The Rise of

Nationalism/
National Awareness
in Post-war Brunei,
Sarawak and North Borneo
(Sabah)
1945-1963

Introduction
There

was little semblance of

nationalistic awareness and/or the
idea of a nation-state in pre-war
Sarawak, Brunei, or North Borneo,
collectively designated as British
Borneo, protectorates of Great Britain.
All three territories were each under a
different form of British colonialism.

 To

a large extent the emergence of

national consciousness only became
increasingly apparent during the late
1940s through the early 1960s.
Developments from within and
influences from without contributed to
the rise of political consciousness,
ethnic identity, idea of the nation-state
and thereafter nationalism.

Objectives
To

understand the developments that

subsequently led to the emergence of
a sense of national consciousness in
Sarawak, Brunei, and North Borneo
during the post-war period (September
1945 to September 1963).

 To

examine and analyze the

contributory factors towards the rise of
national consciousness.
To ascertain the main determinant of
national consciousness.

Themes
Anti-colonial

Expressions from the mid19th century to 1941 in Northern

Borneo
The Japanese Occupation (1941-1945)
Post-war developments (1945-1963)

Anti-colonial
Expressions
from the mid-19th century
to 1941 in Northern
Borneo

 Iban

opposition Rentap, Bantin, Asun

Chinese rivalry Bau Hakka miners
attempt in eliminating James Brooke
Brunei Malay anti-British/Brooke
eliminating pro-British/Brooke (Hashim
and Budruddin); Syarif Masahor
Sulu claims Mat Salleh

The Japanese
Occupation
(1941-1945)

 Japanese

wartime policies ethnicbased attitudes and differential

treatment of the different ethnic
communities
Wartime experiences of the multiethnic
inhabitants
Perception real or perceived attitudes
amongst the different communities
towards one another

Post-war
developments
(1945-1963)

From without
Independence

for India (1946) and

Burma (1947)
Philippine independence (1946)
Indonesian Revolution (1945-1949)
Mao and the Peoples Republic of
China (1949)

From within
British

Crown Colonies Sarawak and

North Borneo
British Protected State Brunei
Anti-cession movement in Sarawak
(1946-1949)
The rise of the Left in Sarawak (1950s1960s)

 Brunei

rebellion (1962)
Malaysia (1961-1963)

Conclusion
To

ascertain the contributory factors

towards the rise of national
consciousness
To identify the main determinant(s) of
the rise of national consciousness