THE Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) was signed in London on July 9, 1963 and the British Parliament enacted a law on July 31, 1963 called the Malaysia Act Chapter 35.

Henceforth, the formation of Malaysia comes with sets of conditions, which had been agreed upon by Malaya to undertake.

One of the obligations is the financial provision to Sabah, affixed in MA63 and inserted in the Federal Constitution.

These obligations can be seen in the financial provision of MA63 and under Article 112C, 112D and in the Tenth Schedule under Part IV, Special Grants to the States of Sabah and Sarawak (Part 2) of the Federal Constitution.

Sabah people have been clamouring for the provision (40%) as it is clearly stated in the Federal Constitution for years.

The present Sabah politicians have failed, ignored and delayed indefinitely what should be our constitutional rights.

We are also shocked to learn that a gazetted announcement labelled “secret” has been uncovered by the opposition, which shows that the federal government in 1970 (less than seven years after signing MA63) ceased to pay the states the 40% from the total net revenue collected from the state.

The gazette worded in both Malay and English in article 2 “hendak-lah berhenti” and “shall cease” payment is in serious breach of MA63.

Any changes made to these articles (112C and 112D) that has had a direct connection to MA63 require the signatories to go back to the negotiation table, which then requires calling back the landowner, the British.

Coincidentally, what also needs to be made known is that constitutional safeguards are in place in the Federal Constitution, specifically in Article 169(C) under International Agreement and Article 76.

The recent constitutional amendment inserting Malaysia Day in the Federal Constitution, thus strengthens our identity.

The inconsistency is glaring as any changes to the gazette require changes in the written constitution under Article 160A by order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Yet, for over a span of 50 years, those changes in the Federal Constitution have never happened.

The government of the day has an obligation to fix this abnormality and pay Sabah its dues.

Any attempt to avoid doing so shall result in the beneficiaries acting accordingly and declaring invalid MA63 because of this breach of the agreement. – March 29, 2022.

* Remy Tony Sulil Majangkim reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.