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WRITTEN BY LINASOO

Greetings from Sarawak!

It is fitting to debut my blog linasoosarawak.com on 916, 2009.

Today, 16 September 2009, is the 46th anniversary of the formation of Malaysia.

On 31 August 2009, Malaysia celebrated its 52nd National Day. It is mathematical wizardry that between 16 September 1963 to 31 August 2009, Malaysia celebrates its 52nd year of independence, when 52 years ago, no such nation as Malaysia exists.

I contemplate Malaysia’s 46th birthday with a heavy heart.

Malaysia was conceived from a political merger of four political entities in its entirety as the federation of equal partnership: the independent Federation of Malaya and the British Crown colonies of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore.

Quote, ‘The days of imperialism are gone and it is not the intention of Malaya to perpetuate or revive them. When the Borneo territories become part of Malaysia, they will cease to be a colony of Malaya, they will be partners of equal status, no more and no less than the other States’, unquote, (Straits Times, 2nd October 1962). Note: The “other States” refer to the entities of Malaya, Singapore and Sarawak.

In 1965 Singapore beat a hasty retreat and seceded from Malaysia. The federal government immediately moved to amend the Federal Constitution to prevent future secession. Then the original formula of parliamentary representation of Malaya holding 53 seats (51%), Sabah 16, Sarawak 20 and Singapore 15 (jointly holding 49%) was recalibrated to dilute the voting powers of Sarawak and Sabah with the creation of more than 70 new parliamentary seats solely for the benefit of Malaya. Today out of 222 parliamentary seats, Sarawak holds 31 and Sabah 25, with 166 seats held by Semenanjung. Yes, from 31 out of 104 to 56 out of 222. There are 70 appointed senatorial positions of which Sarawak and Sabah have the right to appoint only two each. Yes again, that makes four out of 70 appointments in the Senate.

Sarawakians and Sabahans have been indoctrinated not to know of the 18-Points and 20-Points memoranda, agreements Sarawak and Sabah had with Malaya, which were fundamental to the conception of Malaysia. Yet these agreements which should be treated as sacrosanct, have instead been made a hyper-sensitive subject, worthy of ISA attention! The fact is, these points were deliberated and included in the InterGovernmental Committee as pre-conditions to the formation of Malaysia. These terms were accepted by the founding fathers of Malaysia as a safeguard for the present and future generations of both Sarawak and Sabah by being included in the InterGovernmental Committee, Malaysia Agreement and the Federal Constitution. Certain terms which were not incorporated were upon the understanding that these specific points would be implemented subsequently by way of legislation and undertaking.

The 20-Points Memorandum Revisited

Point 1: Religion
While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo.

Point 2: Language
a. Malay should be the national language of the Federation
b. English should continue to be used for a period of 10 years after Malaysia Day
c. English should be an official language of North Borneo for all purposes, State or Federal, without limitation of time.

Point 3: Constitution
Whilst accepting that the present Constitution of the Federation of Malaya should form the basis of the Constitution of Malaysia, the Constitution of Malaysia should be a completely new document drafted and agreed in the light of a free association of states and should not be a series of amendments to a Constitution drafted and agreed by different states in totally different circumstances. A new Constitution for North Borneo (Sabah) was of course essential.

Point 4: Head of Federation
The Head of State in North Borneo should not be eligible for election as Head of the Federation.

Point 5: Name of Federation
“Malaysia” but not “Melayu Raya”.

Point 6: Immigration
Control over immigration into any part of Malaysia from outside should rest with the Central Government but entry into North Borneo should also require the approval of the State Government. The Federal Government should not be able to veto the entry of persons into North Borneo for State Government purposes except on strictly security grounds. North Borneo should have unfettered control over the movements of persons other than those in Federal Government employ from other parts of Malaysia into North Borneo.

Point 7: Right of Secession
There should be no right to secede from the Federation.

Point 8: Borneanisation
Borneanisation of the public service should proceed as quickly as possible.

Point 9: British Officers
Every effort should be made to encourage British Officers to remain in the public service until their places can be taken by suitably qualified people from North Borneo.

