The Making of Malaysia: Britain, the 'Grand Design', Decolonisation and MalaysiaThe British Empire was in decline and consolidation became part of its "Grand Design" for North Borneo, Sarawak, Brunei and Singapore. In 1963, Malaysia emerged from these territories as a new nation-state. But inter-state jealousy continued and the policy fractured as Singapore broke away in 1965. Based on a close study of official documents and private papers, A J Stockwell illuminates the struggles and frustrations in the engine-room of decolonization. He shows British policy at the end of empire--a declining power, struggling with decolonization involving a region with a mix of states, interests and ethnicities, all the while trying to retain influence. |