SSRANZ WELCOMES COURAGEOUS CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL REVIEW AND REFERENDUM
Issued by:
Sabah Sarawak Rights, Australia&New Zealand (SSRANZ)
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Sarawak Rights, Australia and New Zealand (SSRANZ) welcomes and strongly supports the historic call by Sarawak MP Datuk Willie Mongin urging that the legitimacy of the establishment of Malaysia and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) be referred to the United Nations (UN) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for examination.
This significant call comes one month after the 62nd anniversary of Sabah and Sarawak’s absorption into the Malayan Federation renamed Malaysia on 16 Sept 1963.
In his statement during the 2026 Budget debate, the MP also proposed a referendum in Sabah and Sarawak to determine the will of the people regarding the federation’s continued legitimacy. SSRANZ commends this as a bold and precedent-setting act of parliamentary integrity, marking the first time in Malaysian history that such a call has been made inside the Dewan Rakyat.
“This is not an act of defiance, but an act of truth. For the first time, the Malayan Parliament itself is being asked to confront the question that has haunted Malaysia since 1963 — whether the federation was lawfully and freely formed.”
A BREAK IN THE LONG SILENCE
For decades, questions over Malaysia’s legitimacy under MA63 have been silenced or dismissed as political heresy. Yet, as SSRANZ and nationalists have long argued, evidence from British and UN archives shows that Malaysia was created through manufactured consent, not genuine self-determination.
The Cobbold Commission consultations were manipulated, the Manila Accord was breached, and the UN mission in Borneo was politically directed — facts later echoed by the ICJ’s Chagos Advisory Opinion (2019), which reaffirmed that colonial territories cannot be lawfully transferred without the free and genuine consent of their peoples. SSRANZ continued:
“The call for an ICJ or UN review is not a challenge to Malaysia’s unity — it is a call to verify its foundation.
If the government truly believes MA63 is valid, then it should welcome impartial international scrutiny.”
REFERENDUM DEMAND IS A LEGITIMATE EXPRESSION OF SELF-DETERMINATION
SSRANZ further supports the MP’s proposal for a referendum in Sabah and Sarawak to allow the people to decide their own future in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolutions 1514 (XV) and 1541 (XV) on decolonisation and self-determination.
Such a referendum would not divide the nation — it would finally clarify the will of the people, allowing Malaysians in Borneo to speak freely for the first time since 1963. SSRANZ stated.
“No federation can claim legitimacy if its founding members were never truly given a choice. A referendum would settle this issue peacefully and democratically.”
THE RISING RESTIVENESS OF SABAH AND SARAWAK
The MP’s call reflects the growing frustration across Sabah and Sarawak, where repeated violations of MA63, unfair budget allocations, and economic exploitation have deepened alienation from Kuala Lumpur.
As SSRANZ has consistently highlighted, Sabah and Sarawak continue to subsidise their own colonisation — through the extraction of oil, gas, timber, and palm oil that enriches Malayan corporations while leaving Borneo underdeveloped.
The courage shown by Datuk Willie Mongin in bringing this truth into Parliament marks a turning point in Malaysia’s national discourse — a moment when even federal lawmakers now recognise that the question of legitimacy can no longer be ignored.
SSRANZ CALLS ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO RESPOND RESPONSIBLY
SSRANZ urges the Malaysian government to respond with maturity, not repression. Rather than silencing the MP or dismissing his statement as “anti-national,” the government should:
1. Acknowledge the legitimacy of the questions raised about Malaysia’s formation;
2. Commit to transparency by declassifying all records related to the Cobbold Commission, the secret 1962 Anglo-Malayan Agreement, and the 1963 UN mission;
3. Engage the UN and ICJ to review Malaysia’s status under international law;
4. Prepare the framework for a free and fair referendum in Sabah and Sarawak to ascertain the people’s will. SSRANZ concluded.
6. “True unity is built on truth. By inviting international verification, Malaysia can either prove its legitimacy — or finally correct a historical wrong.”
