Federated Malay States
The Federated Malay States (FMS, Malay: Negeri-Negeri Melayu Bersekutu, Jawi: نݢري٢ ملايو برسکوتو) was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with two of the former Straits Settlements (Malacca and Penang) and the Unfederated Malay States, formed the Malayan Union. Two years later, the Union became the Federation of Malaya, which achieved independence in 1957, and finally Malaysia in 1963 with the inclusion of North Borneo (present-day Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore.
Federated Malay States Negeri-Negeri Melayu Bersekutu (Malay) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1895–1942 1942–1945 (Japanese occupation) 1945–1946 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Motto: Dipelihara Allah (English: "Under God's Protection") | |||||||||||||||||||
Malaya in 1922:
Unfederated Malay States
Federated Malay States
Straits Settlements | |||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Federal protectorate of the British Empire | ||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Kuala Lumpur1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||||||||||||
• 1895–1901 (first) | Victoria | ||||||||||||||||||
• 1936–1942; 1945–1946 (last) | George VI | ||||||||||||||||||
| Resident General | |||||||||||||||||||
• 1896–1901 (first) | Sir Frank Swettenham | ||||||||||||||||||
• 1939–1942 (last) | Hugh Fraser | ||||||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Federal Legislative Council | ||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | British Empire | ||||||||||||||||||
• Federated | 1895 | ||||||||||||||||||
• Treaty of Federation | 1 July 1896 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 15 February 1942 – 2 September 1945 | |||||||||||||||||||
• Japanese surrender | 2 September 1945 | ||||||||||||||||||
• Malayan Union | 1 April 1946 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||||
• 1933 | 1,597,700 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Straits dollar (1898–1939) Malayan dollar (1939–1942; 1945–1946) | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Malaysia | ||||||||||||||||||
1 Also the state capital of Selangor ² Malay using Jawi (Arabic) script ³ Later Chief Secretaries to the Government and Federal Secretaries | |||||||||||||||||||
| History of Malaysia |
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| Malaysia portal |
Real power in the FMS and its constituent states rested with the four local British Residents and the Resident-General, the discretionary powers of the local sultans being essentially reduced to matters "touching Malay Religion and Customs".
The federation, along with the Unfederated Malay States of the peninsula and the Straits Settlements, was overrun and occupied by the Japanese during World War II. After the liberation of Malaya following the Japanese surrender, the federation was not restored, but the federal form of government was retained as the principal model for consolidating the separate States as an independent Federation of Malaya and the Federation's later evolution into Malaysia.