Dari Malayan Union kepada Persekutuan Tanah Melayu: Penstrukturan Pentadbiran dan Pembentukan Asas Kemerdekaan, 1946–1949 (From the Malayan Union to the Federation of Malaya: Administrative Structuring and the Formation of the Foundations of Independence, 1946–1949)

Abstract

ABSTRAK

Artikel ini bertujuan menganalisis proses penstrukturan semula pentadbiran dari 1946 hingga 1949 dengan menumpukan kepada perubahan yang berlaku dari Malayan Union kepada Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. Perubahan tersebut merangkumi struktur pentadbiran, hubungan pusat-negeri dan reformasi prinsip kewarganegaraan. Secara khusus, kajian ini menilai mengenai Persekutuan Tanah Melayu 1948 ditubuhkan sebagai struktur pentadbiran bersifat ‘kompromi politik’ yang mengimbangi kepentingan kolonial British, institusi Raja-raja Melayu dan tuntutan politik tempatan. Penubuhan struktur pentadbiran tersebut tidak melihat perubahan dasar dari Malayan Union kepada Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, tetapi sebagai sebuah proses pembentukan asas kenegaraan yang kemudiannya membawa kepada kemerdekaan negara pada 1957. Metodologi kajian ini berasaskan pendekatan kualitatif melalui analisis dokumen rasmi seperti kertas putih British dan rekod Colonial Office. Analisis perbandingan struktur pentadbiran Malayan Union dan Persekutuan 1948 dilakukan bagi mengenal pasti perubahan institusi secara sistematik, khususnya dalam dimensi sentralisasi kuasa, legitimasi politik dan pembahagian bidang kuasa antara pusat dan negeri. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa Persekutuan Tanah Melayu bukan sekadar reaksi terhadap penentangan Melayu, tetapi bentuk kompromi kuasa yang lebih berlegitimasi dan berakar pada struktur tradisional tempatan. Pemulihan peranan Raja-raja Melayu, pengenalan sistem federal yang lebih seimbang serta perubahan prinsip kewarganegaraan mewujudkan asas institusi yang lebih stabil. Struktur tersebut kemudiannya menjadi tapak rundingan politik antara kaum dan membuka laluan kepada pilihan raya serta kemerdekaan. Oleh itu, Persekutuan 1948 harus difahami sebagai asas institusional kepada pembinaan negara bangsa, bukan sekadar pengganti kepada Malayan Union yang gagal.

Kata kunci: British; kolonialisme; desentralisasi; masyarakat Melayu; politik

ABSTRACT

This article aims to analyse the process of administrative restructuring from 1946 to 1949 by focusing on the changes that occurred from the Malayan Union to the Federation of Malaya. These changes include administrative structure, central-state relations and reform of citizenship principles. Specifically, this study assesses the 1948 Federation of Malaya established as an administrative structure of ‘political compromise’ that balanced British colonial interests, the institution of the Malayan Kings and local political demands. The establishment of the administrative structure does not see the change from the Malayan Union to the Federation of Malaya as simply involving policy correction, but as a process of forming the foundations of statehood which later led to the country’s independence in 1957. The methodology of this study is based on a qualitative approach through the analysis of official documents such as British white papers and Colonial Office records. A comparative analysis of the administrative structures of the Malayan Union and the 1948 Federation was carried out to identify systematic institutional changes, particularly in the dimensions of centralisation of power, political legitimacy and the division of jurisdiction between the centre and the states. The study findings show that the Federation of Malaya was not simply a reaction to Malay opposition, but a form of power compromise that was more legitimate and rooted in traditional local structures. The restoration of the role of the Malay Kings, the introduction of a more balanced federal system and changes in citizenship principles created a more stable institutional basis. This structure then became a site for political negotiations between the races and paved the way for elections and independence. Therefore, the 1948 federation should be understood as the institutional basis for nationbuilding,not simply a successor to the failed Malayan Union.

Keywords: British; colonialism; decentralization; Malay society; politics