Malaysia–United Kingdom relations
In 1824 British hegemony in Malaya was formalised by the Anglo-Dutch Treaty, which divided the Malay Archipelago between Britain and the Netherlands. The Dutch evacuated Malacca and renounced all interest in Malaya, while the British recognised Dutch rule over the rest of the East Indies. By 1826, the British controlled Penang, Malacca, Singapore and the island of Labuan, which they established as crown colonies of the Straits Settlements, administered first under the EIC until 1867, when they were transferred to the Colonial Office in London. On the other hand, White Rajahs (founded by British adventurer James Brooke) ruled the Kingdom of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946, while North Borneo was founded by the North Borneo Chartered Company. Both Sarawak and North Borneo subsequently became a British Protectorate, and a Crown colony in 1946. In 1944, the British drew up plans for a Malayan Union, which would unite the Federated and Unfederated Malay States (except for Singapore), into a single Crown colony, with a view towards independence. It was established in 1946, and was dissolved in 1948 to be replaced by the Federation of Malaya. The federation became independent from the United Kingdom on 31 August 1957, and joined North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore to form a new larger federation known as the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. However, in less than two years upon the founding of the federation, Singapore was expelled as a consequence of the 1964 race riots.
Racism in Malaysia
Some had attempts to tie the racism in Malaysia to history of the country, have assumed that the friction between Chinese and Malay started since Japanese Occupation of Malaya(1941 - 1945) whereby misunderstanding of that Malays cooperated with the Japanese army. According to this theory, the Chinese population was marginalized behind by Japanese, whereby the Malays were allowed to partially take part in the governing of the country under the Japanese colonialisation then. And with this the seeds of dissatisfaction among Chinese people was started. The British, who had colonised what is now the Malaysian peninsular starting in 1876, had recognized the Malay states, as recorded by numerous literature by Frank Swettenham, Hugh Clifford and many more of their scholars. It is proposed that the British "divide and rule" practice, as evident in their other colonies such as India, is the contributor of the present racism. Under the British, the Chinese were more or less isolated in their tin mining areas. In addition, some Chinese were settled around the major towns while the Malays, had established their own villages. The legacy of the "Malay Supremacy" of Mahathir, who he is only half-Malay as his father came from Kerala, India, has created a chasm cutting through the fabric of Malaysian society. Such exploitation of race and religion for power has shattered the concept of a "Malaysian Malaysia", with talent being lost to foreign countries due to exclusive job opportunities for the Malays.