CO882-10 — Page 516

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

CO. 882/10

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

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Mr. Chamberlain accepted, as sound and judicious, the views expressed by Sir Charles Mitchell, 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 considered that the growth of the federation should be gradual, because attempts to hurry on prematurely a closer union would probably excite suspicion and distrust. 5. In the same despatch, Mr. Chamberlain approved the terms of the draft Treaty of Federation, and Mr. (now Sir) F. A. Swettenham was at once sent by the Governor on a special mission to each State in order to obtain the concurrence and signature of its Ruler. 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 countenange which the richer States will be able to afford the poorer in the development of their resources, so contributing 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 communion- tion would be strengthened; that advantages would acɑrue from the annual meetings of the Ralers; and that the expenses of carrying the soheme into effect would be met by the States in shares proportionate to their several revenues.

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6. Mr. Swettenham's mission did not take long. In his official report upon its suocess, he noted that the "cheerful_rapidity with which the Malay Chiefs “have in this stance accepted Your Excellency's advice, is as remarkable as “the ease and rapidity with which it is now posible to travel in the Malay States.” The rapidity was indeed remarkable.

In the same report he records that :—--

The Sultan of Perak signed and sealed the Treaty at once;

The Datoh Bandar (on behalf of himself and the Datoh Klana) signed after half-an-hour's Interview;

The Datoh Jelebu also took half-an-hour to decide;

The Sultan of Selangor took an hour;

The Yam Tuan of Sri Menanti, and the Datohs of Johol, Rambau and Tanpin (whom Mr. Swettenham saw together) took three hours;

And lastly, the Sultan of Pahang, who took longer than anyone else, returned the executed document within four hours.

So far as I am aware, the fact that not one of these Rulers even made an attempt to consult his State Council has not yet received official comment. It has not escaped native comment. Mr. Swettenham knew, fully as well as the Rulers, that in this respect the Rulers had sigrally failed in their duty to their people.

7. There is another point which requires attention in connection with any consideration of a scheme for extending the scope of the present federation. The scheme was a profound secret until it had become an accomplished fact. There had bean no sign of any desire or feeling amongst the Rulers or the people of the Malay States that combination in certain respects would enure to their common welfare there had been no public discussion of the subject: it had not even been mentioned in any of the local newspapers. But this is not all. The Treaty was signed in July, 1895. The secret was not given out until the 23rd August, 1895, when the Treaty was published in the "Straits Settlements Garette.” The appointment of Mr. F. A. Swettenham as Resident-General was not gazetted until the 3rd July, 1896. A notification in the “Straits Settlements Gazette" of the 5th June, 1896, proclaimed that the Treaty would come into effect on the 1st July, 1898, which was about a year after its execution. The only reason for this delay must be that the Treaty was premature, and that the Government was unable to carry it into effect.

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8. The first of the "annual meetings of the Rulers took place in Kuala Kangsar (Perak) in 1897. The second did not take place until six years later (1903), when it was held in Kuala Lumpur (Selangor). It was noteworthy for a statement made therest by the Sultan of Perak. In a set speech (speaking in Malay) he

referred to the benefits which his State had derived from British protection, and then expressed himself as follows :—

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"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 to 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.

The appointment of a wise and prudent Resident-General is of great advantage to all these States united in friendship; and I therefore sincerely hope that he will bear in mind the duties and powers of the Residents, because it is provided in the Pangkor Treaty that the Residents are the advisers of their Sultans.'

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9. So far as I am aware, there were no further meetings of the Rulers. On the 29th October, 1900, the Federal Council was created by an Agreement of that date; and its first meeting was held on the 11th December, 1909.

It is not necessary, I think, for the purposes of this memorandum that I should attempt to describe the federal system of the Federated Malay States. It will suffice, perhaps, if I state that it is admitted by everyone to suffer from an excess of centralisation. This was certainly the view held by the late Sir John Anderson, who once said to me that "The Federated Malay States had been tied up into far too tight a knot, and the difficulty was to know how to undo it." This over- centralisation is so acute that the Public Service Salaries Commissions devoted some space in their report to it under the heading of “Remarks on the Discontent in the Public Servios" (sse paragraph 498 of the report) and their recommendations (288 paragraph 500) were that there should be such decentralisation as is possible of the functions of the Secretariats, and that the Residents, Heads of Departments, District Officers, and other suitable officers should be given greater personal authority wherever it is feasible.

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10. I now venture, with all dus deference, to invite attention to the root of the evil of the "Residential" system. It was not apparent (to the superficial observer) in the pre-federation times: it became conspicuous when, after federation, the Residents were given, in unmistakable terms, to understand that it was their duty to do what they were told to do by the Federal Secretariat. Beyond doubt, the root of the evil is that, from the very first, the Residents, though nominally only Advisers to their Sultans (see the Treaties, see also Mr. Chamberlain's speech (paragraph 4 above) and the Sultan of Perak's speech (paragraph 8)) had really, by force of circumstances, been compelled to act as though the Sultans had delegated their powers to them. The Residents really administered the States, and the Sultans stand by and watch them do it. In the Unfederated States, it is very different. There the Adviser states an opinion or makes a recommendation, and the Sultan (or his delegate) concurs or approves. The Adviser is most circumspect in avoiding all semblance of giving any executive order. Paradoxical as it may seem, an Adviser is, nevertheless, a far more powerful official than a Resident. The Adviser works in close terms of friendship and intimacy with his Ruler, and the order that goes forth with the Adviser's recommendation and the Ruler's approval has a double weight. In the Federated Malay States, the Resident's powers have, to a very great extent, been taken away from him and given to the heads of Federal Departments and, even in matters solely connected with hia State, he may find his orders reversed by the Federal Secretariat. Putting it bluntly, therefore, one may correctly state that the difference between the Ruler of an Unfederated State and a Ruler of one of the Federated States is that one rules hit country and that the other does not. It is in this light that one should view Sir Arther Young's statement (in his private letter of the 11th August to Mr. Dixon) that “it requires very strong reasons before taking the step to force the Unfederated * States to join the Federation, and certainly Johore and Kedah will never join “ without compulsion."

11. When, in 1900, the British Government took over from Siam the suzerainty of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Trengganu, Sir John Anderson confidently expected

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