Malay bureaucracy in Japanese administration: Japanese Expectations, Malay Dilemmas and Problems

Following the Japanese occupation of Malaya, a military administration was established. Led by Japanese military officers, the new administration was assisted by the existing local bureaucracy or administrative machinery of which the Malays were the majority. The expectation of the Japanese authorit...

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Main Author: Fathil, Fauziah
Other Authors: Bujang, Rahmah
Format: Book Chapter
Language:English
English
English
English
English
Published: Universiti Malaya Press 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/50009/
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author Fathil, Fauziah
author2 Bujang, Rahmah
author_facet Bujang, Rahmah
Fathil, Fauziah
author_sort Fathil, Fauziah
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collection Online Access
description Following the Japanese occupation of Malaya, a military administration was established. Led by Japanese military officers, the new administration was assisted by the existing local bureaucracy or administrative machinery of which the Malays were the majority. The expectation of the Japanese authority i.e. the locals to render full cooperation and loyalty and not to oppose Japanese rule had placed the Malay bureaucrats in a tight position. Having to serve the Japanese masters put the Malay civil officers in a dilemma and caused them to endure some problems. Their reluctance to render cooperation would be seen as an unfaithful act liable to be punished or, worse still, given the multi-racial composition of the Malayan society, might result in the Malays as a group losing their special rights or positions to non-Malays. Yet, to work for the Japanese entailed unwanted perceptions or reactions from among their fellow countrymen that they were seen as collaborators of the Japanese or traitors of their own country. Based primarily on library research, this paper aims to analyze the difficult position of the Malay bureaucrats or civil servants during the war years and the kind of problems and troubles that they were facing from the Japanese and their fellow countrymen alike, particularly, the anti-Japanese Malayan Chinese. Japanese expectations and reasons for their recruitment of Malays as administrators in the first place will also be examined. Finally, the findings will highlight that whatever was experienced by the Malay bureaucrats during these years partly contributed to the rise of Malay nationalism in the years that followed the end of the Japanese occupation in 1945.
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English
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spelling iium-500092016-03-30T09:25:49Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/50009/ Malay bureaucracy in Japanese administration: Japanese Expectations, Malay Dilemmas and Problems Fathil, Fauziah H Social Sciences (General) HT Communities. Classes. Races JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration Following the Japanese occupation of Malaya, a military administration was established. Led by Japanese military officers, the new administration was assisted by the existing local bureaucracy or administrative machinery of which the Malays were the majority. The expectation of the Japanese authority i.e. the locals to render full cooperation and loyalty and not to oppose Japanese rule had placed the Malay bureaucrats in a tight position. Having to serve the Japanese masters put the Malay civil officers in a dilemma and caused them to endure some problems. Their reluctance to render cooperation would be seen as an unfaithful act liable to be punished or, worse still, given the multi-racial composition of the Malayan society, might result in the Malays as a group losing their special rights or positions to non-Malays. Yet, to work for the Japanese entailed unwanted perceptions or reactions from among their fellow countrymen that they were seen as collaborators of the Japanese or traitors of their own country. Based primarily on library research, this paper aims to analyze the difficult position of the Malay bureaucrats or civil servants during the war years and the kind of problems and troubles that they were facing from the Japanese and their fellow countrymen alike, particularly, the anti-Japanese Malayan Chinese. Japanese expectations and reasons for their recruitment of Malays as administrators in the first place will also be examined. Finally, the findings will highlight that whatever was experienced by the Malay bureaucrats during these years partly contributed to the rise of Malay nationalism in the years that followed the end of the Japanese occupation in 1945. Universiti Malaya Press Bujang, Rahmah Abdul Wahid, Puteri Roslina Maaruf, Shaharuddin Mohd Ali, Tengku Intan Marlina Harun, Yaacob 2015 Book Chapter NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/50009/1/Book_Cover_001.jpg application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/50009/3/Publisher%2C_year_and_ISBN_001.jpg application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/50009/4/Section_in_book_001.jpg application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/50009/2/Contents_page_001.jpg application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/50009/17/Contents_page_001.jpg Fathil, Fauziah (2015) Malay bureaucracy in Japanese administration: Japanese Expectations, Malay Dilemmas and Problems. In: Transformasi Pengajian Melayu. Universiti Malaya Press, Kuala Lumpur, pp. 109-128. ISBN 978-967-0380-61-2
spellingShingle H Social Sciences (General)
HT Communities. Classes. Races
JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration
Fathil, Fauziah
Malay bureaucracy in Japanese administration: Japanese Expectations, Malay Dilemmas and Problems
title Malay bureaucracy in Japanese administration: Japanese Expectations, Malay Dilemmas and Problems
title_full Malay bureaucracy in Japanese administration: Japanese Expectations, Malay Dilemmas and Problems
title_fullStr Malay bureaucracy in Japanese administration: Japanese Expectations, Malay Dilemmas and Problems
title_full_unstemmed Malay bureaucracy in Japanese administration: Japanese Expectations, Malay Dilemmas and Problems
title_short Malay bureaucracy in Japanese administration: Japanese Expectations, Malay Dilemmas and Problems
title_sort malay bureaucracy in japanese administration: japanese expectations, malay dilemmas and problems
topic H Social Sciences (General)
HT Communities. Classes. Races
JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/50009/
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