of Muslim Malays in the population, and the role of the city as a military and trade base. Metcalf notes that despite a large Chinese population, neither in Singapore nor in Hong Kong were public buildings with influences from Chinese architecture built in this period. The Government Offices were the first major British commission in Malaya, and Bidwell had proposed a European style, but was over-ruled by C. E. Spooner, then State Engineer of the Public Works Department, a military engineer with many years experience in Ceylon, who told those assembled for the opening ceremony "I then decided on the Mahametan style". He did not design buildings himself, but was a key figure in approving designs. The commission brought together Spooner, A.C. Norman, Bidwell, and the newly arrived Hubback (from 1895). The building's construction inspired additional civic buildings in the vicinity to be built in a similar style, while the style's elements would see more limited adoption among private buildings in Malaya. However artificial a creation the Malayan British Islamic style is, it is noticeable that most major public buildings survive long after Malayan independence in 1957 and the formation of Malaysia in 1963, remaining well-cared for on their prime city sites, many re-purposed as their original functions are now carried out in more modern buildings elsewhere. Examples India Bangladesh Pakistan United Kingdom Sri Lanka Elsewhere Notes References Das, Pradip Kumar, Henry Irwin and the Indo Saracenic Movement Reconsidered, 2014, , 9781482822694, google books Jayewardene-Pillai, Shanti, Imperial Conversations: Indo-Britons and the Architecture of South India, 2007, , 9788190363426, google books Mann, Michael, "Art, Artefacts and Achitecture" Chapter 2 in Civilizing Missions in Colonial and Postcolonial South Asia: From Improvement to Development, Editors: Carey Anthony Watt, Michael Mann, 2011, Anthem Press, , 9781843318644, google books Metcalf, Thomas R., Imperial Connections: India in the Indian Ocean Arena, 1860–1920, 2007, University of California Press, , 9780520933330, google books Further reading Metcalf, Thomas R., An Imperial Vision: Indian Architecture and Britain's Raj, 1989, University of California Press, , 9780520062351