DEWAN Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia has rubbished claims that Sabah and Sarawak were two separate nations prior to the formation of Malaysia with the federated states of Malaya in 1963.

He said the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), as signed by representatives from Sabah and Sarawak, identified the two as British colonies.

“This is among the confusion created by politicians and activists now, perhaps in an attempt to gain political mileage,” Pandikar said after delivering a three-hour talk on MA63 organised by Gabungan Idea Pembangunan Sabah today. 

“The MA63 needs to be looked at in retrospect and by us understanding the sentiments of the leaders at the time and why they had inked the agreement,” he said.

Article 1 of MA63 states that “The colonies of North Borneo and Sarawak and the state of Singapore shall be federated with the existing states of Federation of Malaya as the states of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore in accordance with the constitutional instruments annexed to this agreement and the federation shall thereafter be called ‘Malaysia’.”

Pandikar highlighted the use of the word “colonies” in the article to point out that Sabah (known as North Borneo then) was a colony of the British to be known as Sabah once federated under the agreement.

Pandikar made it clear he was offering an unpopular view of the founding of Malaysia, stating many of the views being spread widely among politicians over the matter was aimed at riling up the sentiments of Sabahans.

He also denied claims that Sabah was downgraded to being a state in Malaysia from being one of three equal partners, along with Sarawak and Malaya, saying that under Chapter 2 (10) of MA63, Sabah was a former colony federated along with the federated states of Malaya.

“They are saying things that people want to hear through social media, WhatsApp groups, blogs and so on, but they are confusing those who do not know about MA63, especially young Sabahans.

“When you share an opinion that is against theirs, they literally kick you out of their circle, meaning they just want to listen to their own opinions while others are wrong,” he said, naming Sabah Star president Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, MA63 activists Zainnal Ajamain and former PKR member Ansari Abdullah among them.

Although the idea is now popular among Sabahans, it does not take into account the sentiments of the state’s founding fathers then, he said, and as a result of this, the call for secession emerged from individuals like Doris Jones of Sabah, Sarawak Keluar Malaysia (SSKM).

“If the founding fathers knew they joined Malaysia as equal partners, why didn’t they define the matter in the agreement?”

Pandikar also questioned the need for a review of the agreement every 10 years, stating the matter was only mentioned outside the agreement.

When asked if Sabah should initiate a referendum to exit Malaysia, Pandikar questioned whether the secession call by some individuals were really the voice of the majority.

“If that is the majority call of Sabahans, then I’d say why not. But if it just the call of an individual like Doris Jones, then why should we do it when everyone is already doing okay?

“So, what is the purpose of having a referendum?” – November 12, 2017.