Impacts of Colonialism in Malaysia

Running head: IMPACTS OF COLONIALISM IN MALAYSIA
Impacts of Colonialism in Malaysia
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IMPACTS OF COLONIALISM IN MALAYSIA1
Colonialism, sometimes identified as imperialism, occurs when a country seizes other
lands that are not part of it originally (Butt 2013). Colonialism can also be defined as a policy
that seeks to exercise its authority over individuals of other territories. In the process of
colonialism, the colonizers force the nations they are colonizing to adopt their religious
practices, economic policies and even their medicinal implementations. The nations that
adopted the powerful practice of colonialism are the European nations such as Britain,
France, Spain and the Netherlands. These nations not only annexed these foreign territories
but also established their massive empire there (Egerton 2017). The focal point of this study
is to examine the positive and negative effects of colonialism on the Southeast Asian country
of Malaysia. Additionally, the after effects of British rule over Malaysia will be thoroughly
analyzed whilst keeping an eye on Malaysia’s growth and development throughout its
colonial domination.
It must be acknowledged that numerous English traders were already looming over
the Malay, presently known as Malaysia, waters ever since the 17th century. However, it must
be noted that the British were interested in this particular region because of economic reasons
(Troitiño 2014). They simply sought monetary profits initially rather than focusing on
territorial monopoly. Moreover, the British gained an added strength when the Malay sultans
joined hands with the British Empire. Thus, in 1824 the British officially took control of
Malaysia and fragmented the Malay Archipelago amongst Britain and the Netherlands. Even
though the Dutch relinquished their rule in Malaya, the British assumed complete control of
Penang, Malacca, Singapore and the island of Labuan (Thirusanku and Yunus 2014). While
the British exercised full power and control in Malaya, the identity of Malaya adopted that of
the British. As Malaysia gained their independence and the British returned to their original
nation, there were several after effects that can still be witnessed today. Some of these lasting
effects of colonization proved to be positive for the Malaysians while others served the role

IMPACTS OF COLONIALISM IN MALAYSIA2
of destructing their identity and culture. Thus, it can be said that the British rule over
Malaysia showered both positive and negative effects (Ziltener and Künzler 2013).
One of the most negative effects of British rule over their colonies is the utilization
and consequent depletion of the natural occurring resources (Worboys 2017). The same can
be said about the island of Malay. Especially since Britain was evolving through the
Industrial Revolution, they required raw materials which they forcefully took from Malaysia.
They not only exploited these natural resources to fuel the Industrial Revolution but they also
exploited resources in order to sustain their empire. The British greatly usurped precious
minerals found there such as gold, copper and silica. All of these resources were brought
back to the colonizing country. The greatest resource that the British made complete use of
was fuel. Since fuel was extremely necessary in order to sustain the demanding process of
Industrial Revolution, the British depleted it the most. Moreover, in order to enhance their
economic gains the British fully indulged in exploiting these natural resources, leaving
Malaysia almost barren.
The advent of British colonialism invited with it major racial tensions. These racial
tensions were especially situated in Singapore, which was then an integral part of Malaysia.
The British required a great number of laborers to sustain their humungous empire that they
built in Malay (Koh 2017). These labourers were thus sourced from India and China. The
British not only segregated these races from each other but they also detached these labourers
from the original and local Malay citizens. These labourers became a victim of the British’s
policy of ‘divide and rule.’ Due to this detachment, the races become hostile with one
another, especially after World War II. Thus, the British were successful in promoting race
riots as the diverse nationalities of the labourers clashed with one another. Though Malaysia
is known for its diverse culture today, the British left no stone unturned to divide the nation.