How much do you know about the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63)? It is a legal document that spells out the terms for the formation of the Federation of Malaysia signed in London on July 9 1963 between Great Britain, the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah (previously North Borneo) and Sarawak. Singapore later left Malaysia and became an independent state on August 9, 1965. Before last Friday, I knew very little about MA63 and the formation of Malaysia. Now, I know a little more, thanks to a talk on MA63 I attended on Friday night.
The event, organised by Sarawak Patriot Association at the Islamic Information Centre in Kuching, featured two distinguished speakers, namely, State Legal Counsel Datuk Seri JC Fong and former Repok state assemblyman Datuk David Teng.
‘To know this agreement and the three other documents which must be read together with it is to understand Malaysia, its formation and appreciate the reasons why it was formed way back in 1963.’
“To know Malaysia is to love Malaysia”was the title of a song which promoted Malaysia to tourists all over the world years ago. Now, the slogan can be applied to the MA63. To know this agreement and the three other documents which must be read together with it is to understand Malaysia, its formation and appreciate the reasons why it was formed way back in 1963.
The other three documents are the Inter-Governmental Committee Report, the Cobbold Commission of Enquiry and the Federal Constitution. All these documents are part of the history of Sarawak in Malaysia. To know these documents is to know our history.
We must know and be aware of our past in order to appreciate the present and move on in life. The recent talk on MA63 was the first I have attended so far. It will certainly not be the last. There had been a few talks on the issue by a political party before this. As pointed out by Fong when presenting his talk last Friday night on “Equal Status and Partnership for Sabah and Sarawak within the Federation of Malaysia”, knowing details of MA63 alone is not enough for Sarawakians who wish to know more about the state’s current attempt to regain its MA63 rights from Malaya.
He stressed the need for the state government to take the lead in improving constitutional literacy among Sarawakians, particularly on the state’s rights under MA63 and the Federal Constitution. He said many Sarawakians thought that if the Federal Constitution Article 1 (2) was amended, Sarawak and Sabah could gain equal partnership in the Federation of Malaysia. Fong added that equal partnership had never been stated in any of the documents leading up to the formation of Malaysia.
‘Pulling away – will it be for better or worse? It is a RM1mil question for us to think about.’
Indeed, it is good for many, if not all, Sarawakians to be literate on the constitution so that they can understand the issues discussed. He pointed out that from the standpoint of Malaya then, parity or eventual equality for the Borneo states was to be achieved through development, not through the granting of the same level of legislative and executive powers and the enormous sources of revenue and taxing authority.
Fong suggested that the state government take the lead in conducting forums, talks, etc, on MA63 for the public because it had the funds. Participants of the MA63 talk I attended suggested that similar talks be conducted in other parts of Sarawak, including Sarikei town. I enjoyed the talks by the two learned speakers who are lawyers by profession. I also learned many new things I did not know before.
Some of the new things I learnt were:
• Malaysia was formed through a treaty.
• Equal partnership had never been stated in any of the documents leading to the formation of Malaysia. Instead, Sarawak formed Malaysia with Malaya, North Borneo and Singapore to bring development in the state on par with the standard prevailing in the Malaya states.
• Five years after the formation of Malaysia, all grants to Sarawak were supposed to be reviewed. But from 1969 until now, there has been no review of grants or financial resources assigned to the state.
• The state government agreed to part with some of the rights which Sarawak is trying to take back. For example, the Sarawak government chose to hand over the role as agent for primary education to the federal government. Local councils were formerly the agents for primary education in the state.
• The Inter-Governmental Committee Report specified the special positions and safeguards for both states and agreed in detail to the terms and conditions of the special positions and safeguards.
Other secondary undertakings were in the form of exchanges of letters between the governments. These letters need to be made public when the time comes. But where are they now? I really hope the state government will take the lead in conducting the forums on MA63 for all interested Sarawakians throughout the state. It is my fervent hope that the state’s MA63 talks with the federal government will be cordial and end well for the future of Malaysia.
Breaking away from Malaysia if things do not go our way, as suggested by some presumably excited and hot-blooded patriots, is not the answer to the MA63 issues. I applaud Fong and Teng for advising Sarawkians to exercise caution in tackling the issues. They explained that asking for autonomy was not asking for independence from Malaysia. “Don’t jump from the frying pan into the fire. Look at the broader picture. Where do we want to go from here?.”
Fong’s advice to the audience was,“Don’t jump from the frying pan into the fire. Look at the broader picture. Where do we want to go from here?” Teng, on the other hand, while stressing that referendums had been used by many progressive countries to reflect the people’s wishes and power, asked the audience: “Pulling away – will it be for better or worse? It is a RM1mil question for us to think about.”
“Pulling away – will it be for better or worse? It is a RM1mil question for us to think about.” When some members of the audience suggested a referendum, Teng asked: “What if the federal government refuses to accept the results?” Meanwhile, some enterprising personalities have come up with books on MA63 but the books are not cheap. At Friday’stalk, a book was being sold for RM150. I truly hope the state government will take the lead to publish books on MA63 and the other three documents which should be read together with it and sell them at affordable prices to the public. Then many Sarawakians, including yours truly, can make well-informed decisions and intelligent comments whenever the need arises.
