Sabah demanding rights doesn't mean it's anti-federal

 

For decades, Sabahans have lived under a lazy accusation. Every time they push for the full implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), talk about their rights or question Putrajaya’s decisions, someone in the peninsula claims they are being “anti-federal”.

It happens after every election, every speech, and every reminder that Malaysia was built on promises still left unfulfilled.

But the latest election result delivers a blunt message. Sabahans did not reject Malaysia. They rejected national parties that stopped listening to their demands.

Here is the problem. Sabah leaders talk about Sabah rights, MA63, the 40 percent entitlement, and the decades of federal overreach.

However, many West Malaysians brand them as being “hostile” for it, but these are not war cries. They are rights guaranteed under the Federal Constitution.

Here is the deal. MA63 is the document that spearheaded the creation of Malaysia.

In 2022, Article 1 of the Federal Constitution was amended to restore Sabah and Sarawak as founding partners.

And the 40 percent entitlement is enshrined under Article 112c of the Constitution.

Azalina’s ‘negeri’ remark

So, when Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Otham Said said on Nov 26, that Sabah and Sarawak are simply “negeri” (states), she did not comprehend the historical context behind it.

Back then, “negeri” meant a founding entity of a new federation. It did not mean a carbon copy of a state in the peninsula.

Over time, the original meaning narrowed, leaving its intent and status slipping away.

However, Sabahans still remember, and they refuse to be boxed in as “just another state”. It contradicts the very agreement that created Malaysia.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Otham Said

Even Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the terminology needs a rethink, but a vocabulary clean-up cannot undo 60 years of structural downgrading.

Bear in mind that our entitlement is not a gift. It is not a negotiation. It is a constitutional obligation, but being treated as optional homework.

Committees can examine figures forever, but the fact does not change. The entitlement exists because the law says it does, not because Putrajaya wakes up in a helpful mood.

Zaid’s warped logic

Then came former law minister Zaid Ibrahim, suggesting Sabah and Sarawak risk becoming a “burden” to Malaysia. The shock was not that he said it, but finally, someone said the quiet part out loud.

However, I must disagree with Zaid.

Ex-law minister Zaid Ibrahim

For 60 years, Sabah’s timber as well as oil and gas have fed our national coffers. However, the decisions were centralised in Kuala Lumpur, leaving Sabah having to settle for peanuts while the federal government grabbed the lion’s share of our revenue.

But now, when we demand our rights, and after decades of reaping profits at our expense, we have become a burden?

You can only say that once you have drained the well. You can only say that when you ignore who paid the bills.

And you can only say that if you never cared to know.

Gaya Street youth exposed truth

During Anwar’s walkabout in Gaya Street, Sabahans stepped forward with a question that should not have surprised anyone. He asked, “What about our constitutional rights?”

Many in the peninsula were stunned. But in Sabah, this is everyday talk in coffeeshops, markets, jetties and village meeting halls.

PM Anwar Ibrahim

People here know MA63 better than most Malaysians know their own national pledges. They live with the consequences of its neglect.

If Sabahans owe Peninsular Malaysians an apology, it is not for demanding their rights. It is for assuming everyone else understood their story.

Many were never taught about MA63 and its historic significance. Most have never heard of the 40 percent formula, and a few understand why Sabahans are frustrated.

Hence, Sabahans’ anger is misinterpreted as separatism, when it is really a plea for Malaysia to honour its own promises.

The idea that Sabah is anti-federal is one of the most persistent myths in Malaysian politics. Sabah’s frustration is not aimed at Malaysia. It is aimed at a federal system that drifted far from the agreement that created this country.

Sabah wants a federation that works. A federation that keeps its promises and treats its partners as equals.

MA63 is not a threat. It is the guarantee that made Malaysia possible.

And Sabah will keep repeating that, clearly and unapologetically, because someone needs to remind the country how it was formed and developed. - Mkini

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JASON SANTOS is a veteran Sabah journalist.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.