ABSTRACT

On January 1, 1984, little Brunei, a British protectorate since 1888, became an independent state. The state of Singapore consists of one large island and several small satellites. Singapore's membership in the Federation of Malaysia proved short-lived. Malaysia endorsed Indonesia's foreign policy in almost every aspect except in the degree of hostility toward China. Malaysia was able to work out new defense arrangements with Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore in a five-power amalgam in November 1971. Concurrently with the efforts to work out a five-power defense agreement, Malaysia initiated and pursued a proposal for neutralization of the entire region. Although Malaya became independent in 1957, the British lingered until 1960, when officially the state of emergency was ended. The new government was headed by Tunku Abdul Rahman, who came from a princely family and was a pro-Western, pronouncedly anti-Communist Anglophile.