KEMAJUAN SAINS DAN PENYELIDIKAN DI NEGERI-NEGERI SELAT DAN NEGERI-NEGERI MELAYU BERSEKUTU, 1800-1941

Abstract

This article examines the historical context in which scientific research institutions were established in the Straits Settlements and the Malay States between 1800 and the Japanese Occupation. It cannot be denied that one of the main impetus in the development of both the Straits Settlements as well as the Federated Malay States was the progress made in science and scientific research. The article focuses on two parts, firstly on the British education policy in regard to science; and secondly, the establishment of scientific research institutions for socio-economic reasons. The development of scientific knowledge and skills in schools and other educational institutions as well as the establishment of scientific research institutions pointed to British interest in wanting to consolidate their colonial interest in Malaya in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was these educational and research institutions which provided the requisite technical know-how that was necessary for the effective administration of the country, for the development of primary economic resources and the control of diseases affecting migrant labour.