By Datuk Zainul Arifin
“Despite political posturing and MA63 debates, Malaysia’s resilience shines through after 61 years of being formed via dealings and negotiations instead of fiat or conquest.”
(This article has appeared in the Scoop)
KUALA LUMPUR : This experiment in nationhood that is Malaysia is 61 years old, it is an undeniable achievement by any measure.
Of course, we have hiccups here and there, but what and who doesn’t?
At the moment, some of us are pulling our hairs as political posturing seems to define this nation.
For instance, the leaders of both Sabah and Sarawak are claiming to assert their states’ rights as per the agreement signed in London in 1963 with the Federation of Malaya and Singapore in the formation of Malaysia.
There are many components to MA63, as the agreement is now popularly known – but the points often highlighted are how the two states are recognised as partners and the degree of autonomy they have.
Following these, a few things stick out, such as the development in the states as well as the exploitation and sharing of natural resources – like petroleum – that have captured much of our attention.
Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore, too, like Malaya before Merdeka in 1957, were British colonies. Sabah – then known as North Borneo – and Sarawak, until the 1940s, were British protectorates.
They were ruled by proxy for Britain by the British North Borneo Company and the Brooke family, respectively.
Britain then sensed the growing nationalist movements in the states like in all of its colonies worldwide, but still influence over them supported and encouraged the idea of Malaysia mooted by Malaya’s prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.
The people of North Borneo and Sarawak were asked by the United Nations if they had wanted to be part of a new nation, and the majority agreed.
A retired prominent senior Sarawak politician said many of the young Turks in the state then initially opposed to the idea, fearing the domination of Malayans in the new nation.
But when they looked across the border to Indonesia, they felt that it was inevitable that Jakarta would lay claim to the state, hence teaming up with Malaya was not too bad of an idea.
The formation of Malaysia was not looked at too kindly by the Philippines, which had claims over Sabah and Indonesia.
Both countries withdrew their diplomats when Tunku declared the formation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963, and both threatened to harm it.
Indonesia lived up to its threat to destroy Malaysia – Ganyang Malaysia – and had its paratroopers dropped into Johor, for instance.
It was a tense and trying moment for a new country, but the leaders of that time persevered and, apart from Singapore leaving, Malaysia remained intact until this day.
For decades later, tens of thousands of police and armed forces personnel from Peninsular Malaysia, together with those from Sabah and Sarawak, set up bases and camps along our borders in Borneo to defend the sovereignty of the new nation.
Some of them still exist and operate today.
These few paragraphs of the country’s history suggest the amount of work needed to give birth to a new nation and the challenges to keep it going.
It was never easy, but the commitment of the people kept the nation going.
Regardless, for the people of Sabah and Sarawak, after 60 years, the desire to assert what they feel are their rights under MA63 has grown stronger.
The feeling that they have not got the better end of the Malaysia deal has always been there.
With the old political structures and realities having changed over time, the voices got louder.
There are also fringes suggesting they could do better off – “Well, Singapore did well after leaving Malaysia”.
For the politicians there, it is a balance of encouraging these voices but at the same time tampering their enthusiasm over suggestions of secessions, or the like.
For the folks in Putrajaya, too – it is the need to listen, identify the lowest hanging fruits first, and obviously not be seen to be bending over backwards, lest others in the Federation would have the same ideas.
Being the kingmakers of the current coalition Madani government, the leaders of the states – especially Sarawak – have considerably flexed their political muscles, from having its leader called premier instead of chief minister, as well as having a deputy prime minister appointed.
They have also adopted policies that at times are at odds with the rest of the country, such as having English as medium for official communications as well as instruction in school.
Nevertheless, these are not acts that should threaten a country, but actually “realpolitik” that keeps the country together.
The formation of Malaysia required deals between the parties and has always been the case that they are subjected to interpretations and political realities.
Some may see this not to be ideal, even chaotic and destabilising, but as in any union, there has to be a constant conversation.
Nevertheless, the cornerstone of the family home shall remain and needs to be kept, intact.
The formation of Malaysia is not via fiat nor through conquest.
Like Malaya before that, it was through negotiations and deals, and not ratified by documents of surrender, for instance.
Instead, it was drawn with a vision of union, security and prosperity.
Malaysia will see more birthdays and will also surely see more storms in our teacups.
However, God willing, we will persevere.
Editor: Datuk Zainul Arifin is chief executive officer of Big Boom Media, which publishes Scoop
