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The nine Malay rulers in Malaya faced considerable challenges to their status and position at the end of the Second World War. The Malayan Union scheme introduced in 1946 by the Colonial Office deprived them of most of their powers. But after massive protests by the Malays much of the powers of the rulers were restored. The framing of the Malayan independence constitution between 1956 and 1957 pitted the institution of monarchy against the forces of nationalism. The dominant Alliance Party and most of the other parties wanted the rulers to be constitutional monarchs with limited powers under the new constitution. Some scholars have suggested that this reflected the demise of the institution of monarchy against the forces of nationalism. This article challenges this view. This article shows through a close examination and analysis of the primary constitutional records that the rulers fought a pitched battle to safeguard their position and status from further erosion in the new constitution. The article argues that the rulers were not only able to prevent further erosion of their constitutional powers but were in fact able to enhance their position considerably and give the Conference of Rulers a new lease of life in the 1957 federal constitution.

Defending the monarchy: The Malay rulers and the making of the Malayan constitution, 1956-1957