THE INDEPENDENCE

By the Agreement of 1948 the British had committed themselves to preparing the way of Federation's independence. Under the twin pressures of a communist rebellion (the Emergency) and the development of a strong Malay nationalist movement (represented by UMNO), the Bitish introduced elections, starting at local level in 1951.

The problem of obtaining political cooperation among the main ethnic groups in the country to fight for independence was resolved by the successful establishment og an alliance between UMNO and the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA), the two principal communal parties, in the same year, which was subsequently joined by the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC).

When the first federal elections were held in 1955, the UMNO-MCA-MIC Alliance, headed by Tunku Abdul Rahman, won an overwhelming victory (51 out of the 52 seats contested), and the Tunku was appointed the Federation's first Chief Minister. The Alliance was successful in pressuring the British to relinquish their sovereignty in August 1957, thus making Malaysia an independent nation.