Malaysian History: Malaysian Nationalism till 1945 Quiz

Answer: Use of the death penalty

The British did not carry out many executions.

Tax collecting was a typical British routine in their colonies. Remember that this had been one of the factors in the American Revolution and other revolts across the British Empire.

British attempts to convert the Malayans to Christianity caused bitterness and resentment and met with little success.

The Sultans also did not have as much power over their people as the British.

Answer: The British wanted to make the state of Naning part of their territory.

Dol Said refused to allow the British to acquire Naning as a territory of their own. He started resisting after defying orders by the British to send one tenth of his resources to Melaka. In 1831, the British sent 150 soldiers to attack Dol Said, but he successfully resisted them with the help of Rembau, Sungai Ujong, Syed Shaban, Remai and Rechat.

However, in 1832, 1200 British soldiers eventually gained the upper hand and Dol Said was defeated and sent to Melaka.

Answer: attacking Brooke's forces at Fort Nanga

Rentap attacked Fort Nanga, Skrang, in retaliation for Brooke's actions towards Sarawak. Brooke assumed that the Iban population of Sarawak were nothing but savages or pirates. For the attack on Fort Nanga, the British burnt Rentap's home villaga. After a three-hour battle at Sadok, Rentap's forces fled. He died in hiding in 1863.

Answer: He led an attack on a SBUB fort in Gaya Island

In 1897, a fort on Gaya Island was attacked by Mat Salleh's forces and this led to a truce between him and the British. However, unfortunately, the British broke the truce and Mat Salleh went to war against the SBUB again. This time, Mat Salleh perished after a battle with them.

Answer: The SBUB were "upsetting the population's ancestors' spirits"

The Muruts resisted the SBUB because the British forbade them to cut down forests and to seize land. They also built railway lines to transport lumber to ports in Sabah. Moreover, tax collection also deprived the Muruts of their resources. These all "upset the Murut people's ancestors' spirits". Eventually, the Rundum Uprising occurred.

Answer: J.W.W. Birch

James Wheeler Woodford Birch was the government adviser to the Sultan of Perak after the Pangkor Treaty. He was assassinated by Dato Maharaja Lela and his followers, Panduk Indut, Ngah Ibrahim, Seputum and Panjang Bur on the 2nd November, 1875, while he was taking a bath in his ship.

The assassination led to a failed attack by the British on Maharaja Lela's forces at Pasir Salak. However, a second attack, this time with the help of India and Hong Kong, devastated his forces. Maharaja Lela and those who were responsible for Birch's assassination were hanged.

Answer: Dato' Kelana

The "Dato' Kelana" allowed the British to intervene for a mutual tax collection policy for traders. Also, "Dato' Kelana was able to defeat "Dato' Syahbandar" and he controlled all of Ujong River. However, the British still outranked him. As for "Dato' Syahbandar", he fled to Selangor and returned to Ujong River to sign a treaty with the British, agreeing to turn himself in and emigrate to Singapore.

Answer: The establishment of British police squads

The establishment of police squads possibly restricted his anti-British activities. Other actions by the British included tax collections and intervention in religious rituals. After initial victories from 1890 to 1894, Dato' Bahaman finally fled from the British in 1895. After his failed revolts, he moved to Bangkok and received political protection from King Chulalongkorn.

Answer: The defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the hands of the British in World War I

The defeat of one of the greatest Muslim empires at the hands of the British during WWI greatly angered Tok Janggut as he was strong in Islam faith. He defied the British tax collections and attacked Pasir Puteh in 1915, which he successfully settled in, becoming the Prime Minister there.

However, using the name of the Sultan of Kelantan, the British sent the battleship, HMS Cadmus, to bombard the settlements of Tumpat and land their forces there. When the British invaded Saring, the mighty leader perished in battle.

His body was paraded across the city of Kota Bahru as a warning to the locals and was hanged.

Answer: They again used the Sultan's name and sent police forces to Kuala Berang

The British, once again, used the Sultan's name to instill a sense of power over the resistance fighters. They sent 25 policemen to keep the pressure on Limbong's forces at Kuala Berang. The successful attack led to death of 11 fighters and the failure of the insurrection. Limbong was captured and exiled to Mecca.

Answer: To raise Muslim understanding to counter Western occupation

The Pan-Islam movements consisted of Muslim intellectuals across the globe to raise the understanding of Islam and to counter Western occupation. They were effective in the Middle East.

Answer: The cruelty of occupation

The "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" slogans by Japan stressed the need for Malayans to rebel against the British and cooperate with Japan. In return, they "promised" to give independence to the locals. After the Japanese invaded Malaya, that "promise" was broken and the Japanese occupied Malaya.

The harsh and cruel rule of the Japanese greatly starved the population and many innocent civilians were killed. Young women were seized for use as sex slaves were common and the Chinese suffered the most.

After Japan lost World War II, the people of Malaya were convinced that they should not give in so easily to the British when they returned.

Answer: The Malays

Since the Malayan Communist Party consisted of mainly Chinese members, it comes to no surprise that Malays were the easy targets for them. Moreover, anyone suspected of having collaborated with the Japanese during the occupation was also being hunted down. All of this ended when the British returned to contain the situation.

Answer: To motivate the Malays to reform their views of Islam

The Islah Movement was mainly to give the Malay population a chance to rethink their perspective on Islam. The 'Kaum Muda' (Youth Group) spread the movement through the al-Quran and Sunnah. The Youth Group was formed by Sheikh Tahir Jalaluddin, Syed Syeikh al-Hadi and Dr. Burhanuddin al-Helmy.

Answer: The 'Old Group' was pious (devout)

The Old Group was a pious (devoutly religious) and would only accept the beliefs of 'Fardu Ain' and 'akhirat'.

Answer: They expressed ways to develop a free nation and issues on development itself

Every publishing that was given to the locals are for the purpose of presenting ways of developing a nation free from occupation. These works also raise consideration towards these goals, criticize the British policies and raise questions on politics, economy and society.

Answer: It was formed by Communists

The MPAJA was formed by the Malayan Communist Party. For a long while, they had been opposed by the British. When the Japanese invaded and occupied Malaya, the resistance groups against Japanese occupation had to cooperate with one another. The MPAJA specialized in guerrilla warfare to ambush Japanese forces. Weapons and supplies were handed to them by the British.

After World War II, the Communists terrorized Malaya for 14 days until the British returned to reoccupy Malaya.

Answer: To establish a Greater Indonesia

The KMM was bent on establishing a new Greater Indonesia (Melayu Raya/Indonesia Raya), uniting Malaya and Indonesia to form a united country.

Answer: Indonesia was already independent from the Japanese.

The Congress that was to form the Greater Indonesia was eventually cancelled due to Indonesia's independence form the Japanese on the 17th of August, 1945 (but not recognized by the Dutch until 1949). The British was also about to return to recolonize the country. And so, the dream of a Greater Indonesia vanished.

Answer: To develop a sense of patriotism for one's country

By learning the topic, we develop a sense of patriotism and love for our country, Thus, in the future, we'll do better to defend our nation from invasion.

"Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana