MUZIUM SEJARAH / HISTORY MUSEUM
THE HISTORICAL PROCESS OF EDUCATION
Although the historical records did not mention in detail the educational institutions during the era of the Sultanate, a look at the language used in the laws and documents show that there were institutions, which taught the classical Malay language. For sure, there existed religious institutions. During Portuguese rule, a school was set up in 1548 to teach the descendants of the Portuguese. It is unclear what the educational activities during the Dutch era were, but there were probably one or two institutions, which taught the Dutch, people who lived in the Dutch village (heeren and Jonker Streets). During the beginning of British rule, a Christian missionary from Macau, William Milne, arrived at Melaka in 1815, to set up a Christian religious school. A piece of land in Tengkera was chosen for the school. Called the Anglo-Chinese College, the school was opened in 1818 to teach English and Chinese. Most of the students were from the Baba community. Besides William Milne, there were also other reputable teachers at the school. One of them was Munsyi Abdullah who taught the Malay Language and helped in the library and the printing press. Several of its students went on to achieve fame later on. But the school was closed down in 1843 when missionary activities moved to Hong Kong.
The Anglo-Chinese College was the forerunner of English educational activities in Melaka. In fact there were already two Islamic religious schools in 1815 which taught the Quran, as well as eight Chinese schools. In 1822 a special school for girls was opened. In 1823, there was also a Tamil school. In 1826, school called the ‘Melaka Free School’ was set up, initially sited at the Parsonage House (now the Youth Museum). In 1878, it was renamed the Melaka High School and in 1884, relocated to the site of the present High Court building, before moving to its present location in Chan Koon Cheng in 1931. Towards the end of the 19th century, many English and vernacular schools were set up in Melaka. The administration of these schools followed by the policy of the British and the political agreements of the Straits of Melaka.
THE BEGINNING OF RUBBER PLANTATIONS
Although rubber seeds were introduced to Peninsula in 1876/1877, they did not generate enough interest to start the rubber industry. In 1895, a wealthy Melaka Baba, Tan Chay Yan, received some rubber seeds from the Director of the Singapore Botanical Gardens. He became the first man to plant the rubber seeds in a large scale in 43 acres estate in Bukit Lintang (about 12 km away to Jasin). Even though there were no techniques for tapping, processing and turning the latex into rubber sheets at that time, Tan Chay Yan succeeded in producing rubber sheets and in 1898, displayed them in an exhibition at Melaka.
Going on this success, the Melaka Rubber and Tapioca Company was set up that same year (1898) to plant rubber. The Melaka Settlement Government granted 4300 acres to the company to plant rubber. Soon after that, other planters were encouraged to plant rubber in their tapioca plantations. Income derived from the rubber production increased Melaka’s treasury. Other states such as Perak, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan followed Melaka’s example and planted rubber in their office plantations. The wealth generated by the rubber industry encouraged the British planters to be involved in the rubber industry. With the establishment of many companies, the rubber industry became the main industry in the Settlement as well as the country. The advancement of techniques in tapping, collecting and processing led to better quality of rubber. These initial efforts introduced the Malay Peninsula (then Malaya) to the world as a major producer of rubber.
MELAKA AS A SLEEPY HOLLOW
Economic depression began in the middle of the Dutch era when Melaka became a storehouse for Batavia. The British takeover Melaka in 1795 worsened the depression because of the policy, and then destroyed Melaka so that it could not compete with Penang as the British wanted to occupy Melaka only for a while. It was only when Melaka was handed to the British in 1824 they wanted to make use of its products. Even then, they placed more emphasis on Singapore because of its strategic location.
Melaka’s size had already been reduced. Its natural resources like gold and tin had been exploited. At that time, merchant ships had already been improved and did not depend on the winds anymore. Local ships did not play any role because of the complete blockade by the European merchants, which eventually killed off the local expertise in shipbuilding. The British neglected Melaka’s development and the locals were unable to arrest the economic depression. Finally, Melaka harbour became silent and merchant ships rarely stopped here.
