delegation approached the Dutch administration in Java. GM was granted permission to set up an assembly plant near Batavia, and in February 1927, N.V. General Motors Java Handel Maatschappij (GM Java) was established. The all-new GM Java plant, the colony's first automobile assembly plant, commenced production in May 1927. GM Java exported its produce throughout the Dutch East Indies, British Malaya, French Indochina and Siam. On the onset of World War II, the Dutch East Indies fell to the invading Japanese Army in March 1942. The GM Java plant was taken over by Toyota, and was used to assemble trucks for the military. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Dutch failed to regain control of their colony, and the Indonesian War of Independence broke out and dragged on for a further four years. In July 1947, General Motors revived plans for an assembly plant in Singapore. The new plant would assemble cars and trucks from components imported from GM's subsidiaries in Canada and Britain. Operations would begin in early 1948, and the plant would serve all of GM Java's former export markets, in addition to parts of southern China. However, in June 1948, the local British administration banned imports of American cars into Malaya and Singapore, and GM was once again forced out of Singapore. Following the 1950 Indonesian independence, GM's plant in Java was restructured, and became the Djakarta Branch of the GM Overseas Corporation. However, in April 1956, GM's shareholders liquidated the Djakarta Branch, and General Motors sold their Indonesian plant to P.N. Gaja Motors. 1950s Independence and industrialisation In August 1957, Malaya gained its independence and the Federation of Malaya was formed. Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo remained British crown colonies. In the late 1950s, the Malayan government began to emphasise industrialisation as a more dependable sector for economic stability and growth. Global tin and natural rubber demand witnessed large slumps and fluctuations throughout the early 20th century, and the mass production of synthetic rubber during World War II also had severe implications on the future sustainability of Malayan rubber exports. The Malayan government initially pursued a policy of Import Substitution Industrialisation (ISI), in line with most developing countries of that period. ISI develops self-sufficiency through the creation of a strong domestic market, and is primarily state-driven through nationalisation, subsidisation, increased taxation and protectionist trade policies. The earliest Malaysian-made goods produced as a result of the