Malayan Union

Malayan Union

The Malayan Union was formed in 1946 by the merger of the British settlements of Penang and Malacca (which with Singapore had formed the colony of the Straits Settlements) with the Federated and Unfederated Malay states to form a single crown colony under direct British rule.

Originally conceived to simplify the administration of Malaya after the Second World War, the Malayan Union was a political failure due to Malay opposition to the abolition of the power of the traditional Malay Rulers and was replaced in 1948 by a looser Federation of Malaya.