Maphilindo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maphilindo (for Malaya, the Philippines, and Indonesia) was to be a nonpolitical confederation uniting the Malay peoples.

The original plan for a united malay nation was attempted by Wenesclao Vinzons during the Commonwealth government in the Philippines. There He espoused a United Malay race – his Malaya Irredenta ideal (Malaya Irredenta was another name for Maphilindo). It was a concept that was inconceivable during his time but it showed the farreaching vision.

In July 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal of the Philippines convened a summit meeting in Manila. Maphilindo was proposed as a realization of Jose Rizal's dream of bringing together the Malay peoples, seen as artificially divided by colonial frontiers.

Maphilindo was described as a regional association that would approach issues of common concern in the spirit of consensus. However, it was also perceived as a tactic on the parts of Jakarta and Manila to delay, or even prevent, the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. Manila had its own claim to Sabah (formerly British North Borneo), and Jakarta protested the formation of Malaysia as a British imperialist plot. The plan failed when Sukarno adopted his plan of konfrontasi with Malaysia. The subsequent development of ASEAN almost certainly excludes any possibility of the project ever being revived.