Point 10: Citizenship
The recommendation in paragraph 148(k) of the Report of the Cobbold Commission should govern the citizenship rights in the Federation of North Borneo subject to the following amendments:
a) sub-paragraph (i) should not contain the proviso as to five years residence
b) in order to tie up with our law, sub-paragraph (ii)(a) should read “7 out of 10 years” instead of “8 out of 10 years”
c) sub-paragraph (iii) should not contain any restriction tied to the citizenship of parents – a person born in North Borneo after Malaysia must be federal citizen.

Point 11: Tariffs and Finance
North Borneo should retain control of its own finance, development and tariff, and should have the right to work up its own taxation and to raise loans on its own credit.

Point 12: Special Position of Indigenous Races
In principle, the indigenous races of North Borneo should enjoy special rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays in Malaya, but the present Malays’ formula in this regard is not necessarily applicable in North Borneo.

Point 13: State Government
a) the Prime Minister should be elected by unofficial members of Legislative Council
b) There should be a proper Ministerial system in North Borneo.

Point 14: Transitional Period
This should be seven years and during such period legislative power must be left with the State of North Borneo by the Constitution and not be merely delegated to the State Government by the Federal Government.

Point 15: Education
The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under state control.

Point 16: Constitutional Safeguards
No amendment modification or withdrawal of any special safeguard granted to North Borneo should be made by the Central Government without the positive concurrence of the Government of the State of North Borneo
The power of amending the Constitution of the State of North Borneo should belong exclusively to the people in the state.

Point 17: Representation in Federal Parliament
This should take account not only of the population of North Borneo but also of its size and potentialities and in any case should not be less than that of Singapore.

Point 18: Name of Head of State
Yang di-Pertua Negara.

Point 19: Name of State
Sabah.

Point 20: Land, Forests, Local Government, etc.
The provisions in the Constitution of the Federation in respect of the powers of the National Land Council should not apply in North Borneo. Likewise, the National Council for Local Government should not apply in North Borneo.

Retrospection

In 1963 Sarawak and Sabah agreed to the formation of the federation of Malaysia on condition the interests, rights and autonomy of its peoples are protected and honoured, as enshrined in the 20 Points. The Malaysia Agreement was intended to be brought up for review on a periodic basis. This was never honoured and there was only one review in 1973 in respect of financial arrangements.

Instead, subtly but systematically, many constitutional amendments have been put in place to erode the political rights specific to Sarawak and Sabah. This diminutive chipping away, whittling down, nibbling away, is a series of master strokes by the federal government, like the metaphorical boiling frog syndrome, a Sorites paradox, with Sarawakians and Sabahans unaware of gradual change to eventual undesirable consequences … until too late.

Undefendingly with heads down, Sarawak and Sabah have been relegated to the status of being two of 13 states.

Can Sarawak and Sabah ever be in position again to chart our own destiny? The answer seems to be NO! Have we been shortchanged? YES!

Sarawak and Sabah, the poorest rich states, after 45 years of ‘independence’ and ‘development’, remain the cinderella. Opulently blessed by Mother Nature with oil, natural gas, rich agricultural land, mineral resources, yet its peoples wallow pitifully in poverty without the basic amenities of clean water, housing, healthcare, dental care, electricity, education and sanitation. Even the unique and precious blessing of racial harmony Sarawak and Sabah have known for centuries has been contaminated with the element of racial politics imported from across the South China Sea. Whilst our natural resources and wealth are being ripped off and looted by our politicians and their cronies, we remain third-world-status-with-first-class-assets, in terms of standard of living and quality of life.

Sarawak and Sabah must defend the true meaning of independence through the political platform of the federation of Malaysia, which is not and cannot be, a unitary state. Further desecration of the 20 Points must be prevented, and the rights of Sarawakians and Sabahans reinstated, deservedly accorded as contained in the IGC, Malaysia Act and the Federal Constitution. Native rights must be respected, and the poor regardless of race, religion and creed, must be empowered through the economic allocation of resources and due democratic process.

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED, SARAWAK AND SABAH!