Malaysian Youth Group Uniforms

Figure 1.--We have liitle information on youth groups in Malaysia at this time. We believe that the Scouts are the most important youth movement, but we do not yet have a lot of information. We do have some information on the the Boys' Brigade. Both groups are a legacy from Malaysia's colonial past. We do not know of any other youth groups. Here is an unidentified Scout troop in Malaya duruing the 1950s.

The Boy Scouts are the most important youth movementv in Malaysia. The Malaysian Scout association is the Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia (The Scouts Association of Malaysia). It includes both boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 17. Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia (PPM) is part of the global Scouting movement and national member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). It is the only uniformed body in Malaysia to have been established and officially regulated by an act of Parliament through the Scouts Association Of Malaysia (Incorporation) Act 1968. The history of Scouting in Malaysia is a little complicated becuse Scouting was founded in the the country while it was still the British colon of Malaya. The colony was not a centalized colony, but a federation. And it included Singapore which is now an independent country. Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country. There is a Christian community as a result of the British colonial period. We note a Boy's Brigade movement in Malaysia, but know little about it at this time. Both groups are a legacy from Malaysia's colonial past. We do not know of any other youth groups.

Boy Scouts

Scouts are the most important youth movement in Malysia. The Malaysian Scout association is the Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia (The Scouts Association of Malaysia). It includes both boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 17. Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia (PPM) is part of the global Scouting movement and national member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). It is the only uniformed body in Malaysia to have been established and officially regulated by an act of Parliament through the Scouts Association Of Malaysia (Incorporation) Act 1968. The history of Scouting in Malaysia is a little complicated becuse Scouting was founded in the the country while it was still the British colon of Malaya. The colony was not a centalized colony, but a federation. And it included Singapore which is now an independent country. Scouting first appeared in in Singapore where the British presence was strongest (1908), but was not officially founded until 2 years late (1910). Scoutmaster Frank Cooper Sands, newly arrived in Singapore from Nottingham, organized two Boy Scout troops in Singapore for the children of the British colonists. Scouting proved popular and spread to other parts of the Straits Settlements and what were to become the states of Malaysia. Sands spent the next 40 years working with rhe Scout movement. He is considered to be the "Father of Malayan Scouting".

Boys Brigade

Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country. There is a Christian community as a result of the British colonial period. We note a Boy's Brigade movement in Malaysia, but know little about it at this time. A reader reports on a Brigade rally on Penang Island. The boys wear a blue uniform similar to the New Zealand uniform. The uniform is mostly long sleeves and long trousers. Some boys roll up their sleeves, a few junior boys wear shorts. The rally included both marching and band units. Malaysia appears to be an open society. In many Muslim countries, public events on the streets like this, especially a uniformed group, would be dangerous. We have no information about the ethnic makeup of the Brigade in Malaysia. The country is predomninantkly Malay, but there is a Chinese and Indian minority as well. A reader reports that Malays in particular like uniforms..