Talk:Unfederated Malay States

Status of Brunei

I was looking at the image of the reverse of Malayan Dollar note and noticed there were 3 sets of coat of arms. The one on the left represents the Federated Malay States, the Straits Settlements in the middle, and what I presume are the Unfederated Malay States on the right. Curiously, the coat of arms of Brunei is grouped on the right. Would it then be safe to presume that Brunei was considered administratively as part of the Unfederated Malay States; considering the fact that Brunei was also a Malay state that was a British protectorate during that period of time. Or could it be possible that this was just a usage exclusive to the Board of Commissioners of Currency, Malaya? - Bob K 14:26, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Brunei was never considered to be one of the Unfederated Malay States; the name referred purely to the Peninsula states that are listed in the article. 81.133.253.126 (talk) 19:22, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

Hmm .. I think I figured it out. The Straits Settlements Currency Ordinance (No. 23) of 1938 authorised a single Board of Commissioners of Currency to issue a standard currency for the Straits Settlement, the Federated Malay States, the Unfederated Malay States and the state of Brunei. Administratively they remained separate political entities. It is interesting to note though that while the 1941 series of currency featured the Brunei coat of arms clustered together with the coat of arms of the Unfederated Malay States (see this image), the post 1953 Malaya and British Borneo dollar was somewhat more arbitrary in its placement of the various coat of arms whereby the Bruneian arms was clustered with the arms of Perak, Malacca, Pahang, and Sarawak (see this image). Trivial perhaps but it might be an insight to how the British viewed the status of the Malay states under their protection then. For example, the reverse of the 1953 series $50 dollar note clusters the arms of North Borneo, Singapore, Sarawak (all 3 being Crown Colonies) and the Federation of Malaya (a protectorate) at the top whereas the arms of the other Malay states including Brunei are clustered at the bottom - perhaps as a tacit perception at that time that Brunei would form part of any future political settlement for the British possessions and protectorates in Southeast Asia? Anyone planning a visit to The National Archives in London anytime soon? - Bob K | Talk 21:14, 23 February 2009 (UTC)