British Military Administration (Malaya)

British Military Administration of Malaya
Malaya
Interim Military Governance
1945–1946
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Japan surrender to British in Kuala Lumpur in 1945.
Capital		Kuala Lumpur (de facto)
Government		Military Administration
Historical era		Post-war
•	Surrender of Japan	2 September 1945
•	British Military Administration set up	12 September 1945
•	Formation of Malayan Union	1 April 1946
Currency		Malayan dollar British Pound
Preceded by Succeeded by Japanese occupation of Malaya Japanese occupation of Singapore Malayan Union Colony of Singapore
Today part of		Malaysia  Singapore

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The British Military Administration (BMA) was the interim administrator of British Malaya between the end of World War II and the establishment of the Malayan Union in 1946. The BMA was under the direct command of the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia, Lord Louis Mountbatten. The administration had the dual function of maintaining basic subsistence during the period of reoccupation, and also of imposing the state structure upon which post-war imperial power would rest.

The BMA was established by virtue of Proclamation No. 1 (15 Aug 1945), the Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia established the British Military Administration which assumed full judicial, legislative, executive and administrative powers and responsibilities and conclusive jurisdiction over all persons and property throughout such areas of Malaya which at this time included Singapore. Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten became the director of the administration in September 1945. Major-General Ralph Hone was given the post of Chief Civil Affairs Officer Malaya (C.C.A.O.(M)) responsible for the territory of Malaya.The C.C.A.O.(M) was responsible in administrating the civil population of the newly liberated Malaya, the direction of administrating the civil population must meet the requirements of military commanders.

By mid-1946, Malaya had been ruled by the returning British (BMA) for nearly two years. It had not been a very pleasant experience for anyone. The British in short could no longer automatically command the respect of the people of Malaya. Indeed, the Malays referred to the period of when the Japanese defeated the British as "the time the white man ran". Equally, while the British were clearly defeated by the Japanese in 1942, the British were not so clearly the victors in 1945 from the point of view of the Malays. The civil colonial government took over from the BMA in April 1946, the civil government was faced with picking up the pieces of what the BMA left behind. It can not be entirely the fault of the BMA as it was a much different organisation compared to the pre-War efficient administrative machinery..