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Federated Malay States

The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi: ) was a federation of four protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and which lasted until 1946. In that year they formed the Malayan Union together with two of the former Straits Settlements, (Malacca and Penang), and the Unfederated Malay States. Two years later, the union became the Federation of Malaya, which achieved independence in 1957, and finally Malaysia in 1963 with the inclusion of North Borneo (present-day Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore.

Real power in the FMS and its constituent states rested with the four local British Residents and the Resident-General, the discretionary powers of the local rulers being essentially reduced to matters "touching Malay Religion and Customs".

The federation, along with the Unfederated Malay States of the peninsula and the Straits Settlements, 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. Provided by Wikipedia