War, Reconstruction and the Advent of Independence (1942–63)

Abstract

The military subjugation of Southeast Asia by Japan at the end of 1941 and early 1942 was in large measure driven by the aim to gain direct control over the raw material resources of the region vital to the Japanese economy. The period 1942–5 saw a military administration centring on Singapore (renamed Syonan), which imposed a command economy. In external trade the former integral link between exports and imports (the one financing the other) was severed. Exports were now to consist only of what was required for the Japanese economy, whilst on the import side Malaysia was to become as self-sufficient as possible, especially in foodstuffs.