7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
1/23
1
Topic: The formation of Malaysia - as I
remember it.
Date: Friday 27th
September, 2013.
Venue: National University of Singapore.
Time: 9.00 am 6.30 pm.Theme: 50 years of Malaysia: Federalism
revisited.
Mr. Moderator, Professor Andrew James
Harding, fellow speakers, distinguishedaudience, ladies and gentlemen.
I thank Professor Andrew James Harding for his
invitation to attend this seminar and for the
opportunity to share with you some thoughts
on The Formation of Malaysia As I remember
it.
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
2/23
2
When Malaysia was formed on 16th
September, 1963 I was already 25 years of age.
Malaysia turned 50 years of age on 16thSeptember this year (2013). 50 years for a
country is relatively a young age but quite old
for a human being. That is why I really feel my
age.
In 2007, I used to see billboards at the Kota
Kinabalu airport with the slogan celebrating 50
years of nationhood written on them. Kota
Kinabalu is the state capital of Sabah. It used to
be known as Jesselton. Some locals still call it
Api-Api. Api in Malay means fire. Sabah was
also known as North Borneo before it became
part of Malaysia. I believe Sabah is an Arabic
word for dawn. Sabah is fondly known as theland below the wind.
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
3/23
3
In 2007, Malaysia was only 44 years old. The
question is which nation was being referred
to in the slogan? It could not possibly refer toMalaysia since Malaysia at the time was only 44
years old and not 50. If it referred to Malaya
then it would have been correct. Malaya
attained its independence from the British on
31st
August 1957. However, Malaya ceased to
exist as a separate independent and sovereign
nation following the formation of Malaysia
some six years later. Malaya, Singapore, North
Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak became part of anew federation called Malaysia on 16
th
September, 1963. The slogan at the Kota
Kinabalu airport therefore was not reflective of
historical fact. History here is the distortion of
facts by the people in power.
It took the Malaysian government 46 long
years just to accept and acknowledge 16
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
4/23
4
September as Malaysia Day. For 46 years, this
day passed by as just like any other day. The
focus of national attention is 31st August, theIndependence Day of Malaya. This day is
observed and celebrated as Malaysias National
Day. However it has no relevance to Sabah and
Sarawak.
This year, 2013, was only the fourth time in 50
years that Malaysia Day was being observed
although in Sabah 16th
September also
happened to be a public holiday to mark the
official birthday of the Governor. The
Governors birthday has since been changed to
the first Saturday of October with effect from
the year 2010. Under the circumstances, it is
better late than never.Datuk VK Liew, former Deputy Minister in the
Prime Ministers Department was reported in
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
5/23
5
the Daily Express, a local Sabah newspaper, on
2nd
September, 2012 to have said that Malaysia
celebrates 16th September as Malaysia Day. Hedid not give any reason why it took the federal
government 46 years to decide. He further
stated that the USA declared independence on
4th
July, 1776 and other states joined on
different dates and yet the USA celebrates
Independence Day on 4th
July every year. There
was no argument. There was no issue. With due
respect to the Deputy Minister he was not
comparing apple with apple. In the case of theUSA, it was USA on 4
thJuly 1776. This year,
2013, it is still the USA, some 237 years later.
Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak never
joined Malaya on 16th
September, 1963.
Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak
together formed a new federation called
Malaysia on 16th
September, 1963.
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
6/23
6
Malaysia has a federal system of government.
It involves the sharing of political powers
between the central and state governments.This sharing is expressed in the federal
constitution. There are 3 separate lists of
political powers. They are the federal list, the
state list and the concurrent list. The federal
system in Malaysia is federal in form but very
much unitary in substance. The states are
essentially left with local government, land and
forest matters. Even these, there are such
bodies as the National Council for LocalGovernment and the National Land Council in
which the federal government exerts influence
over the state governments although the
Councils decisions are not binding on Sabah
and Sarawak. There is also a tendency in a
federal system for the central government to
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
7/23
7
get stronger over time especially following a
crisis.
Malaya became independent on 31 August,
1957 some six years before the formation of
Malaysia. Malaya chose the popular love song
terang bulan (bright moon) for its new
national anthem. It subsequently became thenational anthem of Malaysia.
North Borneo gained its independence on 31st
August, 1963 whereas Sarawak became
independent on 22nd
July, 1963. Historical
events indicate that the 3 nations namely
Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak gained
independence on 3 different and separate
dates. The question that comes to mind is
how is it possible for all of them to becelebrating 56 years of independence in 2013?
It is more accurate to say that Malaysia was
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
8/23
8
celebrating Malayas 56 years of independence
in 2013. I have no problem with this because it
is the truth. It is better to be truthful than forhistory to be distorted.
