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The British Military Administration (BMA) was the interim administrator of British Borneo between the end of the Second World War and the establishment of the Crown Colonies of Sarawak and North Borneo in 1946. Specifically, the entity lasted from 12 September 1945 to 1 July 1946.[1][2][3][4] Labuan became the headquarters of BMA. The headquarters was mostly managed by the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).[5] The area under this administration today comprises Labuan, Sabah, Sarawak, and Brunei.[6] Sarawak was administered by Australians under British Borneo Civil Affairs Unit (BBCAU).[7]
Background
BearbeitenFollowing Singapore's surrender to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, the Colonial Office started developing a strategy for post-war constitutional and administrative reforms in Malaya and the Borneo territories. Singapore had been the center of British authority in Southeast Asia.The British public was critical of the British pre-war colonial policy in the region, which was partly to blame for their defeat by the Japanese, and the Americans, who saw the European colonies and dependencies as obstacles to their political and economic interests in the region, believed that the European colonies should be liberated and given opportunities for self-determination. These two factors had a significant impact on British policy makers in London.[8]
The Secretary of States for the Colonies submitted a memo on the constitutional policies that should be followed in Malaya and the Borneo territories after they were liberated from the Japanese, and the British War Cabinet appointed a committee from among its members on 6 January 1944, to consider the memo and make recommendations for post-war constitutional and administrative changes. A directive for military planners was required because it had been decided that a transitional military government would be used to re-establish the administrative infrastructure in the territories. This would allow the military planners to follow civil policy and make it easier to introduce constitutional amendments. The Committee endorsed the broad outlines of the program outlined in the Colonial Secretary's note at its first meeting on 22 March 1944.[8]
It was advised that, in order to accomplish these goals, the British North Borneo (Chartered) Company's 1881-founded management should be dissolved and taken over by the British Government following payment of compensation to the Company. The new Administration for North Borneo was to include the British Settlement of Labuan. The Committee also suggested that new treaties be quickly negotiated between the British Government and the Rajah of Sarawak and the Sultan of Brunei. The treaty stipulates that the British Monarch would be granted complete jurisdiction over the States, allowing him or her to enact laws for these areas in accordance with the Foreign Jurisdiction Act. The new contract was designed to ensure that the Rajah of Sarawak would accept the presence of a resident British adviser, whose counsel must be sought out and considered in all significant areas of policy and administration. The Secretary of State did not foresee any issues being raised over the transfer of authority to the British Monarch by either the Rajah of Sarawak or the Sultan of Brunei.[8]
History
BearbeitenThe British Military Administration (BMA), took over the civil affairs administration when the Australian Forces were removed from British Borneo. Although the Australian BBCAU was disbanded, many of its members volunteered to continue serving until British Borneo's administration was transferred to civil government because to a severe personnel shortage. The Borneo territories were still recognized as a one entity under the BBCAU, with Labuan serving as its capital, but the divisions were reorganized into two regions: North Borneo Area and Sarawak Area, each with four divisions. The North Borneo Area included the Brunei-Labuan Division. The BMA's Chief Civil Affairs Officer, Brigadier Macaskie, was reappointed. His key responsibilities were upholding law and order among civilians, reestablishing communications, public utilities and services, and vital industries; organizing the distribution of products; and advising and representing the local Commanders in their interactions with civilians. Additionally, he was told to take the required actions to set the groundwork for future civil governance by establishing the basic administrative structure inside the freed regions as much as feasible.[8]
