Memorizing...

Sejarah Form 3 Chapter 5. =)

Bab 5- Kemerdekaan Negara 31 Ogos 1957  

5.1 Rombongan Merdeka

®  At the start of 1956, Parti Perikatan was working hard to free our country from the British.

®  To get independence, the Ketua Menteri--- Tunku Abdul Rahman, had a conference with the Malay kings and the British

®  The kings agreed to have a private conference with the British

®  Rombongan Merdeka was formed in 1956. It was made up of:

·       Four representatives of Malay kings, which were
- Dato’ Mohd Seth
-Dato Panglima Bukit Gantang
-Dato’ Nik Ahmad Kamil
- Abdul Aziz Othman

·       Four members of Parti Perikatan, which were
- Tunku Abdul Rahman
-Tun H.S Lee
- Tun Abdul Razak Hussein
- Tun Dr. Ismail

®  Led by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the group set off to London to demand the country’s independence

®  The people of Tanah Melayu had high hopes for Rombongan Merdeka to free Tanah Melayu from British colonization

Perjanjian London

®  Rombongan Merdeka which was led by Tunku Abdul Rahman had a conference with the British in London

®  The conference lasted 21 days, from 18^th Jan- 8 Feb 1956

®  The conference chairman was the secretary for British’s colonized countries- Lord Lennox-Boyd

®  At the end of the conference, both sides agreed to sign an agreement called Perjanjian London

®  The details of Perjanjian London are:

-Persekutuan Tanah Melayu gets independence on 31^st August 1957

-British trading at Persekutuan Tanah Melayu will not be taken over by Parti Perikatan

-Perlembagaan Merdeka is made by a chosen commissioner

-A defense agreement will be signed with the British so the importance and safety of British economy is confirmed

- division of powers between federal and state governments continues

®  Rombongan Merdeka returned to Tanah Melayu on 20^th Feb 1956 and was greeted eagerly at Padang Melaka, Bandar Hilir, Melaka

®  There, Tunku Abdul Rahman announced the date of independence

5.2 Penyediaan Perlembagaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu

®  Constitution (perlembagaan) is a set of laws or rules that act as a guide for handling government, civil or administrative institutionalization.

®  The constitutions must be accepted by all races as it was important to achieve unity

®  Parti Perikatan agreed to elect a pesuruhjaya bebas to set the Perlembagaan Persekutuan Tanah Melayu

®  In the end, Reid Commission was chosen to do the task

Suruhanjaya Reid

®  In March 1956, Reid Commission was chosen to set the constitution for Tanah Melayu

®   The members of the Reid Commission were:

-Lord William Reid ( Chairman)

- Sir Ivor Jennings ( England)

- Sir William Mckell (ex- Gabenor Jeneral of Australia)

-Tuan Abdul Hamid (Pakistan)

- Tuan B. Malik ( Hakim Makhamah Tinggi India)

®   The Reid Commission had to:

-         Set the constitution for Tanah Melayu

-         Ensure the special position of the Malay kings

-         Form and decide the power of the federal and state government

-         Consitute a “rupa bangsa” for Tanah Melayu

®  In the process of constituting the constitution, the Reid Commision received as many as 131 memorandums from a few sources including the kings of Tanah Melayu

®  The Reid Commission released a draft of the Constitution in Februari 1957

®  The draft was debated among the public and the local political parties

®  A few original suggestions of the Reid Commission had to be altered to please all the people

®  Below are the agreements:
-Formation of a country divided between federal and state governments

-Citizenship through jus soli to those born in Tanah Melayu

- Continuation of the special arrangements for the Malays without affecting the other races

- Continuation of the Malay kings and the Raja Berperlembagaan concept

- Use of Malay as the national language (Chinese and Tamil can be expanded and used as main languages in their respective schools)

- Islam as the official religion. Other religions are free to be taken up without being criticized

®  The agreement of all the races allowed a democratic government and the Raja Perlembagaan concept could be formed as well

®   All the leaders, Malays and non-Malays, gave full support to the pact as they knew that race unity in the country could be achieved through the pact.

®  On June 1957, the British Parliament accepted the suggestions of the Reid Commission

®  The draft was submitted for approval in the Majlis Perundangan Persekutuan to be approved

®  On 15^th August 1957, a ceremony of the signing of Perjanjian Merdeka 1957 between the kings of Tanah Melayu and the representatives of British was held at King’s House, KL.

Perlembagaan Merdeka

®  The constitution had a few important clauses

®  Among the clauses were:

·       Formation of a federal government called Persekutuan Melayu

·       Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the head of the country

·       A parliament consisting of Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat

·       Prime Minister as head administrator of the country with help from the Cabinet

·       Official religion Islam

·       Official language Malay

·       Malays have special rights without affecting the other races

·       Anyone born in Tanah Melayu automatically given citizenship. Applications for citizenship also taken into consideration

®  Through Perlembagaan Merdeka 1957, the public was given the rights to lead a sovereign country

®  The leaders who worked hard to achieve independence should be given appreciation because:

-Difficulties among races were avoided

-Independence was achieved without spilling blood

-Complicated issues such as the national language, national race and citizenship terms were decided

5.3 Pemasyhuran Kemerdekaan

®  Pemasyhuran (promulgation) means an important announcement or declaration

®  At 12 midnight on 30^th August 1957, in front of Padang Kelab Selangor, KL, the Union Jack was lowered before the independence promulgation.

®  A few young men from UMNO lowered the flag of Union Jack and raised the Persekutuan Tanah Melayu flag

®  Thousands of people witnessed the event of the lowering of the historical Union Jack

®  Everyone cheered when the Persekutuan Tanah Melayu flag was raised

®  The promulgation of the independence of Persekutuan Tanah Melayu was at Stadium Merdeka, KL on 31^st August 1957

®  Queen Elizabeth was represented by the Duke of Wellington, who was ready with the official submission of documents.

®  The ceremony was preceded by a speech by the representative of the Queen of England

®  Then, the submission documents were passed over to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong

®  This independence signified the political power to the country’s leaders after being conquered for over 446 years

®  Officialization of independence was read out by Tunku Abdul Rahman, the head of Parti Perikatan who was going to be the first Prime Minister of the country

®  “MERDEKA” was yelled by Tunku Abdul Rahman as many as 7 times and the cheers were taken up by the audience

Kandungan Pemasyhuran Kemerdekaan

®  The Independence documents 1957 were written in English and Malay

®  The important details of the Pemasyhuran Kemerdekaan included:
-Persekutuan Tanah Melayu achieved independence and was on the same standard as all other countries

-The independent Tanah Melayu included Perlis, Kedah, P.Pinang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan

-All of the Queen of England and the British Parliament’s power over Tanah Melayu was cancelled

-Perlembagaan Persekutuan started on 31^st August 1957

- The independent Tanah Melayu was a democratic country that cared for its nations’ well being