Article 160 of the Malaysian constitution
provides, amongst others, that merdeka day
means 31
st
August, 1957 and the federation ofMalaysia means the federation established
under the federation of Malaya Agreement,
1957. So what is the status and where is the
place of the Malaysia Agreement signed in
London on 9 July, 1963? How is it possible to
relate the formation of Malaysia to the Malaya
Agreement, 1957 and merdeka day to 31st
August, 1957 when Malaysia came into being
only 6 years later? Those of you who arelawyers would be able to understand the logic
and rationale behind this than me. I stand to be
legally guided. Does Malaysia really exist
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
9/23
9
legally? Independence day for Malaysia should
not arise because Malaysia has never been
colonized unlike Malaya, North Borneo andSarawak.
I have said many times in the past and I say it
again that the formation of Malaysia came at
least 10 years too early in the context of Sabah.I was still studying in 1963 but I was back in
North Borneo (Sabah) in January, 1962 for a
holiday and I remember our community leaders
were feeling exuberance at the thought of
independence through Malaysia which was a
misnomer considering that Sabah and Sarawak
were already independent nations before the
formation of Malaysia. I went to see one of
them who was very closed to Donald Stephens(later Tun Mohd Fuad Stephens). Donald
Stephens was Sabahs first Chief Minister
following the formation of Malaysia. Some of
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
10/23
10
the views I expressed to the community leader
included the following:
i) North Borneo would lose the only
opportunity to experience being a truly
independent and sovereign nation able to
determine its own destiny with its own seat in
the UN.
ii) It would simply be a transfer of power from
Britain to Malaya.
iii) North Borneo did not have the people
qualified and experienced enough to negotiatewith Malaya and Singapore.
iv) North Borneo should demand for self-rule
initially followed by full independence from the
British.
v) North Borneo should then go to the
negotiating table without the British if the
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
11/23
11
people, via referendum, wished to federate
with Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and Brunei.
vi) North Borneo should examine very carefully
the pros and cons of joining the proposed
federation in the immediate, short, medium
and long term before deciding.
vii) North Borneo should insist on an escape
clause in the event it found itself short-changed
and/or betrayed later.
viii) At best, it should only be a loose federation
with considerable state autonomy includingfinancial autonomy by having the power to
impose taxes on certain taxable items. Political
autonomy without financial autonomy was not
good enough. The person holding the purse
usually has the last say and calls the shots.
ix) The political union between Malaya and
North Borneo would be an artificial one bearing
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
12/23
12
in mind that the 2 territories had very little, if
any, in common and separated by almost 2000
km of sea. North Borneos case could not becompared with Singapore. Singapore was
geographically part of the Malayan peninsula.
Political union with Malaya made a lot of sense
especially in terms of economic survival for
Singapore. It had no natural resources, not
even enough water for its people. At the time
independent Singapore was not a viable option.
The word Malaysia itself is a combination of the
words Malaya and Singapura. Therecruitment of North Borneo, Sarawak and
Brunei was an attempt to counterbalance
Singapores Chinese population in the proposed
federation. It was an after-thought.
The proposed Malaysian federation was very
topical at the time and attracted a lot of
attention especially those who were politically
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
13/23
13
inclined. My views at the time were based on
what I learnt about federalism which I took as a
subject for my degree course. I remember mylecturer saying about federalism which he
described as, before federating you were like a
big fish in a small pond. After federating you
become a small fish in a big pond. I did not find
any attraction to the idea of federalism when I
heard such description. It is therefore not
surprising that over the years federations have
tended to disintegrate such as Yugoslavia,
Soviet Union and Sudan, to name a few. Whilstwe hear of federations disintegrating we do not
hear of new federations being formed. The
small island of Cyprus can accommodate two
countries!
At the time when the idea behind the
formation of Malaysia was being talked about,
the literacy rate of North Borneans was very
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
14/23
14
low, at best. I do not think they had any clear
idea of what was happening. In 1962 only 2
political parties were just formed. They werethe United National Kadazan Organization
(UNKO) headed by Donald Stephens and the
United Sabah National Organization (USNO)
headed by Datu Mustapha Bin Datu Harun.
As it turned out Brunei opted out of the
negotiation at the eleventh hour and
remained a big fish in a small pond. It also
appears that Brunei has never regretted its
decision. Brunei kept its oil wealth to itself and
its citizens today do not pay any income tax. In
contrast Sabah which has oil and gas is the
poorest state in the country.
The intention of the founding fathers was afederation of 4 nations, namely, Malaya,
Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo. Today
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
15/23
15
Sabah has been reduced to one of the 13 states
in Malaysia a tiny and undernourished fish in a
very large pond. To the best of my recollection,when Singapore was part of Malaysia it always
had a Prime Minister and not a Chief Minister.
Singapore was expelled from Malaysia by the
Malaysian Parliament on 9 August, 1965. Myquestion is - did the Malaysian Parliament have
the power and authority to expel Singapore
from the federation? As far as I am aware there
is no provision for expulsion in the federal
constitution. Some argue that with the
expulsion of Singapore, the Malaysia
Agreement should have been abrogated. After
all it was very conceivable that Sabah and
Sarawak became part of the federation becauseof Singapore. Malaysia is a country where you
could be kicked out but you cannot kick
yourself out. I remember Tun Fuad (formerly
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
16/23
16
Donald Stephens) did raise the issue of Sabahs
position following the expulsion of Singapore
but very shortly he ended up being sidelinedand neutralized.
