KUCHING – Former Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia’s calls to ditch the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) have garnered mixed reactions from Sarawak leaders.
Independence and secession proponent Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) said the MA63 is “void ab initio, or having no legal impact from inception, which means it was flawed from the day it was signed on July 9, 1963”.
PBK president and lawyer Voon Lee Shan told The Vibes that the MA63 is “not valid when it was signed hence, the formation of Malaysia was a fraud”.
“The reason why MA63 is invalid is because at the time it was signed, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore, being still British colonies, had no legal capacity to execute or sign the agreement.”
He said a colony has no legal authority to make any agreement with a parent country.
“The parent country and colonies, being in unequal status, could not enter any agreement between each other,” he added, citing a legal advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on August 25, 2019.
He highlighted the opinion delivered on the case of Chagos Islands concerning its detachment from Mauritius.
“The agreement signed between Mauritius and the United Kingdom was declared invalid by the ICJ because Mauritius was still a British colony at the time.”
He said even if the agreement was valid at the time it was signed, it became invalid and should be revoked due to “fundamental breaches” in the agreement.
He added that the federal government and the governments of Sabah and Sarawak are aware that the MA63 is no longer valid for its intent and purposes.
“It is for this reason, the federal and state governments of Sabah and Sarawak have been exploring ways to rectify and or restore the breaches in the agreement.
“Since the agreement is no longer valid, there is nothing for the federal government and the governments of Sabah and Sarawak to negotiate for the restoration of the agreement. Malaysia should disintegrate,” said Voon, adding that any rectification of a “dead agreement” is a fraud.
You cannot revive a dead child or a stillborn child, no matter how good a doctor you are. Parliament cannot breathe life into this dead agreement.”
Voon said any effort to push for a new deal or equal status for a new Malaysia is a disgrace and insult to the dignity and intelligence of Sabahans and Sarawakians.
“We are not beggars and we have dignity. Malaysia, with its abuses, suppressions, and oppressions of the Bornean states of Sabah and Sarawak, through the federal government, has proven to be a ‘failed’ federation.”
He said the federal government, made mostly of politicians from the peninsula, created debts for Malaysia over the past decades, and it is unfair for Sabahans and Sarawakians to help pay for national debt that arose from their wrongdoings or mismanagement.
“PBK does not wish to have Sarawak stay any longer in a ‘failed federation’ and is fighting hard to let the people of the Borneo states, especially, Sarawakians, know the truth of their rights to independence from the federation.”
‘MA63 can be repaired, keep it’
Meanwhile, DAP’s Michael Kong is confident that MA63 can be returned to the negotiation table for a makeover.
“The present Malaysia may have seen the erosion of much of Sabah and Sarawak rights over the years but it is not too late to find out where the problem lies. Now, the question is, how do we rectify the situation,” said Kong, who is also a special officer to state DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen.
“One, for starters, is for all to go back to the drawing room and relook the MA63 document. There is no need to fix something that is not broken. The MA63 is there and the terms contained in it are what Sabah and Sarawak are pursuing. So, with that, why do we need to tear up the entire MA63 to rewrite the formation of Malaysia?”
He said all leaders should put more effort in resolving MA63 issues, citing Pakatan Harapan’s time as federal government, in which multiple meetings were held among representatives from Putrajaya, Sabah and Sarawak to resolve matters surrounding MA63.
“In fact, 17 of the 21 issues were already finalised and agreed to between the parties. Why must we always restart negotiations via a new committee when there is a change of government?
“If indeed parties are sincere about resolving it, we can sort it out by just concluding the remaining four outstanding issues.
“We have seen how our Sarawak government sent a delegation to London to look into documents relating to MA63. Till today, we have yet to hear of any report on the findings from this trip. The way I see it, the current crop of parties have no real resolve to settle this long-standing issue,” he told The Vibes.
Aspirasi welcomes calls to ditch MA63
Parti Aspirasi Rakyat Sarawak president Lina Soo told The Vibes that her party welcomes Pandikar’s proposal to ditch the agreement.
“It is an international agreement signed between five nations and registered with the United Nations. This agreement cannot be amended or terminated unless all signatories return to the negotiating table and consent to do so.
“Fifty-eight years is a long time and more than enough time to assess if the federation has ‘prospered’ its partners or is failing.
“Aspirasi advocates ditching the agreement that will, in effect, terminate the agreement for federalism and spell the end of the federation, and all nations are free to go their own separate ways back to pre-1963.
“The dissolution of federations is nothing new as political unions are not forever,” she said, citing the West Indies Federation that dissolved in 1962 and the collapse of the Soviet Federation in 1991.
She said after 58 years, the Malaysian Federation is at a crossroads.
“The MA63 has been breached multiple times, resulting in the domination and exploitation of Sarawak and Sabah for five decades that have reduced both to poverty-stricken status perennially.
“A broken mirror can never be patched up. Ditching the MA63 and going separate ways is an amicable solution. Let the people of Sarawak and Sabah hold a referendum to ascertain if the failed federation still holds any hope of redemption.”
Last Friday, Pandikar had told a webinar organised by Enlighten Society that Sabah and Sarawak leaders are clinging to an old mentality by constantly harping on the MA63.
“Sabah dan Sarawak leaders need to draw up a new agreement that can provide equal status between the peninsula and East Malaysia.”
He also expressed disappointment that peninsula leaders have no wish to appoint a deputy prime minister or a finance minister from East Malaysia, despite 58 years into the formation of the country. – The Vibes, September 20, 2021