In the 1870s, Melaka fluttered temporarily because of the rubber industry. In the 1880s, a British writer, Isabella L. Bird wrote that Melaka was “a town out of running, utterly antiquated, mainly un-English, a veritable Sleepy Hollow”.
THE FLAG HILL IN MINIATURE
This is a miniature of the scenery on Flag Hill (St. Paul’s Hill) during the British era in the 1930s.
The war in Europe resulted Melaka was handed over once again in 1795. The British took over Melaka was a tactic to prevent it from being taken by the French. Once they took over, the British made plans to empty Melaka by blasting the fortress and ordering the locals to move to Penang. The treaty of Holland in 1824 placed Melaka under the British. Under them, Melaka’s role diminished because the British considered Penang and Singapore more important.
They erected a mast on St. Paul’s Hill and flew the British flag. They called it Flag Hill like the one in Penang, but the name did not stick. The Portuguese/Dutch fortress around St. Paul’s Hill was blown up. Several Dutch buildings were damaged and repaired according to new designs. The eastern section of the hill was developed to accommodate new buildings for the police but these were demolished in the 1960s. Many shop houses were constructed at the site of the fort wall along the riverbanks. The British blasted the Tan Kim Seng Bridge in 1942. The present bridge was built after World War Two.
JAPANESE ERA
Japanese army landings at Kota Bharu, Kelantan.
Sultan Suleiman Badrul Alam Shah of Terengganu (centre) with Japanese officers, including Brig. General Ogihara (right) and Malay court officials in front of Istana Kolam, Kuala Terengganu, 13 December 1941 – about a week after the Japanese forces had landed at Kota Bharu.
At 7:45 pm on the 15th February 1942, the signing of the surrender document was concluded in the Ford factory at Upper Bukit Timah Road. This day was also the first day of the Chinese New Year.
The Japanese invasion of Malaysia took place during the outbreak of the Second World War
The victors and the defeated: General Yamashita and his officers with Lt General Percival just after the Allied Forces laid down their arms.
The soldiers of the Allied Forces surrendered and became prisoners of war of the Japanese.
Structure of the Japanese Military Administration
The Japanese Military Graveyard at Bukit Baru, Melaka
To control the supply and ensure a fair distribution of essential foodstuffs such as rice, sugar and salt, wholesalers and retailers were appointed and organized into various distributor associations or Kumiais.
The Allied Forces from Force 136 infiltrated the jungles of Malaya using parachutes to fight the Japanese army.
The Japanese surrendered to the Allied Forces on the 21st August 1945. This picture shows the Japanese officers laying down their swords as a sign of unconditional surrender.
General Itagaki surrendering his sword to Lieutenant General Messervy, GOC Malaya, at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, in early 1946.
The “Banana Tree” Currency used during the Japanese Occupation.
On the 10 December 1941, Force Z made of battlecruiser HMS Repulse and battleship HMS Prince of Wales were attacked by Japanese bombers off the coast of Kuantan and sunk.
Commander of the MPAJA Fourth Regiment (Johor), Chien Teng addressing his men at a disbandment parade in December 1945.
Ceremony of the surrendering of the samurai sword of one of the Japanese Generals to Lt. General Messervy, the commander of the Malaya Command in front of the Victoria Institution Building in Kuala Lumpur on the 22 February 1946, signifying the end of the Japanese Occupation of Malaya.
At around 4 am on the 9 December 1941, Japanese aircraft bombed Singapore.
In the early hours of the 8 December 1941, Japanese troops landed at Kota Bharu, the capital of Kelantan, Malaya. All British forces, including volunteer forces from Malaya and Singapore were mobilized for the defence of Malaya.
Before the Japanese successfully capture Bukit Chandu, the last Malay troops fortifications, many Japanese soldiers were killed from assaults carried out by the Malay troops from the hill.
Though the number of Chinese who were killed was the greatest, other races who did not cooperate with the Japanese military authorities also suffered the same fate. Sikh soldiers who cooperated with the British were also shot by the Japanese military.
