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The All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA) was a coalition of political and civic organisations in Malaya formed to participate in the development of a constitution for
post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...
Malaya in preparation for independence and to oppose the Constitutional Proposals for Malaya (also known as the Federation Proposals or the Anglo-Malay Proposals) which eventually formed the basis of the
Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...
Agreement.


History


Background

In seeking to solve some of the administrative incoherence in the pre-war British ruled Malaya, a policy of constitutional development which incorporated the twin goals of constitutional unity and a common citizenship within Malaya was developed as the basis for eventual
self-rule __NOTOC__ Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...
and independence of the territory. The first proposal called for the
Federated Malay States )Under God's Protection , capital = Kuala Lumpur1 , religion = Islam , legislature = Federal Legislative Council , type_house1 = State level , common_languages = , title_leader = Monarch , leader1 ...
and
Unfederated Malay States The term Unfederated Malay States () was the collective name given to five British protected states in the Malay peninsula in the first half of the twentieth century. These states were Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, and Terengganu. In contras ...
to be joined into a larger federation styled the
Malayan Union The Malayan Union was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government to simplify administratio ...
. It was expected that
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
and
Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
would be severed from the
Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...
to join the new federation while Singapore remained a separate
Crown Colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...
. Significant
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
opposition to the Union was spontaneous and widespread as it was seen as a departure from the traditional pro-Malay policies of the British and the removal of sovereignty of the
Malay rulers The Conference of Rulers (also Council of Rulers or Durbar, ms, Majlis Raja-Raja; Jawi: ) in Malaysia is a council comprising the nine rulers of the Malay states, and the governors or ''Yang di-Pertua Negeri'' of the other four states. It was ...
while a significant majority of non-Malays were generally divided or indifferent to the proposals. The preoccupation with post-war rebuilding and the lack of an existing Malaya-centric political discourse meant that even the community most likely to view Malaya as their home like the
Straits Chinese The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, th ...
and second generation non-Malays failed to appreciate the implications of the Union until it was abandoned by the British. Only openly
anti-colonial Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...
movements like the radical
Malayan Communist Party The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore from 1 ...
(MCP) and the more moderate Malayan Democratic Union (MDU), established by English educated left-leaning middle-class intellectuals in Singapore in 1945, emerged to support the proposal with the caveat that Singapore was included in the Union. With the widespread opposition among the Malays, the British administration entered into secret negotiations with the Malay aristocracy and the
United Malay National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...
(UMNO) as they were unwilling to allow the Malay opposition to the Union develop into an anti-British attitude in the same way that had happened in the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
where the locals were engaged in an open armed rebellion against the Dutch. When news that the British had agreed to the demands of the conservative Malays and the Anglo-Malay Proposals included institutionalised handicaps against the non-Malay community and the absence of a road map towards Malayan independence, a united front was mulled to oppose the proposals.


United front proposed

On 19 November 1946, a meeting was held to discuss the formation of a united front. Attending this meeting were: Following a
telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
med suggestion by
Tan Cheng Lock Tan Cheng Lock KBE JP () (5 April 1883 – 13 December 1960) was a Malaysian Peranakan businessman and a key public figure who devoted his life to fighting for the rights and the social welfare of the Chinese community in Malaya. Tan wa ...
, three central principles were adopted: * A united Malaya including Singapore * A popularly elected Central Government and popularly elected State councils * A citizenship granting equal rights to all who made Malaya their permanent home and the object of their undivided loyalty


