Malaysia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 404

here are many reasons for a trip to
Sabah: to conquer the 4095m granite
peak of Mount Kinabalu ; to visit the lively
modern capital of Kota Kinabalu ; and to
watch the wildlife , such as wild orang-
utans, proboscis monkeys and hornbills
along the Kinabatangan River, not to
mention diving at the world-class island
destination of Pulau Sipadan with its host
of sharks, fish and turtles.
CHRONOLOGY
38,000 BC Evidence of earliest human habitation in
Malaysia, based on a 40,000-year-old skull found in the
Niah Caves, Sarawak (see p.487).
200 AD onwards Indian traders arrive in the region,
bringing Hindu and Buddhist practices. Hindu-Malay
kingdom established in what is now Kedah.
Seventh to thirteenth centuries Sumatra-based
Buddhist Srivijaya Empire dominates Malaysia, Indonesia
and Borneo.
c.1390 Sumatran prince Paramesvara founds the Malacca
Sultanate.
Fifteenth century Malacca flourishes as a trading
centre. Islam is adopted as the dominant religion, and
the Malacca Sultanate expands along the west coast of
the Peninsula to Singapore and east-coast Sumatra.
1511 The Portuguese take Malacca and Sultan Mahmud
Shah flees.
1526 The Portuguese raze the Sultan's court of Johor on
Pulau Bentam. Johor's court moves frequently during a
century of assaults by Portugal and Aceh.
1641 The Dutch East India Company take Malacca, which
goes into decline. The Johor court ally becomes the
predominant Malay kingdom.
Sixteenth to nineteenth centuries Trade with
China grows; many Chinese merchants come to Malacca
and marry Malay women, creating the unique Baba-
Nyonya culture.
1786 The British establish a trading fort at Penang
(Georgetown).
1819 Sir Stamford Ra es establishes a British trading
station in Singapore, which weakens both Malacca and
Penang, forcing the Dutch to relinquish the former to
the British.
1823 The British and Dutch split the territories between
them, giving the Dutch Indonesia, and leaving Malaysia
to Britain.
1826 The British unify Malacca, Penang and Singapore
into one administration, the Straits Settlements, with
Singapore replacing Penang as its capital in 1832.
1839 British explorer James Brooke arrives in Kuching,
helps the Sultan of Brunei suppress a rebellion and
becomes the first White Rajah.

1874 Struggles between Chinese clan groups are rife and
Malay factions frequently become involved, causing a
string of civil wars. The British sign the Pangkor Treaty with
the Perak Malay chief, Rajah Abdullah, formalizing the
control of the British Empire over Peninsular Malaysia.
1880s The name British Malaya comes into use. The Malay
sultans' powers are gradually eroded, while the introduc-
tion of rubber estates makes British Malaya one of the
most productive colonies in the world.
1888 Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei are made British
protectorates.
1896 The Peninsula states under British control are given
the title the Federated Malay States, with Kuala Lumpur
the regional capital.
1909-19 British control in the Peninsula expands to the
northern Malay states of Kedah and Perlis (1909), Johor
(1914) and Terengganu (1919).
1930s Chinese-Malay tensions increase with Chinese
immigration. The Malayan Communist Party is founded
in 1930, with significant support in the Chinese
community, demanding an end to British rule and
the perceived privileges of the Malays. The Singapore
Malay Union, formed in response, advocates a Malay
supremacist line.
1942-45 Japanese occupation. The British shamefully
flee and up to fifty thousand people - mainly Chinese -
are killed in the two weeks following the British surrender
of Singapore. Chinese activists in the MCP organize much
of the resistance.
1946 The British introduce the Malayan Union, which
gives Chinese and Indian inhabitants equal rights to
Malays. In response, Malayan nationalists form the United
Malays National Organization (UMNO), arguing that
Malays should retain special privileges.
1948 The Federation of Malaya replaces the Malay Union.
It re-establishes the power of the Malay sultans, and
Chinese and Indians only qualify as citizens if they have
lived there for fifteen years and speak Malay or English.
Sarawak and North Borneo made British Crown Colonies.
1948-60 “The Emergency”, with the predominantly
Chinese Malayan Communist Party members taking to
the jungle and striking at economic targets and at the
British in a bid to loosen state control. The violence peaks
in 1950-51.
1955 UMNO's leader, Tunku Abdul Rahman, wins the first
federal elections by cooperating with moderate Chinese
and Indian parties and campaigning for merdeka (freedom)
- an independent Malaya.
August 31, 1957 Britain grants independence to Malaya,
and Rahman becomes the first prime minister. Under the
new constitution nine Malay sultans alternate as king.
September 1963 North Borneo (renamed Sabah),
Sarawak and Singapore join Malaya to form the Federation
of Malaysia. Brunei refuses to join.

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