This bit of Malay authenticity remains till today!
Political
Malaya was being ruled by a Sultan which had both political and religious power before the British came and colonized the country. But when the British came and colonized Malaya, they tried to remove ideology from Malaya's political structure. They separated politics and religion into two different areas of governance. The Sultan no longer had control over politics. However, the Sultan has religious control. Yet, the people living in Malaya saw no need for that separation. And since the Malays in Malaysia are unified because of the same religion - Islam, the Sultan is still viewed as a person with much authority and is highly respected. This is the political continuity in Malaya.
In conclusion, even though the British had introduced their own system of governance, Malaya still kept their Sultans and the respect for them never changed. The culture and religion in Malaya was also not tampered with.
If you would like to see what the Sultan Palace is like, you can take a trip down to Bandar Hillir, 75000 Malacca to see a replica of the original Sultan Palace!
The replica of the Sultan's Palace, located at the foot of St. Paul's Hill.
Economic
In the 1850s, one of the most sought-after commodity is tin. Chinese men would explore the Klang River for the precious metals. And they were able to find huge deposits of tin at the place where the river merged with the Gombak River. They were the first to start the mining business in Malaya. When the British had arrived and intervening in the politics of Malaya, they started expanding on tin mining. The British thought it to be highly profitable business and thus Malaya continued on with it's mining business. The British had invested huge amounts of capital and built lots of tin factories around the mining area. Mining towns were also interconnected by state roads (improvement in infrastructure).
The continuity is in the continuation of export or trade of tin. However, the area where they first found the tin deposits have now been developed into Kulala Lumpur!
An example of a mining area in the past.
What about the changes that was brought to Malaya?
Social
The British had introduced many new technologies and systems to Malaya. Infrastructure was improved on at certain areas because there was a need due to the improvement in trade. When trade was made to concentrate on profit-making, it was imperative that roads, transport and different forms of communication be set up and improved on. This brought about great changes to Malaya as people were able to communicate better. Malaya was thus further developed, improved and brought to greater heights.
The development of railways (e.g.)
The first stage (1874-1896)
- Short latitudinal lines - to serve the tin mining areas.
- Linked the inland to a coastal port which then shipped to either Penang or Singapore.
The second stage (1897-1909)
- Construction of a north-south (Perak, Selangor, N.Sembilan, and Pahang) trunk line - connected the original latitudinal lines.
The third stage (1910-1931)
- Consistent with the needs of commercial plantation agriculture.
- A period to mark the outer limits of the British sphere of influence in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, Perlis and Johore, by the extablishment of protectorates.
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Malaya had always had a diversity of people before the British arrived. (Although their arrival did cause an influx of immigrants) The people were aware of the religious or cultural differences of those around them however they were tolerant. They were less aware of social status and mixed around regardless of job, race or religion. Because of this tolerance, foreigners, who at at that time did not exist in big numbers, were able to easily assimilate themselves into society.
After the British arrived, changes to the social area of Malaya was observed. The British had stereotypes of what distinguished one race or religion from another and thus formal categorization of races and religions have been formed. It has become distinct that different people belongs to different races or religion. It is thus harder for foreigners to assimilate into Malaya because each race or religion set about to protect their own culture, identity and interest. They would coexist, however they would remain as distinct groups and identities. But of course if you are an immigrant from a country who already has a community in Malaya, you would be welcome in your own community.
In addition, the British did not want to be associated with the indigenous people. Thus clear lines are drawn. Great distances are created between the British and the people of Malaya. This concept of superiority and inferiority causes races and religions to minimize having relations with each other and superiors do not mix with subordinates.
Malaya has therefore evolved into a Plural Society.
In a nutshell...
Before the British arrived, Malaya had alliances with the many Southeast Asian races. The British bringing in their 'divide and rule' theory divided the people on the basis of their race. The natives and immigrants were both affected by the British's sharper differentiation between the different races.
You can take a ride on a trishaw in Malacca and Penang;
Top spinning in Kota Bharu;
And many shops in Malaya do sell traditional local costumes too!
These are examples of the identities and culture that each race protects, being a part of a plural society.
Political
Malaya used to be ruled with a statecraft system, with the Sultan at the head. It was a system of monarchy with religion closely intertwined. This was, however, very different from the way the British political system was like. Thus, once the British arrived in Malaya, the political structures had started to change.
The British introduced the system of centralized bureaucratic administration to Malaya, stripping Malaya of it's monarchy. They had defeated the Sultans, forcing them to legally give up the kingdoms. Malaya's sultans no longer had absolute power. Since the British attempted to remove ideology from the political system, they separated the political aspects and the religious aspects. Due to this, the Sultans were only left with power over Islamic issues. Even then, they were shown the utmost respect as religion was the main thing keeping the community in Malaya together.
To cut it short...
Earlier, the Sultans, due to hereditary powers, controlled the administrative authority, which was later snatched by the British, giving rise to the bureaucratic system of rule. Malaya is no longer governed by a decentralized monarchy rule, but a centralized bureaucratic rule.
Do visit the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, located at merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur. It was built in 1894-1897 and is named after the reigning ruler of that time.
Sultan Abdul Samad Building
Economic
The Malay Peninsula has been a center for trade for centuries. Various items such as porcelain and spice were actively traded. As mentioned above, large deposits of tin were found in Malaya. Thus when the British took over as administrators of Malaya, they had decided that rubber and palm oil trees would be introduced for commercial purposes and the export of tin will be expanded to gain more profits.
Farm in Malaya.
In the course of a few decades early in the twentieth century, Malaya was transformed from a colonial backwater into the largest dollar earner in the empire. By 1929, Malaya attained the highest per-capita GDP of any country or territory in Asia.
The driving force had come from the Industrial Revolution in the West which saw the innovation of large scale factory production of manufactured goods which had been made possible with the advancements of technology which often brought about more efficient communication e.g. railways, cars, trucks, steamships, international canals, telegraphs. Which sped up the time taken and the cost of long term trade.
Malaya's economy being so closely linked with countries all over the world. It is now vulnerable to being affected by other economies. The improvement and change in focus of production created more jobs, attracting foreigners to work in Malaya. This provided Malaya with cheaper labour, further boosting the economy.
To put it simply...
Malaya is now centered on profit-making instead of subsistence!
Just walk into any shopping centre and you'll see that they're all concentrating on profit-making. Also, do be sure to check out China Town located in Kuala Lumpur for great deals!
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