The Federal Legislative Council (also known simply as the Legislative Council) was the legislative body of the

Federation of Malaya Malaya, officially the Federation of Malaya, was a country in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1963. It succeeded the Malayan Union and, before that, British Malaya. It comprised eleven states – nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settleme ...

and the predecessor of the

Malaysian Parliament The Parliament of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives, Literal translation, lit. "People's As ...

. It was formed in 1948 after the abolition of the

Malayan Union The Malayan Union (; Jawi: كساتوان مالايا) was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single g ...

and the formation of the federation, as part of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's promise to grant self-rule to the Malayans. The council convened in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

. The council was composed of representatives from the Malay, the

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

and the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

communities. Initially, all representatives were appointed by the British High Commissioner for Malaya. In 1948, the Federal Legislative Council consisted of 75 members (three ex-officio, 11 from the

Malay states The monarchies of Malaysia exist in each of the nine Malay states under the constitutional monarchy system as practised in Malaysia. The political system of Malaysia is based on the Westminster parliamentary system in combination with features ...

and the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

, 11 British officials and 50 unofficial members). This was the first time the Legislative Council had two thirds unofficial majority. The British High Commissioner ceased to preside over the Council in 1953. In his place a Speaker was appointed. The first Speaker of the Federal Legislative Council was Dato' Sir Mahmud bin Mat. In 1955, a general election was held for the first time. 52 seats were contested, with the majority party earning the right to appoint seven more.Tun Omar Yoke-Lin Ong - The Last Independence Fighter
In the election, the Alliance Party contested all 52 seats and won 51, while the Pan-Malayan Islamic Party won the remaining seat. Following the elections,

Raja Uda Raja Muhammad Raja Uda ibni Raja Muhammad (15 December 1894 – 17 October 1976) was a Malaysian statesman during the country's struggle for independence and its early years of nationhood. He was a civil servant under the British colonial administration, an ...

was elected as the Speaker of the Council, similar to the present

Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat The Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (, Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the highest-ranking presiding officer of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia, Parliament of Malaysia. They are responsible for convening sessions of the Dewan ...

. Members of the Federal Legislative Council in 1955 were increased to 98 members, 52 elected members replaced 50 unofficial members, 35 nominated members represented various interests, the remaining 11 was made up of the Chief Ministers of the nine Malay states and one representative each from Penang and Malacca. The Federal Legislative Council passed the Malayan Constitution (later, the

Malaysian Constitution The Federal Constitution of Malaysia (), which came into force in 1957 as the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya and was amended in 1963 to form the Constitution of Malaysia, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 art ...

) on August 15, 1957. Malaya gained independence on August 31, 1957. The Federal Legislative Council continued to sit as the legislative body of the new country until it was dissolved for the 1959 election, in which a new

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

was elected.

References

1948 establishments in Malaya 1959 disestablishments in Malaya Political history of Malaya {{Malaysia-poli-stub

See also

References