Sarawak was ruled by the British Military Adminstration BMA for seven months from ll Sept 1945 to 15th April 1946.
Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke arrived in Sarawak on 15th April 1946 to receive the handover. Sarawak had lost a lot of revenue - 23 millions dollars (?) due to destruction of oilfields, airstrips and rubber plantations.
The Rajah was at a cross road : he had no male heir to succeed him, he lacked confidence in Bertram Brooke, his brother, to continue governing Sarawak. But most importantly Sarawak was on the verge of an economic doom. He felt that he might never be able to redevelop Sarawak after the war.
He therefore chose to hand over Sarawak to the British government which immediately did a survey regarding the cession issue. Only the Malays were opposed to the cession.
On 10 May 1946, a report was compiled and sent to the Colonial Office in London, which included the following:
On 10 May 1946, a report was compiled and sent to the Colonial Office in London, which included the following:
According to ABC Radio Melbourne, Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke would receive £1 million in sterling as compensation for the cession of Sarawak. This gave an impression that Vyner was trying to sell Sarawak for personal gain – in contrast to the 1941 constitution of Sarawak which stated that Sarawak would head towards self-governance under Brooke's guidance. The constitution was not implemented due to the Japanese occupation. The proposed cession was also criticised by a local Malay newspaper, Utusan Sarawak, as the British had failed to protect Sarawak from Japanese invasion in 1942, only to try to claim Sarawak after the war. In addition, the British would only approve financial loans to rebuild Sarawak upon Sarawak's cession as a crown colony.
From 15 to 17 May 1946, the cession bill was debated in the Council Negri and was approved with a slim majority of 19 to 16 votes. European officers were generally supportive of the cession, but the Malay officials strongly opposed the cession. About 300 to 400 Malay civil servants resigned from their posts in protest.
Questions had been raised about the legality of such voting in Council Negri. Outsiders such as European officers took part in the voting that decided the fate of Sarawak. Several Chinese representatives were threatened with their lives if they did not vote to support the cession.[
The cession bill was signed on 18 May 1946 by Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke and the British representative, C.W. Dawson, at the Astana, Kuching; the cession of Sarawak as a British Crown Colony became effective on 1 July 1946. On the same day, Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke gave a speech on the benefits for Sarawak as a crown colony:[4]
From 15 to 17 May 1946, the cession bill was debated in the Council Negri and was approved with a slim majority of 19 to 16 votes. European officers were generally supportive of the cession, but the Malay officials strongly opposed the cession. About 300 to 400 Malay civil servants resigned from their posts in protest.
Questions had been raised about the legality of such voting in Council Negri. Outsiders such as European officers took part in the voting that decided the fate of Sarawak. Several Chinese representatives were threatened with their lives if they did not vote to support the cession.[
The cession bill was signed on 18 May 1946 by Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke and the British representative, C.W. Dawson, at the Astana, Kuching; the cession of Sarawak as a British Crown Colony became effective on 1 July 1946. On the same day, Rajah Charles Vyner Brooke gave a speech on the benefits for Sarawak as a crown colony:[4]
The first governor did not arrive until 29 October 1946. Sarawak was a British Crown Colony for 17 years before participating in the formation of Malaysia.
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