THE Federation of Malaya, which was formed on August 31,1957, in accordance with the Federation of Malaya Agreement, did not initially include Sabah, Sarawak.

Their inclusion came about later. The terms were set out under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). 

The MA63 is an international agreement registered with the United Nations. The agreement cannot be amended or varied. But Malaysia can amend or pass new laws to enforce the MA63.

This brings us back why the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2021 which was passed and gazetted to honour the agreement. The amendment was made to articles 1, 160, and 161A.

The MA63 lays out the conditions, one of which was a high degree of autonomy, of the incorporation of Sabah and Sarawak into the federation.

Some of the points in the agreement are:

1. Islam’s status as a national religion shall not apply to Sarawak and Sabah;

2. Malay is the national language of the federation. However, English is the official language of Sarawak for all purposes;

3. State govt has autonomy over Immigration, civil service, land, forest, local government, finance;

4. Indigenous peoples of Sarawak and Sabah shall enjoy the same special privileges as the Malays in Malaya; and

5. Representation in parliament.

Only a handful of the promises were incorporated into the Federal Constitution. Even so, most of the time, the federal government still breaches the promises.

Oil and gas royalties are a signifiant issue because only 5% of the gains are returned to the states from which the resources are mined.

For change to take place, there must be political will for reform and a willingness to put differences aside.

Sabah and Sarawak must be represented in the unity government, and this was evidently seen in the selection of the cabinet under the leadership of Anwar Ibrahim.

Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof has been tasked to deal with matters pertaining to MA63. His appointment sends the message that the federal government is committed to bringing Malaysia together.

The inclusiveness of Anwar’s government must be lauded. – December 8, 2022.

* Matilda George 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.