The Kuomintang (KMT)--the first legalized political party and movement in modern Malaysian and Singaporean history-- is studied against the background of British colonial rule, the changing political circumstances and fortunes in China and the rising and waning of Malayan Chinese nationalism from 1894. While it highlights the development of the Malayan KMT Movement in terms of leadership, organization and ideology, it also analyzes changing British colonial policy and management techniques toward the Movement.