Prior to the Japanese occupation Malaya was divided into Federated and non-Federated states, and the Straits Settlements. In the 1930s Edward Gent of the British Colonial Office was in favour of bringing these separate elements closer together. With the Japanese occupation, the British began to consider how liberate Malaya and administer it. The planning for its administration was handled by the Civil Affairs, Malaya Planning Unit (CAMPU) and the Eastern Department of the Colonial Office under Gent. The first phase was to be a Military Administration to bring a return to stability followed by a Malay Union which would bring together all the states under a single government to secure Britain's possessions in Malaya.