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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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Reference -

C.O.882/12

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON,

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BF REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- |COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO|

1

86

Enclosure 4 in No. 37.

STATE OF PAHANG.

PRIOR to reconstitution the State Council of Pahang was composed of the following members :—

President: His Highness the Sultan of Pahang (Al-Muktasim Billah al-Sultan

Abdullah, K.C.M.G., ibni al-Marhum al-Sultan Ahmad al-Maadzam Shah). The British Resident (Mr. H. G. R. Leonard, M.C.S.).

The Tengku Besar (The Hon. Tengku Sulaiman, C.M.G., M.F.C., ibni al-Marhum

al-Sultan Ahmad al-Maadzam Shah).

The Tengku Mahkota (Tengku Abu Bakar ibni Sultan Abdullah).

The Tengku Panglima Perang (Tengku Yusuf ibni al-Marhum al-Sultan Ahmad

al-Maadzam Shah).

The Orang Kaya Indera Maharajah Perba Jelai (Wan Tanjong bin Wan

Mohamed).

The Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan (Che' Wan Haji Abdullah bin Ungku

Temenggong).

The Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar (Che' Hussain bin Mohamed Taib).

The Orang Kaya Indera Segara (Che' Ungku Abdul Jamal bin Ungku Muda). The Chief Kathi (Haji Daud bin Zainal Abidin).

2. All these members were regarded as "Official" members and after con- sultation with His Highness it was decided, with the approval of His Excellency the High Commissioner, to strengthen the Council with the addition of one official member in the person of the Legal Adviser or his representative and of five "Unofficial members consisting of three Europeans, one Chinese, and one Malay. The Unofficials are nominated by His Highness subject to the approval of His Excellency the High Commissioner and on first appointment will hold office for one year only and on com- pletion of each tour of service for a further period of one year.

3. At the express wish of His Highness it was decided, as a first measure, to appoint only two of the five Unofficial Members and gradually fill up the remaining vacancies as and when suitable selections could be made.

4. The two candidates first nominated by His Highness and approved by His Excellency the High Commissioner were:-Mr. A. de B. Haughton, General Manager of Kuala Reman Rubber Estates, to represent the planting interests and Mr. A. S. Lilburne, General Manager, Raub Australian Gold Mine, to represent the mining interests in Pahang.

5. The first meeting of the reconstituted State Council was held at the Astana in Pekan on Thursday, the 25th February. His Highness agreed that there should be no ceremonial opening as owing to the scattered nature of the Malayan Volunteer Infantry units the expense of having a Guard of Honour would have been high.

Prior to the opening of Council the British Resident formally introduced the two- new members to His Highness and other members of Council and after conversing a while members moved into the Council Chamber. The two new members took the oath in Malay and in a short speech thanked His Highness for the honour done them and assured His Highness that they would always have the interests of Pahang at The Council was then heart and serve on the Council to the best of their ability. formally opened. The following telegram in Malay from His Excellency the High Commissioner to His Highness was read out in Council

"Please accept my cordial greetings and sincere good wishes on the occa- sion of the first meeting of Your Highness's reconstituted State Council. I earnestly hope and believe that Your Highness's Council with its greatly increas- ing responsibilities and wider duties under the policy of decentralization will advance the welfare and good Government of Pahang."

The Council resolved to send a telegram of sincere thanks for His Excellency's cordial greetings and sympathetic message. The ordinary agenda fixed for the meet- ing was then carried out."

6. In the afternoon His Highness held a social function at which all members of Council and other officials and non-officials were present.

British Embassy,

Kuala Lipis.

10th March, 1932.

H. G. R. LEONARD,

British Resident, Pahang.

87

IV. WORKING OF THE ADVISORY SYSTEM IN KEDAH AND TRENGGANU.

C. 92300/32 [No. 63],

No. 38.

.FEDERATED MALAY STATES.

UNFEDERATED MALAY STATES.

THE HIGH COMMISSIONER to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Confidential.)

SIR,

(Received 19th September, 1932.)

Government House, Singapore, 25th August, 1932. WITH reference to my Federated Malay States Confidential (2) despatch, dated 31st March, 1932,* in which I explained that the difference between British Advisers in the Unfederated Malay States and British Residents in the Federated Malay States is due to the intention of our treaties having been more faithfully carried out in the Unfederated than in the Federated States, and that one of the objects of the decen- tralization policy is to rectify this unintentional aberration, I have the honour to forward, for your information, copies of a memorandum on the working of the advisory system in the Unfederated State of Kedah, prepared by Mr. A. C. Baker, the Acting British Adviser, Kedah, and dated the 21st instant.

2. I think that you will find this memorandum very interesting, and it is certainly

a striking fact that the financial situation to-day in the Unfederated States of Kedah and of Johore is appreciably better than in any one of the Federated Malay States, or in the Federation as a whole.

3. I also draw special attention to the following statement by Mr. Baker :-

"It is absolutely certain that the manner in which the advisory system has been over-shadowed in the Federated Malay States by the extension of the Federal as opposed to the State organization has increased the reluctance of the Unfederated Malay States to be included in the Federation in any form.

So long as the present system continues unmodified, there is no prospect of Kedah being willing to modify the position secured by the Agreement of 1923; in fact, there is a marked opposition to any proposal which would appear to make for greater unity even in those matters in which unity is to be desired.

I believe that this attitude can only be modified by the extension of decen- tralization in the Federated Malay States over a period of years. When definite results have been obtained, and the organization of the Federated Malay States is more comparable with the State organization in the Unfederated States, there will, I think, be a natural tendency towards more logical grouping of the various Malay States."

4. Mr. J. D. Hall, the substantive British Adviser of the State of Kedah, is at present on leave in England, and I refer you in this connexion to my Federated Malay States, Straits Settlements, Confidential despatch, dated 7th April, 1932,† I believe that Mr. Hall will, if you refer to him, corroborate fully what Mr. Baker has written; and I suggest that it will be useful for Sir Samuel Wilson to read the enclosed memorandum and to speak with Mr. Hall before he leaves England for Malaya. It has been arranged that Sir Samuel's tour in Malaya should include a brief visit to the State of Kedah.

I have, &c.,

C. CLEMENTI,

High Commissioner.

Enclosure in No. 38.

MEMORANDUM ON THE WORKING OF THE ADVISORY SYSTEM IN THE PROTECTED UNFEDERATED MALAY STATE OF KEDAH.

THE purpose of this memorandum is to bring out the practical and more intimate side of the working of the advisory system, and to deal more particularly with those points which cannot conveniently be brought out in a formal report.

* C. 92300/32 [No. 43]: not printed.

† C. 92300/32 [No. 48]: not printed.