Malaya from 1900 to Merdeka (Intro)

At the dawn of the 20th century, Malaya entered a new age, a new century of modernisation and economic progress. Economic prosperity brought about rapid changes as well as new ideas and new lifestyles and began attracting more and more migrants seeking jobs and a better way of life.

Most of the developments that went into making modern Malaya occurred first in the Straits Settlements of Singapore, Malacca and Penang and much of the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, particularly Negeri Sembilan, Selangor and Perak. British administartion, tin-mining, the rubber industry, Chinese and Indian immigration and a network of roads and railways leading to a port were hallmarks of the Straits Settlements and the west coast States.

The resulted in Malaya's development being lopsided, a dichotomy between the east coast and the west coast of the peninsula that still remains today.