Two years after Lord Baden Powell founded the Scouts Movement in England, an English explorer, F.C. Sands who came to Singapore in 1910 started Scouting activities for British youths in Singapore. In 1919, scouting for Malay boys in Singapore was founded by Captain N.M. Hashim and A.Z. Alsagoff.
Among the first Malay states that has started scouting at that time was Pekan in Pahang. The movement was founded by G.M. Laidlow. It was not until 1927 that the Pahang scouts movement was revived through the efforts of H.P. Hertslet and then Wheelr and Frisby from the Pahang Educational Office.
In Penang the scouts movement was founded by a well-known educator, H.R.Cheeseman of the Penang Free School in 1915. Cheeseman has served for 13 years in the Malayan scouts movement as a Malayan Scout Assistant Commisioner.
In Perak, however, scouting was founded in 1926 in the Maktab Melayu Kuala kangsar by I .R. Wheeler. Many more schools soon followed by establishing their own scouts movement. In Kedah, scouting started in 1922 by E.A.G.Stuart, R.P.S. Walker and C.W.Bloomfield.The arrival of Cheeseman in Johore in 1928 signifies the beginning of the scouts movement in Johore. The first troupe to be established in Johore was at the English College(now Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar) Johore Bahru. The scouts movement of Malacca and Negeri Sembilan started in 1926 by Brunstone.
In 1926, Selangor started its own scouts movement and the person being responsible for this is Ameen Akbar. This is followed by the founding of the scouts movement in Terengganu in 1927 by A.J.Gracle and in Kelatan(1927)by Y.M.Tengku Ahmad Temenggong. The last state in the Malay Peninsular to form a scout movement was Perlis in 1931.
The Sabah scouts movement was formed in Sandakan in 1915,while in Sarawak it was established in 1913, but was only active again in 1930.
Before the independence, the Persekutuan Budak-budak Pengakap Tanah Melayu consists of all states, each as a scouting district. After the WWII, the Malaya and Singapore scouts movement combined to become a branch of the Scouts Federation of Great Brittain. After changes has been made to the branch, each state becomes a federation that consists of a few scouting divisions and units. Each division will then have its own troop.
When Malaya achieved independence in 1957, the Malayan Scouts Movement becomes a full member of the WOSM. With the establishment of Malaysia in 1963, it changed its name from Persekutuan Budak-budak Pengakap Persekutuan Tanah Melayu to Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia. The number of members increased when Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore becomes its member. When Singapore was separated from Malaysia in 1965, The Singapore Scouts Movement was also separated and no longer remained a branch of the Malaysian Scouts Federation. The Malaysian Scouts Headquarters, the BP House in Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur was opened on the 5th January 1957 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the World Scouting Movement. Today, it is the symbol of strength for Scouting in Malaysia.
Sejarah Pengakap Malaysia (Bahasa Malaysia
version)
Kegiatan pengakap bermula di pantai barat Malaysia dalam tahun 1910, dua
tahun selepas ianya dimulakan di Great Britain. Dipercayai bahawa ianya
dimulakan di Pulau Pinang tahun 1908, Selangor pula bermula pada tahun
1909 tetapi tidak bergerak cergas.
Pengakap pertama mengandungi 30 orang ditubuhkan di Singapura tahun 1910
oleh Tuan F.C Sands (Jaguh Pengakap terkenal di Nottingham dan seorang
pendidik).
Perkembangan ke negeri-negeri lain di Malaysia bermula tahun 1912 di
Pahang, 1913 Sabah, 1915 Pulau Pinang dan Sarawak, 1920 Perak, 1922 Kedah
dan Perlis, 1925 Melaka dan Negeri Sembilan, 1926 Selangor dan Terengganu,
1927 Kelantan, 1928 Johor, yang kesemuanya berjumlah lebih 85,000 orang.
Cawangan Persekutuan Budak-budak Pengakap Great Britain di kenali sebagai
Persekutuan Budak-budak Pengakap di kawasan Malaya termasuk Singapura
dengan setiap negeri sebagai satu Daerah Pengakap. Sabah dan Sarawak
menjadi ahli cawangan Great Britain.
Selepas Perang Dunia Ke 2, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu dan Singapura telah
menjadi dua cawangan yang berasingan daripada Great Britain. Setiap
satunya mempunyai Persekutuan Negeri yang dibahagi kepada beberapa Daerah
Pengakap yang mempunyai Persekutuan-Persekutuan Tempatan yang dikenali
sebagai Persekutuan Budak-Budak Pengakap Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. Ianya
menjadi badan bebas yang menjadi ahli Persidangan Pengakap Sedunia pada 1
September 1957.
Dengan wujudnya Malaysia pada tahun 1963, namanya telah bertukar menjadi
Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia dan keahliannya menjadi besar kerana Sabah,
Sarawak dan Singapura menjadi anggotanya. Apabila Singapura berpisah
daripada Malaysia pada tahun 1965, Persekutuan Pengakap Singapura berhenti
menjadi cawangan Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia.
Rumah BP yang terletak di Jalan Hang Jebat, Kuala Lumpur, ialah ibu
pejabat Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia, yang didirikan dengan belanja RM150
ribu dan telah dibuka dengan rasminya pada 5 Jnuari 1957 sempena menyambut
perayaan ulang tahun yang ke-50 Pengakap Dunia. Rumah BP adalah nadi
pergerakan pengakap seluruh negara. Di sinilah Ketua Pesuruhjaya Negara
mengarahkan segala gerak kerja PPM.