I cannot help thinking that the expulsion of
Singapore had been pre-planned from the start.
I feel that the Tunku had never any intention tosee Singapore remaining in Malaysia for a long
time. Whilst he was eager to assimilate the
Borneo territories he had aversion towards
Singapore. Singapore had Lee Kwan Yew who
was in the same weight division as him.
Incidentally, when I was still in school our
teacher used to discuss the possible merger of
the Borneo territories, namely Brunei, North
Borneo and Sarawak. We were asked to writeessays on the subject. The idea of Malaysia
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
17/23
17
never arose at the time. This was in the late
1950s.
One of the arguments supporting the
formation of Malaysia in the context of Sabah
was security with particular reference to the
Philippines and Indonesia. In reality it was the
very formation of Malaysia which promptedPresident Sukarno of Indonesia to embark upon
the confrontation campaign. The Philippines
renewed its claim over Sabah with vigour. This
claim has not been dropped to this day. On the
other hand one post-Malaysia development
which will haunt Sabah for the rest of time is
the alleged government created problem for
Sabah in the form of hundreds of thousands of
illegal immigrants, mostly Muslims, from thesouthern Philippines and allowed to walk in and
out of Sabah with impunity. The illegal
immigrants have permanently altered the
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
18/23
18
economic, social, cultural, political and
demographic landscape of the state. They have
outnumbered Malaysians of Sabah origin andsooner or later will take over the state. This is
the Sabah I never expected. Security through
Malaysia was only a mirage. Interestingly
enough, Brunei despite being on its own, does
not seem to experience any of the post
Malaysia problems facing Sabah.
My hope for Sabah lies with the youths of
today. They are more educated, computer
literate and more articulate to demand that
they deserve to be treated fairly and given
equal opportunities. It is now getting harder
and harder for government authorities to hide
or deny wrongdoings.I do feel sad that North Borneo appeared to
have rushed unnecessarily into the formation
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
19/23
19
of Malaysia to the extent of just accepting the
Malayan constitution with minimal adjustments
as well as its national anthem and flag.
Malaysia is Malaya plus in many ways. Surely a
new nation should have a new constitution, a
new flag and a new national anthem to name a
few. At the very least a referendum shouldhave been held.
The Cobbold Commission was not a
referendum. It was just a Commission of Inquiry
established to try and gauge the wish of the
people of North Borneo and Sarawak whether
or not they supported the formation of
Malaysia. It was headed by Lord Cobbold, the
former Governor of the Bank of England. The
other members were Wong Pow Nee, the ChiefMinister of Penang, Mohammed Ghazali Shafie,
Permanent Secretary to the Malayan Ministry
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
20/23
20
of Foreign Affairs, Anthony Abell, the former
Governor of Sarawak and David Whetherston,
the former Chief Secretary of Malaya. Oddlyenough, Sabah and Sarawak were not
represented in the Cobbold Commission.
Despite my reservations I remain hopeful for a
better Malaysia. I see more and more Malaywriters, figures and personalities who are pro-
good governance, against inequality and racial
discrimination. More often than not this group
comes from the younger generation, more
informed, educated and exposed to
international affairs. They see fellow human
beings not in terms of race and religion. They
have much broader outlook of life and human
existence. They believe in meritocracy and itsbenefits. They like to see government
assistance given based on real needs rather
than based on race and religion. To realize a
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
21/23
21
change for the better, Malaysia needs the
support and cooperation of the Malays who
comprise the majority population.
The results of the 13th
Malaysian general
elections held on 5th
May, 2013 as well as the
12th
held on 8th
March, 2008 indicate a move
away from the politics very much influencedand dominated by racial and religious
sentiments. Membership of several political
parties is becoming more and more multi-
racial. There is strong indication that finally the
birth of a 2-party system is beginning to
emerge.
The results of the general elections on 5th
May,
2013 indicate a strong desire for change. The
combined votes of people who wanted changeamounted to 5.82 million compared with 5.24
million who preferred the status quo. Under
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
22/23
22
the present electoral boundaries the 5.24
million who voted for the government were
rewarded with 133 parliamentary seatswhereas the 5.82 million who voted for change
were rewarded with only 89 parliamentary
seats. Thus, a government representing the
minority was formed. A democratic system of
government is usually associated with a
government representing the majority.
However, the fact remains that there is a very
strong opposition in Parliament which
represents a healthy development and goes along way in inducing the government to
practice and observe good governance.
It is generally perceived that the government
managed to retain power due to excessivegerrymandering, tainted electoral rolls, misuse
of government machineries and facilities,
money politics, Election Commission which is
7/27/2019 Talking points - formation of Malaysia.pdf
23/23
23
not independent, phantom and postal voters,
uneven playing field and other alleged electoral
frauds. Sooner or later the government has torespond favourably to the legitimate demand
of the majority. I hope it will be sooner rather
than later.
I thank you for your kind attention.
Top Related