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5. When, in 1895, a scheme for the federation of Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Palang, the only Malay States at that time under British protection, was outlined by Governor, Sir Charles Mitchell, it was approved by Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, as Secretary of State for the Colonies, on the understanding that pains should be spared to safeguard the position and dignity of the Native Rulers, to invite them to co-operate as fully as heretofore with their British Advisers in promoting the advancement of their respective territories and subjects, and to give them the assurance that such changes as shall be made are solely intended to promote strength by combination, uniformity of policy, and harmony of purpose.' (Eastern No. 185). Mr. J. Chamberlain accepted Sir C. Mitchell's view that at first the Federal Council should be only a consultative body, that the legislative powers of the separate State Councils should not be interfered with, and that separate State Treasuries should be maintained. He approved the terms of a draft Treaty of Federation, and Mr. (now Sir) Frank Swettenham was sent on a special mission to each State to obtain the con- currence and signatures of its Rulers. Mr. Swettenham was instructed to point out to the Rulers that "in binding themselves and their States by this agreement, the Rulers will not in the slightest degree be diminishing the powers and privileges which they now possess, nor be curtailing "the right of self-Government which they now enjoy." He was also to explain that the object of the federation was to "advance the common good of the States as a whole by the aid and countenance which the richer States will be able to afford the poorer in the development of their resources, so con- tributing to the common welfare"; that matters of common interest would receive the benefit of the knowledge and experience of all the Rulers; that the powers of the States in the administration of justice, for the suppression of crime, for defence against aggression and for the establishment of the means of communication would be etrengthened; that advantages would accrue from the annual meetings of the Rulers; and that the expenses of carrying the scheme into effect would be met by the States in shares proportionate to their several revenues. (Eastern No. 135). The concur- rence and signatures of the Rulers were rapidly obtained, and Sir Frank Swettenham himself has recently stated that, among other objects, "the intention of the Treaty of Federation was to give unity, increased powers and resources to the States as a whole; to confirm the authority of the Rulers in their own States and increase their importance as members of a powerful federation." (British Malaya for January, 1932, page 246).
6. The first meeting of the Rulers took place at Kuala Kangsar (Perak) in 1897. At the second, which was held at Kuala Lumpur (Selangor) in 1903, a notable state- ment was made by the then Sultan of Perak in the course of a set speech as fol-
lows:-
"These States are now known as the united countries: but the matter of union I do not quite clearly understand. But you are all aware that the States have become friendly, amicably assisting one another. If, however, the four States were amalgamated into one, would it be right to say that one State assisted the other? Assistance implies something more than one: for, if there is only one, which is the helper and which is the helped? A Malay proverb says that there cannot be two masters in one vessel. Neither can there be four Rulers over one country. It is my hope that the affairs of each State may be managed by its own officers so that the Governments may be separate entities." (Eastern No. 135).
It is evident from this speech that the impulse towards amalgamation, rather than true federation, was already making itself felt in 1903.
7. When in 1909 the British Government took over from Siam the suzerainty of Kedah, Kelantan, Trengganu, and Perlis, Governor Sir John Anderson confidently expected that these States would, at an early date, be willing, if not eager, to enter the Federation. All four States were in desperate financial embarrassment; they sadly needed some European officials, and the rank and file of their Malay staff were dis- gracefully underpaid. It appeared to Sir John that entry into the Federation would be the quickest and simplest remedy for these ailments. But he very soon discovered that the new States, though prepared to be thoroughly loyal to their new suzerain, Great Britain, were nevertheless determined to have nothing whatever to do with the Federated Malay States (Eastern No. 135). When Sir John was staying with Mr. (afterwards Sir) George Maxwell, the British Adviser in Kedah, he asked what it all meant. Mr. Maxwell replied:-" It is the hatred of the system by which the Sultans and their Residents were mere marionettes, who worked on wires pulled by an Under- Secretary in Kuala Lumpur. The Federated Malay States Government is not a federa- It is a conglomerate." Sir John recognised this fact when he said that "the
tion.
49
Federated Malay States had been tied up into far too tight, a knot, and the difficulty was to know how to undo it." (Letter from Mr. Maxwell to Sir L. Guillemard, dated 24th June, 1920).
8. The root of the trouble lay in the fact that the Residents, though nominally only advisers to their Sultans had, by force of circumstances, been compelled to act as though the Sultans had delegated their powers to them. administered the States, while the Sultans stood by and watched them do it. In the The Residents really Unfederated Malay States, on the contrary, the Advisers merely stated their recom- mendations, avoiding all semblance of giving any executive orders: and the Sultans concurred. "The difference," as Sir George Maxwell said, between the Rulers of
an Unfederated State and a Ruler of one of the Federated States is that one rules his country and the other does not.” (Eastern No. 135.) That is why the Unfederated Malay States, though loyal to their suzerain, will have nothing to do with the Federated Malay States.
9. Six years' experience as High Commissioner convinced Sir John Anderson that both Rulers and Residents were dissatisfied with the working of the Federation. He knew that up to 1896 the State Councils had taken an active part in the general control of public affairs and in legislation. He realized that under Federation that control had gradually passed into the hands of the Resident-General, that the power of a State Council had become in matters of administration nominal, and that as regards legislation, owing to the policy of aiming at uniformity as between different States, its functions had declined to those of a registering body. He knew that the Rulers felt the loss of their authority and effective power of control, and that both Rulers and Residents would welcome any measures which brought His Majesty's repre- sentative, the High Commissioner, directly into the administration and associated them with him. Accordingly Sir John Anderson decided on three changes in the machinery of Government:-
10.
(a) with a view to the full safeguarding of Malay interests he established in 1909 a Federal Council over which the High Commissioner would usually preside;
(b) in the absence of an Executive Council, he arranged for periodical meetings between the High Commissioner, the Resident-General, and the Residents, at which the Residents could discuss public questions from the point of view of both their own States and the Federation, advise the High Commissioner on federal matters of importance, and keep him in close touch with the Rulers;
(c) he introduced in Federal Council a Bill, which passed into law as Enactment No. 1 of 1911, altering the title of Resident-General to that of Chief Secre- tary to Government. (Governor's Confidential despatch of 19th March, 1923) *
At the inaugural meeting of the Federal Council on the 11th December, 1909, Sir John Anderson spoke as follows:-
"It was no small sacrifice of individuality on the part of the Rulers to enter on the compact of federation, and to complete and crown it by the Agreement in virtue of which we are assembled. They made that sacrifice willingly and gladly, because they felt the debt which they owe to the protection and help which has been extended to them by England, and because they feel that the prosperity and progress of their States is bound up with the advancement of British interests in the Malay Peninsula. They have done this in the full confidence, based on the facts of the past, that, whatever is done either by the British Government or by this Council, the faith and obligations of the treaties under which they agreed to accept British Advisers will always be scrupulously observed. They are confident that we will never forget that our powers are derived wholly from their gift, and that we are here in a Malay country as advisers and counsellors of its Malay sovereigns. I am sure that every one of us will bear that in mind, and that the Rulers, who have so earnestly at heart the real good and advancement of the people subject to them, will never have cause to regret that they agreed to this step." 11. Sir John Anderson had hoped that the changes which he made would restore to the Rulers and Residents the fuller powers and responsibilities which they exercised before Federation. But his hopes were not realized. became more and more centralized in the office of the Chief Secretary. The process The administration gradually may have been partly unconscious; but, whatever the cause, the result was clear.
* 19392/23: not printed.
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