This study analyzes the historical development of scientific research in British Malaya and the socio-political factors acting upon this development. The period of study is from 1900 to 1941, during which science institutions linked to the government of British Malaya were first established. Scientists in colonial societies influenced administrators and managers to modify their operations to utilise new methods that were developed scientifically. This study incorporates archival research and interviews with key informants of the research communities to obtain an understanding of the environmet of the period. The unit of analysis consists of a sample of key Malayan research institutions that researched medical, agricultural, forestry and rubber problems. The base trends of a colonial society, as described by Ian Inkster, consist of the evolution in its economic and social components affecting the development of science within that society. These base trends are the passive components of this theoretical framework, whereas the process of induced institutional change serves as the active component. Institutional change in Malaya was driven by the ideological concerns of the British colonial government, expressed in goals such as diversification of the economic base away from tin by increasing agricultural production. Scientists became a part of the social and political fabric of the country. They served as advisors in policy areas such as malarial control. Science facilities such as laboratories, forestry workshops and rubber nurseries enhanced the productivity and profitability of businesses in the British Malayan colonial capitalist economy. Science was thus embedded in the society, a tool deployed in the service of British colonial rule while at the same time significantly modifying the operations of businesses and government in Malaya. This embedding of science in British Malaya is an important element in our understanding of modern Malaysian history. Hence, this study has the potential to serve as a reference point for developing policies of science and technology in contemporary Malaysia. At the same time, it enables a Malaysian contribution to be made to the international discourse regarding the history of colonial science, both at the empirical and at the theoretical level.