Alliance and the failure of I.M.P., Onn became very embittered against the Chinese and M.C.A., claiming that Tan Cheng Lock had promised his support and then betrayed him.

18. Reported in Straits Times, 26 03, 1953.Google Scholar

19. For details see Report of the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Conference held in London January–February, 1956 (London, H.M.S.O. 1956).Google Scholar

20. Interview, September 1963. T. H. Tan was born in Singapore in 1914, and educated at Raffles College. Chief Executive Secretary, M.C.A. 1952; then in turn secretary and Chairman of the Alliance Party. He has been a Senator since 1952.

21. Report on the Federation of Malaya Constitutional Commission, (London, H.M.S.O., 1956).Google Scholar

22. For a sustained discussion of the problem see Ratnam, K. J., Communalism and the Political Process in the Federation of Malaya, (Ph.D. thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1961Google Scholar; soon to be published by University of Malaya Press, Kuala Lumpur.)

23. Report of the Committee on Malay Education, Chairman M.L.J. Barnes, (Kuala Lumpur, 1951) Chapter XIIGoogle Scholar

24. See Purcell, Victor, “The Crisis in Malayan Education”, Pacific Affairs, XXVI, I, 03 1953, pp70–76.Google Scholar

25. Chinese Schools and the Education of Chinese Malayans (The Report of a Mission invited by the Federation Government to study the problem of the Education of the Chinese in Malaya) (Kuala Lumpur, 1951) Chapter VII.Google Scholar

26. See Annual Education Report for the Federation of Malaya, 1952 (Kuala Lumpur, 1952)Google Scholar

27. Report of the Education Committee, 1916 (Kuala Lumpur. 1958).Google Scholar

28. Minutes of a Meeting of the General Assembly of the Malayan Chinese Association, held 25th March, 1958. Lim Chong Eu was born and educated at Penang. Medical doctor; former Alliance whip in the Federal Legislative Council; elected M.C.A. president March, 1958. Resigned July 1959, and subsequently founded the United Democratic Party. Elected to Federal Parliament (only successful U.D.P. candidate) 1964.

29. It seems almost certain that the letter was released without Dr. Lim's approval. Responsibility was later acknowledged by Yong Pung How, Chairman of the Publicity Committee: see Minutes of a Meeting of the Central General Committee, M.C.A., 12th July, 1959.

30. See Pilehan Raya Parliament dan Negeri Keputusan dan Perkiraan Undi (Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 05 1964)Google Scholar

31. I am indebted to Dr R. K. Vasil for permission to use information from his article “The 1964 Elections in Malaya” (to be published shortly).