The responsibility for the civil administrations in the four territories of British Borneo should be taken over by the Colonial Office as soon as possible, the War Office informed Lord Mounbatten on 10 December 1945; to that end, a target date of 1 March 1946 had been set with the Colonial Office for planning purposes. Vyner Brooke of Sarawak unexpectedly decided to relinquish Sarawak to the British Crown on his own following discussions between the Colonial Office and the Rajah. At the end of March, the Rajah intended to make a quick trip back to Sarawak to win their approval and make sure the cession was in line with their intentions. But there had been little progress in the talks with the Chartered Company to hand over control of North Borneo to the British Crown. British North Borneo could not be returned to the Chartered Company, and civil government could not be created until an agreement was achieved, according to a British Cabinet decision.[8]
All four Borneo territories had returned to civil rule by July 1946. Rajah Vyner Brooke officially handed his power to the British Crown on 15 July, leading to the establishment of a new Colonial Administration in Sarawak. The British North Borneo (Chartered) Company's government was abolished after the conclusion of discussions between the Colonial Office and the Chartered Company, and on 15 July a Colonial Administration was founded in Sarawak. On the same day, Labuan was integrated into the new colony and handed over to civil governance.[8]
Sarawak Chinese were raising the Kuomintang flags in Kuching after the surrender of the Japanese, believing that the Chinese army took a major role in defeating the Japanese. Such actions had caused dissatisfaction among the Iban and the Malay people in Sarawak for not raising the Sarawak flag instead. A celebration was held on 10 October 1945 to celebrate the Allied victory and the national day of the Republic of China. On the next day, a quarrel broke out between the Chinese and the Malays. Later about 1,000 Chinese assembled near the Brooke Dockyard near the Main Bazaar in Kuching, preparing to attack mosques and Malay villages there. However, the fight did not break out because the Australian military quickly confiscated all the weapons and started a 24-hour curfew.[9]
See also
BearbeitenReferences
Bearbeiten- ↑ Sarawak as a British Crown Colony (1946 – 1963). Sarawak State Government, archiviert vom am 4. August 2017; abgerufen am 4. August 2017.
- ↑ Walter Yust: Ten eventful years: a record of events of the years preceding, including and following World War II, 1937 through 1946. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1947, S. 382 (google.com).
- ↑ History (British Military Administration in Borneo). In: Chief Minister's Department. The Sabah State Archives, archiviert vom am 30. April 2014; abgerufen am 1. Mai 2014.
- ↑ Tamara Thiessen: Borneo. Bradt Travel Guides, 2008, ISBN 978-1-84162-252-1, S. 211– (google.com).
- ↑ Referenzfehler: Ungültiges
<ref>-Tag; kein Text angegeben für Einzelnachweis mit dem Namen Gin2010. - ↑ Stephen R. Evans: Sabah (North Borneo): Under the Rising Sun Government. Tropical Press, 1990 (google.com).
- ↑ Hui Ling Ho: Penyerahan Sarawak Kepada Kerajaan British, 1946-1951 (Cession of Sarawak to the British (1946 to 1951). In: Persatuan Sejarah Malaysia (Malaysian Historical Society). 9. Jahrgang, Nr. 4, 2001, S. 43–73 (myrepositori.pnm.gov.my ( des vom 17. Mai 2017 im Internet Archive) [abgerufen am 14. März 2018]).
- ↑ a b c d e f DAMIT AWANG MOHAMAD YUSOP: PLANS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE: 1944 - 1948. In: Brunei Darussalam 1944 - 1962: Constitutional and Political Development in a Malay-Muslim Sultanate. Department of History, The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1995, S. 27–44 (soas.ac.uk [PDF]).
- ↑ Haji Mohd Hasbie Sulaiman: Perjuangan Anti Cession Sarawak - Peranan Utama Pesatuan Kebangsaan Melayu Sarawak (The Sarawak anti-cession struggle - main role by the Sarawak Malays National Association). First Auflage. Samasa Press Sdn Bhd, Kuching, Sarawak 1989, ISBN 983-99640-0-3, S. 45–46 (archive.org [abgerufen am 3. August 2023]).
Further reading
Bearbeiten- Lists of Archival Materials from Public Record Office, London. (1886–1969)
- British military administration British Borneo : Monthly Reports
[[Category:British Borneo in World War II]] [[Category:Former colonies in Asia|Borneo]] [[Category:Former countries in Bruneian history]] [[Category:Former countries in Malaysian history]] [[Category:Former British colonies and protectorates in Asia|Borneo]] [[Category:Political history of Malaysia]] [[Category:1945 in British Malaya]] [[Category:1946 in British Malaya]] [[Category:1945 in military history]] [[Category:1946 in military history]] [[Category:States and territories established in 1945]] [[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1946]] [[Category:1945 establishments in the British Empire|Borneo]] [[Category:1946 disestablishments in the British Empire|Borneo]] [[Category:Military history of the British Empire and Commonwealth in World War II]]