Formation

On 14 December 1946, the MDU sponsored a meeting in Singapore which was attended by the
Malay Nationalist Party Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM), also known as the Malay Nationalist Party, was founded on 17 October 1945 in Ipoh, Perak. The party was the first Malay political party formed after the Japanese occupation of Malaya. The main goal of the ...
(known by its
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
acronym PKMM), the
Malayan Indian Congress The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC; ta, மலேசிய இந்திய காங்கிரஸ், Malēciya Intiya Kāṅkiras; formerly known as Malayan Indian Congress) is a Malaysian political party. It is one of the founding membe ...
(MIC) and various other groups to:
''"provide the machinery for the various communities, through their organisations and associations, to reach agreement on all points connected with the future constitution of Malaya, thus avoiding the dangers of separated and self-interested representation"''
The immediate result of this meeting was the formation of the Council for Joint Action (CJA) comprising the MDU, PKMM, MIC, the General Labour Union (later to split into the '' Singapore Federation of Trade Unions'' or SFTU and the ''Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions'' or PMFTU), the Singapore Clerical Union, the Straits Chinese British Association (SBCA), the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce, the Singapore Tamil Association and the Singapore Women's Federation operating on the three principles adopted during the November meeting. Tan Cheng Lock was appointed the chairman with MDU's
Paul Eber Paul Eber (8 November 1511 – 10 December 1569) was a German Lutheran theologian, reformer and hymnwriter, known for the hymn for the dying, " Herr Jesu Christ, wahr Mensch und Gott". Life He was born at Kitzingen in Franconia, and was educated ...
as secretary-general. A memorandum of protest was sent by the CJA to
Arthur Creech Jones Arthur Creech Jones (15 May 1891 – 23 October 1964) was a British trade union official and politician. Originally a civil servant, his imprisonment as a conscientious objector during the First World War forced him to change careers. He was el ...
, a trade unionist who was then the
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies was a junior Ministerial post in the United Kingdom government, subordinate to the Secretary of State for the Colonies and, from 1948, also to a Minister of State. Under-Secretaries of State for the Col ...
for the British government on 16 December of the same year with the announcement that the CJA intended to boycott the Consultative Committee established to discuss and implement the Anglo-Malay Proposals. This CJA was expanded on 22 December 1946 with the inclusion of the Pan Malayan Federation of Trade Unions, the Clerical Unions of
Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
,
Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
,
Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
and
Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...
, the Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce, the Selangor Women's Federation, the Malayan New Democratic Youth's League, the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Ex-Comrades Association, the Singapore Chinese Association and the Peasant's Union. A press conference in Kuala Lumpur announced the formation of the Pan-Malayan Council of Joint Action (PMCJA) with
Tan Cheng Lock Tan Cheng Lock KBE JP () (5 April 1883 – 13 December 1960) was a Malaysian Peranakan businessman and a key public figure who devoted his life to fighting for the rights and the social welfare of the Chinese community in Malaya. Tan wa ...
re-elected chairman with MDU's Gerald de Cruz as secretary-general. The PMCJA sought to gain recognition from to act as the sole representative body with which the British government would negotiate with a view to amending the constitution in accordance with the wishes of that part of the populace that has not been consulted so far. Nonetheless, the negotiated Anglo-Malay proposals were published as a government
White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
on 24 December 1946 together with a note from the Governor,
Edward Gent Sir Edward James Gent (28 October 1895 – 4 July 1948) was the first appointed Governor of the Malayan Union in 1946. He was most famous for heading early British attempts to crush a pro-independence uprising in Malaya led by the Malayan Comm ...
, that the proposals were conditionally accepted by the British government provided that
''"all interested communities in Malaya have had full and free opportunity of expressing their views"''


Major activities


People's Constitution

Opposition to the Anglo-Malay proposal increased with demonstrations being held across Malaya and consultations were held to prepare an alternative set of proposals to be tabled to the British government. On 22 February 1947, a coalition of Malay organisations opposed to the Anglo-Malay agreement and led by the MNP, Pusat Tenaga Ra'ayat (PUTERA), was formed and by March of the same year the PMCJA had established a coalition with PUTERA known as PUTERA-PMCJA. The PUTERA-PMCJA adopted a total of 10 principles; including the three original principles of the CJA; as the basis of their constitutional proposals: }) to be the title of any proposed citizenship and nationality in Malaya * Foreign affairs and defence to be the joint responsibility of the government of Malaya and the government of Great Britain Due to concerns about the implications of the term ''Pan-Malayan'' which groups like the
Tan Kah Kee Tan Kah Kee (; 21 October 1874 – 12 August 1961) was a Chinese businessman, investor, and philanthropist active in Singapore and the Chinese cities of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Xiamen, and Guangzhou. A prominent figure in the overseas Chinese c ...
and
Lee Kong Chian Lee Kong Chian (; 18 October 1893 – 2 June 1967), also known by his alias Lee Geok Kun (), was a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist based in Malaya and Singapore between the 1930s and the 1960s. He was the founder of the Lee ...
led Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce (ACCC) considered to be indicative of communist domination and the MNP considered to include only non-Malays, the name of the PMCJA was changed to become the All Malaya Joint Council for Action or AMCJA in August 1947 and the PUTERA-PMCJA coalition became known as PUTERA-AMCJA. The PUTERA-AMCJA constitutional proposals was adopted by the constituent members of both coalitions on 10 August 1947 and presented to the public on 21 September as the People's Constitutional Proposals. A summary of the differences between the People's Constitutional Proposals and the Revised Constitutional Proposals published in July 1947 based on the report of the Government Consultative Committee are:


