Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957
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Long title | An Act to make provision for and in connection with the establishment of the Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) as an independent sovereign country within the Commonwealth. |
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Citation | 1957 c. 60 5 and 6 Eliz 2 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 31 July 1957 |
Status: Current legislation | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
The Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 (1957 c. 60 5 and 6 Eliz 2) was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It came into operation on 31 July 1957. The Act made provisions for the nation of Malaya (formerly the Protected States of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, and Terengganu) and the Settlements of Penang and Malacca to gain an independent sovereign country within and become a member of the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957; prior to this, Federation of Malaya (formerly Malay States) had been a fully self-governing British colony.
History
The Malayan Union established by the British Malaya which comprised the Federated Malay States, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, and the Unfederated Malay States consisted of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu, Johor and of the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca came into being in 1946, in a series of agreement between British and Malayan Union, the Malayan Union was superseded by the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948 hereafter.
After extensive work to stabilize the political situation and reduce racial tensions, the British government finally ceded full autonomy to the Federation of Malaya on August 31st 1957 and the country achieved independence, led by the inaugural prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, who remained in office until 1970.
See also
References
External links
- The UK Statute Law Database: Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957
- Chronological table of the statutes; HMSO, London. 1993. ISBN 0-11-840331-1