The first prime minister of the new nation was
Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Earlier in the 1950's, he and other leaders had formed a political alliance of
the three main ethnic parties: the United
Malays National
Organization,
the Malayan Chinese
Association, and the
Malayan Indian Congress.
This three-party partnership, known as the Alliance, was the forerunner of the
National Front that is Malaysia's most powerful political organization today. In
1961, the term "Malaysia" came into being after Tunku convinced Singapore,
Sabah,
and Sarawak
to join Malaya in a federal union. In the 1960s membership in the federation
shifted several times, finally settling into the present pattern in 1963, when
Malaysia was established. The Malay majority hoped that including
Sabah
and
Sarawak, which had ethnically diverse
populations, would balance the large numbers of Chinese from
Singapore.
Economic and political disputes soon developed between the mostly Chinese state
leaders of Singapore and the mostly Malay federal government of Malaysia. In
1965, Singapore withdrew from the federation peacefully and became independent.
In Malaysia, as in the former
British Malaya, the ethnic groups
followed different traditional occupations. Malaysia was a multi-racial country
with a mix of people from many different races and cultures. The Malays
controlled government and agriculture, while the Chinese dominated commerce and
industry. The Chinese resented the political power of the Malays, and the Malays
envied the economic success of the Chinese. The tensions eventually triggered
racial violence. In 1969, bloody riots broke out after an election on
Peninsular Malaysia. The government declared a
state of emergency, suspending the
Constitution and Parliament
until 1971. It was a painful moment in the young nation's history that most
Malaysians prefer to forget. Turbulence in the government went on into the early
1970s, when stability returned and the Malaysian economy began to prosper.
After the riots, Malaysia's political leaders tried to build national unity.
They amended the
Constitution to forbid discussion, even in
Parliament, of certain "sensitive issues," including the special position of the
Malays and of Borneo's ethnic groups, and the powers of the Malay sultans. The
amendment also required all government bodies to use
Bahasa Malaysia as their principal official
language. Many non-Malays, however, resented the government's attempts to build
national unity through increased emphasis on Malay culture. Also after the
riots, Malaysia's leaders determined to improve the economic conditions of the
Malays. In 1971, they launched a 20-year plan called the
New Economic Policy
to achieve a better balance of wealth among racial groups. To minimize racial
politics, the government created in 1974 a multiparty alliance called the
National
Front,
uniting
Malay, Chinese,
and
Islamic groups.
Golden age of Melaka and colonialism