Straits Settlements in the context of "Federation of Malaya"

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. Its territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. The country is about one degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north.

In its early history, Singapore was a maritime emporium known as Temasek; subsequently, it was a major constituent of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, Singapore came under direct British control as part of the Straits Settlements. During World War II, Singapore was occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to Britain as a Crown colony following Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained self-governance in 1959 and in 1963 became part of the new federation of Malaysia, alongside Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak. Ideological differences led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; it became an independent sovereign country in 1965. After early years of turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers.

Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. A federal constitutional monarchy, it consists of 13 states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia on the Indochinese Peninsula and East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Peninsular Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Thailand, as well as maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia; East Malaysia shares land borders with Brunei and Indonesia, and maritime borders with the Philippines and Vietnam. Kuala Lumpur is the country's national capital, largest city, and the seat of the legislative branch of the federal government, while Putrajaya is the federal administrative capital, representing the seat of both the executive branch (the Cabinet, federal ministries, and federal agencies) and the judicial branch of the federal government. With a population of over 34 million, it is the world's 42nd-most populous country.

The country has its origins in the Malay kingdoms, which, from the 18th century on, became subject to the British Empire, along with the British Straits Settlements protectorate. During World War II, British Malaya, along with other nearby British and American colonies, was occupied by the Empire of Japan. Following three years of occupation, Peninsular Malaysia was briefly unified as the Malayan Union in 1946 until 1948 when it was restructured as the Federation of Malaya. The country achieved independence on 31 August 1957. On 16 September 1963, independent Malaya united with the then British crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to become Malaysia. In August 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation and became a separate, independent country.

Syonan (Japanese: 昭南, Hepburn: Shōnan; Kunrei-shiki: Syônan), officially Syonan Island (Japanese: 昭南島, Hepburn: Shōnan-tō; Kunrei-shiki: Syônan-tô), was the name for Singapore when it was occupied and ruled by the Empire of Japan, following the fall and surrender of British military forces on 15 February 1942, 6:20 p.m. local time, during World War II.

The Japanese military forces occupied Singapore after defeating the combined British, Indian, Australian, Malayan and the Straits Settlements garrison in the Battle of Singapore within 7 days. The occupation was to become a major turning point in the histories of several nations, including those of Japan, Britain, and Singapore. Singapore was renamed Syonan-to, meaning "Light of the South Island" and was also included as part of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (Japanese: 大東亜共栄圏, Hepburn: Dai Tōa Kyōeiken).

The Colony of Singapore was a Crown colony of the United Kingdom that encompassed what is modern-day Singapore from 1946 to 1959. During this period, Christmas Island, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Labuan were also administered from Singapore. Singapore had previously been established as a British colony since 1824, and had been governed as part of the Straits Settlements since 1826. The colony was created when the Straits Settlements was dissolved shortly after the Japanese occupation of Singapore ended in 1945. The power of the British Government was vested in the governor of Singapore. The colony eventually gained partial internal self-governance in 1955, and lasted until the establishment of the State of Singapore in 1958, with full internal self-governance granted in 1959.

After a few years of self-governance, Singapore went on to merge with Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo (Sabah) to form Malaysia on 16 September 1963, thereby completely ending 144 years of British rule in Singapore. Due to differing views in dealing with political, economic and racial issues, Singapore would eventually cease to be a part of Malaysia and become an independent sovereign country on 9 August 1965.

The term British Malaya (/məˈleɪə/; Malay: Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the term "British India", which excludes the Indian princely states, British Malaya is often used to refer to the Federated and the Unfederated Malay States, which were British protectorates with their own local rulers, as well as the Straits Settlements, which were under the sovereignty and direct rule of the British Crown, after a period of control by the East India Company.

Before the formation of the Malayan Union in 1946, the territories were not placed under a single unified administration, with the exception of the immediate post-war period when a British military officer became the temporary administrator of Malaya. Instead, British Malaya comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, and the Unfederated Malay States. Under British hegemony, Malaya was one of the most profitable territories of the empire, being the world's largest producer of tin and later rubber. During the Second World War, Japan ruled a part of Malaya as a single unit from Singapore.

The Malayan Union (Malay: Kesatuan Malaya; Jawi: كساتوان مالايا) was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single government to simplify administration. Following opposition by the ethnic Malays, the union was reorganised as the Federation of Malaya in 1948.

The Manjung District, formerly known as Dindings (its official name until 1973), is a district in the south-western part of the state of Perak, Malaysia. It is the 26th-most populated district in Malaysia. It is administered by the Manjung Municipal Council (Malay: Majlis Perbandaran Manjung), which was formerly known as the Manjung District Council (Malay: Majlis Daerah Manjung) from 1 January 1980 until 31 July 2001. Seri Manjung is the district's principal urban centre while other towns include Lumut town, Sitiawan town, Ayer Tawar, Pantai Remis, Changkat Keruning and Beruas.

The district is well known for Pangkor Island, a major attraction in Perak, and also serves as the headquarters of the Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM) at the Lumut Naval Base and dockyard. Historically, Dindings was briefly part of the British Straits Settlements colony but was returned to Perak in 1935.