This book presents a brief people’s history of Malaysia (formerly Malaya). Its approach is different from that which is often regarded as Official History because it focuses upon the process of making history from below, through the contribution of everyday people to the history of Malaya and Malaysia, and is written in a popular and not academic style. – In focusing on the contribution of the people to the making of history A People’s History of Malaysia chronicles the development of nationalism and the rise of mass-based politics and people’s independence movements alongside movements related to workers, women, students and indigenous peoples in the formation of a Malaysian nation state.