Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Federation of Malaya was established on the 1st of February 1948. It was founded through the Malaya Agreement, signed on the 21st of January 1948 at King House by the Malay rulers and Sir Edward Gent as the British government's representative.
The Malayan Union, which existed from 1946 to 1948, was disbanded due to opposition from Malay nationalists. The Federation of Malaya replaced it by restoring the symbolic positions of the Malay state rulers and introducing greater restrictions on citizenship.
The Federation of Malaya became fully independent on the 31st of August 1957, joining the Commonwealth of Nations as a sovereign member.
On the 16th of September 1963, the Federation of Malaya united with Singapore, North Borneo (Sabah), and Sarawak to form Malaysia. Singapore later separated and became an independent republic on the 9th of August 1965, leaving the original Malayan states alongside Sabah and Sarawak to form modern-day Malaysia.
The Federation of Malaya comprised eleven states: nine Malay states and two of the Straits Settlements, Penang and Malacca. The Malay states were protectorates of the United Kingdom, while Penang and Malacca remained British colonial territories.
Three successive chief justices served the Federation: Sir Stafford Foster-Sutton from 1950 to 1951, Sir Charles Mathew from 1951 to 1956, and Sir James Beveridge Thomson from 1957 to 1963. Foster-Sutton went on to serve as Chief Justice of Nigeria in 1955.