Many
driven by ‘collective amnesia’ on Sabah, S’wak
This
article is for general informational purposes only and is not meant to be used
or construed as legal advice in any manner whatsoever. All articles have been
scrutinized by a practicing lawyer to ensure accuracy.
Joseph
Francis
It’s
not surprising, as noted by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, that people
are talking as if Sabah and Sarawak are not in Malaysia.
COMMENT
If
we say that former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad isn’t really familiar with
1963 whereby North Borneo and Sarawak came together with Malaya, merged with
Singapore, to form an Equal Federation of the two Borneo Nations and the
peninsula, no one is likely to believe us.
However, given Mahathir’s reported remarks
on Wednesday in the media on Sabah and Sarawak, where he blamed Putrajaya for
the "unrest" in the two Borneo nations, it would be safer to conclude
that the former Prime Minister, far from being not up to speed, was indeed very
much aware on that score, but prefers to be driven by a “collective amnesia”
like many in the peninsula and perhaps not a few in Sabah and Sarawak as well.
If everyone is talking as if Sabah
and Sarawak were not part of Malaysia, it’s not due to weakness on the part of
the Federal Government in Putrajaya as alleged by Mahathir, but far from it,
due to him and his predecessors being not only in non-compliance on the
Federation of Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), as alleged numerous times by
Sabah rights advocate Jeffrey Kitingan, but in fact even violating it, as
charged by his furious former aide Phillip Among over coffee at McDonald’s in
Kota Kinabalu.
MA63 is an International Treaty
recognized by the United Nations, and the governments of the United Kingdom,
North Borneo, Sarawak, Singapore, Brunei and Malaya. MA63 cannot be amended by
the Malaysian Parliament.
It’s also an Instrument of Trust Deed
lodged with the United Nations. This means the Federation of North Borneo and
Sarawak with Malaya is not "permanent". It can be terminated at any time by the
Governments of North Borneo and Sarawak.
It’s like a child coming of age
when he turns 18 or 21 as the case may be – 18 at the Public Trustee and 21 to
be eligible to vote – and having the luxury of deciding whether to move out of
the parent’s home or staying with them.
The Malaysia of today is not the
Malaysia mentioned in MA63. The interpretation of Federation under Article 160
of the Federal Constitution clearly states that the Federation is based on the
Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948, reinforced by the Federation of Malaya
Independence Act 1957.
Sabah and Sarawak are not signatories
to the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1948 and are not covered by the
Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957.
Yet, after Singapore ended its merger
with Malaya in 1965 and exited the Federation, Sabah and Sarawak were reduced
in status -- via an amendment to the Federal Constitution -- from being Equal
to Malaya to being in the same category as the states in the peninsula and
designated the 12th and 13th states. It would be more accurate to say that Sabah
and Sarawak are nations in the Federation while the others are states.
The MA63 decides. It’s up to the Governments of Sabah and
Sarawak to exercise their Full Autonomy status in MA63. They don’t have to ask
from Putrajaya something that already belongs to them.
If the Sabah and Sarawak Governments
want to keep on the "safe" side, they can wait for the Sabah and
Sarawak Assemblies to pass a motion on the matter.
Picture
Credit: charleshector.blogspot
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