Government and Politics/ Contents

The idea of Malaysia

Khong Kim Hoong and Heng Pek Koon

After Malaya's Independence, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra grew increasingly concerned about communism, seen as a very real threat at the time. Although he had initially rejected the idea of merging Malaya with other British colonies, he reassessed his position, and sought to a union with Brunei, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore.

  • Information in the full article includes
  • Idea of a merger
  • Motivation for forming Malaysia
  • Acceptance of the idea
  • The Borneo response
Tunku Abdul Rahman

Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, giving a speech at the Foreign Correspondents Associations, 27 May 1961.