All Malaya Hartal

The ACCC considered the Revised Constitutional Proposals as being autocratic and irresponsible and it threatened to delay the independence of Malaya indefinitely. A decision was made to co-operate with PUTERA-PMCJA (later PUTERA-AMCJA) because it had exhausted all constitutional channels of appeal (the ACCC was a participant in the Government Consultative Committee) and appeal to the
British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
for the establishment of a Royal Commission to review and reverse the Revised Constitutional Proposals. Agitation against the Revised Constitutional Approvals grew throughout September with a successful
hartal Hartal () is a term in many Indian languages for a strike action that was first used during the Indian independence movement (also known as the nationalist movement) of the early 20th century. A hartal is a mass protest, often involving a total sh ...
organised in Malacca and
Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...
in protest. Emboldened by the success, the ACCC decided to launch a country-wide strike and PUTERA-AMCJA was invited to support the strike. A decision was made to hold the strike, to be known as the All Malaya Hartal, on 20 October 1947 to coincide with the opening of the session of the British Parliament where the Revised Constitutional Proposals were to be tabled and debated. The hartal turned out to be a major success although UMNO held counter demonstrations in the more rural areas like Senggaram and
Bagan Datoh The Bagan Datuk District ( ms, Daerah Bagan Datuk) is the most southwest district in Perak, Malaysia. It covers an area of 951 square kilometres, and had a population about of 70,300. The district is bordered by Perak River which separates Manjung ...
contributing to the rise in ethnic tensions and the cancellation of the planned strike in those areas. The hartal was also successfully carried out in Singapore, which received the prominent support of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce led by its chairman
Lee Kong Chian Lee Kong Chian (; 18 October 1893 – 2 June 1967), also known by his alias Lee Geok Kun (), was a prominent Chinese businessman and philanthropist based in Malaya and Singapore between the 1930s and the 1960s. He was the founder of the Lee ...
.


Decline and dissolution

Despite the success of the All Malaya Hartal, the government granted no concessions and differences began to emerge between the ACCC and PUTERA-AMCJA. A second Hartal was planned for 1 February 1948 but was aborted when financial support from the ACCC was not forthcoming and was reduced to isolated strikes by the PMFTU.
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
sympathizers had also begun to lobby for the withdrawal of ACCC support from the PUTERA-AMCJA due to the intensification of the
Chinese civil war The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
. The implementation of the
Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...
constitution based on the Revised Constitutional Proposals on 1 February 1948 and the decision of the MCP to launch an armed rebellion marked the beginning of the end for the PUTERA-AMCJA coalition and AMCJA as a whole. With the declaration of the nationwide
emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
, the constituent organisations either withdrew from the coalition, went underground, or in the case of the MDU, voluntarily dissolved itself and the AMCJA ceased to exist as a body. Mainstream political developments in Malaya in the following decade came to be dominated by conservative and pro-British groups with a distinctive impact on the historical development of independent Malaya, and later Malaysia, for the next few decades.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:All-Malaya Council Of Joint Action Defunct political party alliances in Malaysia Political parties in Singapore History of Singapore 1946 establishments in British Malaya 1948 disestablishments in Malaya Political parties established in 1946 Political parties disestablished in 1948