ABSTRACT
In contrast to Vietnam, Myanmar, and Indonesia, there was no concerted nationwide opposition to colonial rule in British Malaya or the French protectorates of Cambodia and Laos. In all three areas, the colonial authorities had preserved the traditional monarchy, in fact with greater pomp and security than existed before. Except for a few members of the royal family and the nobility who went abroad, there was no opportunity for higher education. No institutions of higher learning existed in any of the three countries until well after World War II, and there was little national consciousness or awareness of individual rights. The indigenous elite was left to hold the prestigious but powerless positions in the administrative hierarchy, and the key positions were staffed by the colonizers. Furthermore, the Chinese and Indians in Malaya and the Chinese and Vietnamese in Laos and Cambodia were used by the colonial powers in the ancillary services in administration and economy. Thus, even if there was some amount of frustration among the educated elite, it was not enough to foster a nationalist movement until at least the outbreak of World War II.
