Federated Malay States

Federated Malay States نݢري٢ ملايو برسکوتو
Negeri-negeri Melayu Bersekutu
Protectorate of the United Kingdom
1895–1942 Japanese Occupation: 1942–45 1945–1946
Flag Coat of arms
Motto (Malay: Dipelihara Allah) Under God's Protection
Federated Malay States in British Malaya
Capital		Kuala Lumpur1
Languages		Malay² English
Religion		Sunni Islam
Political structure		Protectorate
Monarch
•	1837-1901	Victoria
•	1936-1952	George VI
Resident General³
•	1896-1901	Frank Swettenham
Legislature		Federal Legislative Council
Historical era		British Empire
•	Federated	1895
•	Treaty of Federation	1 July 1896
•	Japanese occupation	1942
•	Japanese surrender	14 August 1945
•	Malayan Union	31 March 1946
Area
•	1921	71,571 km² (27,634 sq mi)
Population
•	1921 est.	1,324,890
Density		18.5 /km²  (47.9 /sq mi)
Currency		Straits dollar until 1939 Malayan dollar until 1953
Preceded by Succeeded by Selangor Perak Negeri Sembilan Pahang Malayan Union
Today part of		Malaysia
1 Also the state capital of Selangor ² Malay using Jawi (Arabic) script ³ Later Chief Secretaries to the Government and Federal Secretaries

The Federated Malay States (FMS) was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula—Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang—established by the British government in 1895, which lasted until 1946, when they, together with two of the former Straits Settlements (Malacca and Penang) and the Unfederated Malay States, formed the Malayan Union. Two years later, the Union became the Federation of Malaya and finally Malaysia in 1963 with the inclusion of North Borneo (present-day Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore.

The United Kingdom was responsible for foreign affairs and defence of the federation, whilst the states continued to be responsible for their domestic policies. Even so, the British Resident General would give advice on domestic issues, and the states were bound by treaty to follow that advice. The federation had Kuala Lumpur, which was then part of Selangor, as its capital. The first FMS Resident General was Sir Frank Swettenham.

The federation, along with the other Malay states and British possessions of the peninsula, was overrun and occupied by the Japanese during World War II. After the liberation of Malaya following the Japanese surrender, the federation was not restored, but the federal form of government was retained as the principal model for consolidating the separate States as an independent Federation of Malaya and the Federation's later evolution into Malaysia.