By Daniel John Jambun
President, Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
Robert Pei
President, Sabah Sarawak Rights Australia New Zealand (SSRANZ)
KOTA KINABALU: Recent debates about Sabah and Sarawak’s status in Malaysia reveal a persistent myth — that Britain granted us “independence in Malaysia” in 1963. This is both legally and historically false.
Unlike the Federation of Malaya, which achieved independence under the Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 (UK), or Singapore, which became sovereign in 1965, neither Sabah (North Borneo) nor Sarawak were ever granted independent statehood by Britain. No “Independence Act” was passed for either territory.
Instead, Britain enacted the Malaysia Act 1963, which merely transferred sovereignty from the Crown to the newly enlarged Federation of Malaya renamed “Malaysia.” This was done under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) — an agreement signed by colonies that had no international legal capacity under the Statute of Westminster 1931. If Sabah and Sarawak were truly independent nations, then Britain would not have been a necessary signatory.
Interrupted Decolonisation
In 1960, the UN General Assembly declared through Resolution 1514 (the Decolonisation Declaration) that all peoples had the right to self-determination free from outside interference. Resolution 1541 (Principle IX) required a genuine act of free choice — independence, free association, or integration.
But in the case of Sabah and Sarawak, Britain and Malaya short-circuited the decolonisation process. The Cobbold Commission and subsequent UN “mission” did not constitute a free and fair referendum. Instead, they were window-dressing exercises to legitimise a pre-determined outcome.
The Manila Accord of 1963, signed by Malaya, Indonesia, and the Philippines, recognised this flaw and required a proper UN ascertainment of the people’s wishes. Yet Britain and Malaya breached the Accord by announcing a new Malaysia Day date before the UN process was completed — and rushed ahead with Malaysia on 16 September 1963 under emergency conditions, without resolving the Philippines’ claim to Sabah.
Following Konfrontasi, the 1966 Jakarta Accord called for reconciliation and respect for the wishes of the people of Sabah and Sarawak. Yet no genuine vote was ever conducted to confirm whether these territories wished to remain in Malaysia.
Thus, the path to decolonisation for Sabah and Sarawak was interrupted — leaving both territories as some of the few colonies still awaiting genuine decolonisation under the UN process.
Sixty-Two Years of Exploitation
Since 1963, Sabah and Sarawak have endured over six decades of colonial-style domination by Malaya:
Oil and gas plundered under the Petroleum Development Act 1974, stripping both states of their most valuable resources.
Territorial boundaries altered by the Continental Shelf Act 1966 and other federal laws, diminishing our sovereignty.
Political control imposed through emergency laws, security regulations, and centralised administration.
Socio-economic neglect, leaving Sabah and Sarawak among the poorest and most underdeveloped regions in Malaysia despite their vast resource wealth.
Cultural and religious imposition, with federal policies undermining the secular and multicultural character promised in 1963.
Demographic engineering in Sabah through Project IC, where hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants were unlawfully granted identity cards.
The reality is clear: our resources built Malaya’s prosperity, while our people remain trapped in poverty and dependency.
The Path Forward — Decolonisation and Self-Determination
Some propose “constitutional restitution” of MA63 or “federal reforms” to restore autonomy. But these are insufficient. You cannot restore what never legally existed. MA63 was fundamentally flawed — signed by colonies without legal capacity and repeatedly breached ever since.
The only true path forward is decolonisation under the United Nations framework. Sabah and Sarawak must be recognised as territories whose self-determination was denied and interrupted in 1963. Our peoples have the right to freely decide their own future — independence, free association, or otherwise — without coercion or manipulation.
Our Stand
For 62 years, Sabah and Sarawak have been treated not as equal partners, but as colonies of Malaya under a different name.
This must end.
We call upon the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation (C-24) to place Sabah and Sarawak back on its list of territories awaiting decolonisation. We further call on Britain and Malaya (now Malaysia) to account for their breaches of international law, and to respect the right of our peoples to determine their own destiny.
Sabah and Sarawak were never independent in 1963.
We remain unfinished business of decolonisation. It is time to complete that journey — towards true freedom, dignity, and nationhood.
