Malayan Declaration of Independence
1957 document establishing an independent Federation of Malaya
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The document of the declaration was signed by Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was appointed as the nation's first prime minister. The event is celebrated annually in Malaysia with national day Hari Merdeka.
Date of Independence
The date for Federation of Malaya's Independence on 31 August 1957 was determined after Tunku Abdul Rahman, Haji Sulaiman Palestine, Haji Ahmad Badawi, and several other UMNO leaders sought the views of Syeikh Abdullah Fahim, a notable Tuan Guru from Kepala Batas, Penang.
According to Syeikh Abdullah Fahim, if the British would not grant independence to Malaya on 31 August 1957, the next fitting date should be 31 August 1962. 31 August 1957 was referred by Syeikh Abdullah Fahim as am khair atana (عام خير اتانا) in Arabic which means 'Good Year Has Come to Us'. It was confirmed in a February 1956 Alliance rally in Malacca after the Tunku had just arrived from the United Kingdom.
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Declaration ceremony
On the night of 30 August 1957, crowds gathered at the Royal Selangor Club Padang in Kuala Lumpur to witness the handover of power from the British. Prime Minister-designate Tunku Abdul Rahman arrived at 11:58 p.m. and joined members of the Alliance Party's youth divisions in observing two minutes of darkness. On the stroke of midnight, the lights were switched back on, and the Union Flag in the square was lowered as the royal anthem God Save The Queen was played. The new Flag of Malaya was raised as the national anthem Negaraku was played. This was followed by seven chants of "Merdeka (freedom)" by the crowd. Tunku Abdul Rahman later gave a speech hailing the ceremony as "greatest moment in the life of the Malayan people". Before giving the address to the crowd, he was given a necklace by representatives of the Alliance Party youth in honour of this great occasion in history, with a map of Malaya inscribed on it. The event ended at 1 a.m.
On the morning of 31 August 1957, the festivities moved to the newly completed Merdeka Stadium. More than 20,000 people witnessed the ceremony, which began at 9:30 a.m. Those in attendance included rulers of the Malay states, foreign dignitaries, members of the federal cabinet, and citizens. The Queen's representative, the Duke of Gloucester presented Tunku Abdul Rahman with the instrument of independence. Tunku then proceeded to read the declaration, which culminated in the chanting of "Merdeka!" seven times with the crowd joining in. The ceremony continued with the raising of the National Flag of Malaya accompanied by the national anthem being played by a military band and a 21-gun salute, followed by an azan call and a thanksgiving prayer in honour of this occasion.
The day followed with the solemn installation of the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan, at Jalan Ampang, and the first installation banquet in his honour in the evening followed by a beating retreat performance and a fireworks display. Sports events and other events marked the birth of the new nation.
The document
The original declaration was written on a 750mm by 500mm goatskin (vellum) in traditional Malay manuscript style and decorated by coloured filigree carvings, with its blue colour derived from lapis lazuli gem powder; its red colour sourced from natural materials; and its gold colour acquired from pure 24-carat gold. Important parts of the text were also written in red, and the borders of the document was inlaid with 100% gold leaf.
The content of the declaration was drafted by Ibrahim Mahmood with the help of several other Malay nationalist figures, such as Senu Abdul Rahman, while the text was handwritten by a Kelantanese scribe. The design of the documents were handled by a team of 10 artists from the Department of Survey and Mapping, who received the instruction to prepare for the declaration document in June 1957. The team first produced the drawings on a larger scale, then photographed and reduced them onto glass negatives at a smaller scale, followed by some touch up, a process which was repeated until achieving the intended final sizes. Mirrors were also used to check for symmetry and alignment of the line drawings. The team also took inspiration from traditional woodcarving motifs when designing the document's borders.
The declaration was produced in two versions, one in Malay with Jawi script, while the another in English. Official copies of the declaration was also published in Chinese and Tamil, making the declaration officially available in a total of four languages. Copies of the declaration in four languages were distributed to all village heads and local community leaders throughout the nation during the independence.
The Malayan survey department produced a total of eight official handdrawn copies of the declaration. One of the 10-person designing team, Yap Kok Sun, a soldier from the 1st Battalion of Manchester Regiment who was recruited into the department in 1956 and in charged of the document's watermarks and line details, was persuaded by his European superior to sign his initial "K.S. Yap" onto the back of the document, although reluctantly.
Currently, the original documents of the declaration are being stored and preserved by the National Archives of Malaysia since 1958 or 1959, and have since then undergone two conservation and encapsulation process.
Text
The following is the full text of the declaration, in Malay (in Jawi script) and in English.