Federation of Malaya

  Federation of Malaya

 

From 1946 to 1948, the eleven Malay states formed a single British crown colony known as the Malayan Union.  Due to opposition from Malay nationalists, the Union was disbanded and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the symbolic positions of the rulers of the Malay states.

Within the Federation, while the Malay states were protectorates of the United Kingdom, Penang and Malacca remained British colonial territories. Like the Malayan Union before it, the Federation did not include Singapore. 

The Federation of Malaya Agreement was signed on 21 January 1948 at King House by the Malay rulers, and by Sir Edward Gent as the representative of the British government. The Agreement superseded the Agreement creating the Malayan Union, and prepared for the establishment of the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948. 

The Federation became independent from British colonial rule and became an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957.    

In 1963, the Federation was reconstituted as "Malaysia" when it federated with the British territories of Singapore, Sarawak, and North Borneo.  Singapore separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic on 9 August 1965.

 

 

 

National Definitive Series

5 May 1957

 

Malaya Independence Day

31 August 1957

 

Conference of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East ( ECAFE )

5 March 1958

 

1^st Anniversary of Independence

31 August 1958

 

10^th Anniversary of Human Rights Day

10 December 1958

 

Installation of Sultan Abdul Halim ( Kedah )

20 February 1959

 

Inauguration of Parliament

12 September 1959

 

Coronation of Sultan Ismail ( Johor )

10 February 1960

 

World Refugee Year

7 April 1960

 

15^th Meeting of the International Rubber Study Group

19 September 1960

 

Installation of Agong III, Tuanku Syed Putra

4 January 1961

 

Installation of Tuanku Munawir ( Negeri Sembilan )

17 April 1961

 

Coronation of Sultan Salahuddin ( Selangor )

18 June 1961

 

13^th Colombo Plan Consultative Committee Meeting

30 October 1961

 

World Malaria Eradication Campaign

7 April 1962

 

National Language Month

21 July 1962

 

Free Primary Education

   

1 October 1962

 

Freedom from Hunger

21 March 1963

 

Cameron Highlands Hydroelectric Scheme

26 June 1963

 

Singapore 1959-1963 ( Self Government State )

In 1955 at the Legislative Assembly General Election, the Labour Front Party emerged as the most number of candidates elected. Its leader David Marshall became the First Chief Minister of Singapore. He led a delegation to London in 1956 to negotiate for independence of Singapore but failed. The reason was he was too soft with the communists. In 1954, the labour unrests led by the communists were so many that it was dubbed as ‘The Year of the Strikes’. The British government wanted him to deal with the communists first before granting independence for Singapore. He resigned upon returning to Singapore. Lim Yew Hock then the Minister for Labour and Welfare took over as Second Chief Minister. He began a series of suppression against the communists. The British government then had more confidence in granting independence. From 1956 to 1968, there were a series of ‘Merdeka Talks’ for Singapore. The British finally agreed to grant self-government to Singapore in 1959 under the New Constitution. The People’s Action Party had just won the 30 May election and Lee Kuan Yew became the Prime Minister. On 1 June 1959, the General Post Office issued this set of ‘The New Constitution’ stamps. Each stamp has the Golden Lion to represent the state of Singapore with government administrative buildings in the background. Queen Elizabeth II was still the sovereign head as defence and foreign affairs were still under her control. 

The Malayan Federation came into being in 1957 but Singapore remained a separate state. The stamps of the Malayan Federation were interchangeable with the current stamps of Singapore. Singapore became self governing as the State of Singapore on 3 June 1959 and commemorated the event with a special stamp issue. These were the first stamps where the Singapore Lion dominated the design. The Singapore Lion did of course appear as part of the state crest on the $5 value definitive issued in 1955. With this New Constitution issue, the stamps of Singapore no longer bore the word "Malaya".

Stamps were issued to commemorate the new constitution that saw Singapore turning from a British colony to that of a state. Design showing Singapore Lion and Administrative Centre.

1/6/1959

Internal Self-Government : New Constitution

Singapore celebrated its first national day as a self-governing state on 3rd June 1960. The occasion was commemorated aptly with two stamps featuring the new state flag.

The words ‘State of’ were in cursive and SINGAPORE was in bold. June 3 1960 were printed on the left of the landscape format of the stamp. In this issue there were only two stamps – the 4 cent denomination and the 10 cent denomination. At that time 4 cent postage was used for posting an unsealed standard envelope, whereas a 10 cent postage was used for a sealed standard envelope. 

3/6/1960

Singapore National Day 1960

3/6/1961

Singapore National Day 1961

31/3/1962

Definitives Series #1

3/6/1962

Singapore National Day 1962

3/6/1963

Singapore National Day 1963

8/8/1963

South-East Asia Cultural Festival