Defending the monarchy: The Malay rulers and the making of the Malayan constitution, 1956-1957
The nine Malay rulers in Malaya faced considerable challenges to their status and position at the end of the Second World War. The Malayan Union scheme introduced in 1946 by the Colonial Office deprived them of most of their powers. But after massive protests by the Malays much of the powers of the...
Bewaard in:
| Gepubliceerd in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel, |
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| Hoofdauteur: | |
| Formaat: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Taal: | eng |
| Gepubliceerd in: |
Archipel
2018
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| Online toegang: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:archipel_528 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:archipel_528 https://doi.org/10.4000/archipel.528 urn:doi:10.4000/archipel.528 eng https://journals.openedition.org/archipel/528 2018-01-18T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/a1wq https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ Defending the monarchy: The Malay rulers and the making of the Malayan constitution, 1956-1957 Archipel Association Archipel info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2104-3655 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/0044-8613 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel Fernando, Joseph M. The nine Malay rulers in Malaya faced considerable challenges to their status and position at the end of the Second World War. The Malayan Union scheme introduced in 1946 by the Colonial Office deprived them of most of their powers. But after massive protests by the Malays much of the powers of the rulers were restored. The framing of the Malayan independence constitution between 1956 and 1957 pitted the institution of monarchy against the forces of nationalism. The dominant Alliance Party and most of the other parties wanted the rulers to be constitutional monarchs with limited powers under the new constitution. Some scholars have suggested that this reflected the demise of the institution of monarchy against the forces of nationalism. This article challenges this view. This article shows through a close examination and analysis of the primary constitutional records that the rulers fought a pitched battle to safeguard their position and status from further erosion in the new constitution. The article argues that the rulers were not only able to prevent further erosion of their constitutional powers but were in fact able to enhance their position considerably and give the Conference of Rulers a new lease of life in the 1957 federal constitution. En Malaya, les neuf dirigeants malais ont fait face à des défis considérables en ce qui concerne leur statut et position à la fin de la Seconde guerre mondiale. Le plan Malayan Union présenté en 1946 par le Colonial Office les privait de la plupart de leurs pouvoirs. Mais à la suite de manifestations massives menées par les Malais, la plupart de leurs pouvoirs furent restaurés. Le cadre de la constitution de la Malaya indépendante, entre 1956 et 1957, opposait l’institution d’une monarchie et les forces du nationalisme. Le parti dominant (Alliance Party) et la majorité des autres partis voulaient des dirigeants comme monarques constitutionnels dans le cadre de la nouvelle constitution. Un certain nombre de spécialistes ont avancé que cette position reflétait l’échec de l’institution d’une monarchie face aux forces du nationalisme. Cet article remet en cause cette vision. A travers un examen et une analyse serrés des archives constitutionnelles primaires, il montre que les dirigeants ont mené une bataille en règle afin de préserver leur position et statut d’une érosion plus aiguë dans le cadre de la nouvelle constitution. Cet article avance que non seulement les dirigeants se montrèrent capables d’enrayer l’érosion de leurs pouvoirs constitutionnels, mais qu’en réalité ils purent améliorer considérablement leur position et donner un nouveau souffle à la Conférence des Dirigeants dans la constitution fédérale de 1957. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
eng |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| description |
The nine Malay rulers in Malaya faced considerable challenges to their status and position at the end of the Second World War. The Malayan Union scheme introduced in 1946 by the Colonial Office deprived them of most of their powers. But after massive protests by the Malays much of the powers of the rulers were restored. The framing of the Malayan independence constitution between 1956 and 1957 pitted the institution of monarchy against the forces of nationalism. The dominant Alliance Party and most of the other parties wanted the rulers to be constitutional monarchs with limited powers under the new constitution. Some scholars have suggested that this reflected the demise of the institution of monarchy against the forces of nationalism. This article challenges this view. This article shows through a close examination and analysis of the primary constitutional records that the rulers fought a pitched battle to safeguard their position and status from further erosion in the new constitution. The article argues that the rulers were not only able to prevent further erosion of their constitutional powers but were in fact able to enhance their position considerably and give the Conference of Rulers a new lease of life in the 1957 federal constitution. |
| author |
Fernando, Joseph M. |
| spellingShingle |
Fernando, Joseph M. Defending the monarchy: The Malay rulers and the making of the Malayan constitution, 1956-1957 |
| author_facet |
Fernando, Joseph M. |
| author_sort |
Fernando, Joseph M. |
| title |
Defending the monarchy: The Malay rulers and the making of the Malayan constitution, 1956-1957 |
| title_short |
Defending the monarchy: The Malay rulers and the making of the Malayan constitution, 1956-1957 |
| title_full |
Defending the monarchy: The Malay rulers and the making of the Malayan constitution, 1956-1957 |
| title_fullStr |
Defending the monarchy: The Malay rulers and the making of the Malayan constitution, 1956-1957 |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Defending the monarchy: The Malay rulers and the making of the Malayan constitution, 1956-1957 |
| title_sort |
defending the monarchy: the malay rulers and the making of the malayan constitution, 1956-1957 |
| publisher |
Archipel |
| publishDate |
2018 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/archipel |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/archipel.528 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/archipel/528 |
| _version_ |
1877294337810759680 |