Four states shared more central administration in the Federated Malay States; other Malay states came under British influence through separate arrangements.
A federation brings states under shared central arrangements while keeping the individual states. Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang signed an agreement in 1895; the Federated Malay States (FMS) began operating in 1896. A senior British officer, the Resident-General, coordinated administration. Shared financial and administrative arrangements made it easier to coordinate investment and services across the four states. They also placed more decisions above the individual rulers, increasing British influence.
Other states remained outside the FMS. In the 1909 Anglo-Siamese Treaty, Siam, now Thailand, transferred its rights over Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu to Britain. British advisers extended influence there, through arrangements that developed at different times. Johor followed a separate path and formally accepted a British General Adviser under a 1914 agreement. These five were known as the Unfederated Malay States. Unfederated means outside the FMS, not outside British influence; they did not all enter one identical system in 1909.
Worked example: Read an administrative label carefully
Compare Perak and Johor in the 1910s.
- Perak belongs to the FMS and its central arrangements.
- Johor is outside the FMS but has a British General Adviser from 1914.
- Outside the federation is not the same as outside British influence.
Watch out for this
An unfederated state kept independent control because it had no place in the FMS.
Federation was only one form of British control. Johor, for example, remained outside the FMS but accepted a British General Adviser in 1914.
Check your understanding
What changed when the FMS began operating in 1896?
- The four states became directly administered parts of the Straits Settlements.
- British influence became limited to the four states inside the federation.
- Four states became more centrally coordinated under a British Resident-General.