Proclamation of Independence
“In the name of
God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to God, the Lord of the
Universe and may the blessings and peace of God be upon his messengers.
And
whereas the time has now arrived when the people of the Persekutuan
Tanah Melayu will assume the status of a free independent and sovereign nation
among the nations of the world;
And
whereas by an agreement styled the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957,
between Her Majesty the Queen and Their Highnesses the Rulers of the Malay
States it was agreed that the Malay States of Johore, Pahang, Negri Sembilan,
Selangor, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Trengganu and Perak and the former
Settlements of Malacca and Penang should as from the 31st day of August, 1957,
be formed into a new Federation of States by the name of Persekutuan Tanah
Melayu;
And
whereas it was further agreed between the parties to the said agreement
that the Settlements of Malacca and Penang aforesaid should as from the said
date cease to form part of Her Majesty’s dominions and that Her Majesty should
cease to exercise any sovereignty over them;
And
whereas it was further agreed by the parties aforesaid that the
Federation of Malaya Agreement, 1948, and all other agreements subsisting
between Her Majesty the Queen and Their Highnesses the Rulers or any one of
them immediately before the said date should be revoked as from that date and
that all powers and jurisdiction of Her Majesty or of the Parliament of the
United Kingdom in or in respect of the Settlements aforesaid or the Malay States
or the Federation as a whole should come to an end;
And
whereas effect has been given in the Federation of Malaya Agreement,
1957, by Her Majesty the Queen, Their Highnesses the Rulers, the Parliament of
the United Kingdom and the Legislatures of the Federation and of the Malay
States;
And
whereas a constitution for the Government of the Persekutuan Tanah
Melayu has been established as the supreme law thereof;
And
whereas by the Federal Constitution aforesaid provision is made to
safeguard the rights and prerogatives of Their Highnesses the Rulers and the
fundamental rights and liberties of the people and to provide for the peaceful
and orderly advancement of the Persekutuan Tanah Melayu as a constitutional
monarchy based on Parliamentary democracy;
And
whereas the Federal Constitution aforesaid having been approved by an
Ordinance of the Federal Legislatures, by the Enactments of the Malay States
and by resolutions of the Legislatures of Malacca and Penang has come into
force on the 31st day of August, 1957, aforesaid;
Now in the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful I, Tengku Abdul Rahman
Putra ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, Prime Minister of the
Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, with the concurrence and approval of Their Highnesses
the Rulers of the Malay States do hereby proclaim and declare on behalf of the
people of the Persekutuan Tanah Melayu that as from the thirty first day of
August, nineteen hundred and fifty-seven, the Persekutuan Tanah Melayu
comprising the States of Johore, Pahang, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Kedah,
Perlis, Kelantan, Trengganu, Perak, Malacca and Penang is and with God’s
blessing shall be for ever a sovereign democratic and independent State founded
upon the principle of liberty and justice and ever seeking the welfare and
happiness of its people and the maintenance of a just peace among all nations.”
-Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, 31st
August 1957
