By Daniel John Jambun, Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
KOTA KINABALU: Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) refers to the recent statement by Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak calling for the full implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) to be pushed in the next General Election.
Let us be absolutely clear:
MA63 is not a campaign promise.
MA63 is a binding constitutional foundation of Malaysia.
And it is already 63 years overdue.
1. THIS IS NOT LEADERSHIP — THIS IS NORMALISING DELAY
When leaders say:
“Push MA63 in the next General Election”
What they are really saying is:
Not now
Not urgent
Not enforceable
This is not leadership.
This is institutionalised postponement.
Sabahans have heard this before:
“We will study”
“We will negotiate”
“We will review”
Now it has become:
“We will campaign”
Enough.
2. MA63 IS A RIGHT — NOT A POLITICAL BARGAINING CHIP
The Malaysia Agreement 1963 is not a manifesto item to be traded during elections.
It is:
a founding agreement
a constitutional safeguard
a binding commitment upon which Malaysia was formed
To suggest that its implementation depends on electoral outcomes is to downgrade a legal obligation into a political favour.
Sabah does not need to “win an election” to claim what is already legally hers.
3. ELECTION POLITICS HAS BEEN USED FOR DECADES TO DELAY JUSTICE
Let us speak the truth plainly:
For decades, Sabah has been told to wait:
wait for committees
wait for negotiations
wait for political stability
now — wait for elections
Each delay is repackaged as “process.”
Each postponement is sold as “progress.”
But the outcome is always the same:
Sabah’s rights remain unfulfilled.
4. RIGHTS THAT REQUIRE CAMPAIGNING ARE RIGHTS ALREADY DENIED
If MA63 must be:
negotiated
campaigned
bargained
Then one unavoidable conclusion arises:
It has not been treated as a right at all.
Because real rights:
do not depend on elections
do not wait for political convenience
do not require campaigning
They are implemented.
5. SABAHANS MUST REJECT THIS POLITICAL REFRAMING
BoPiMaFo calls on Sabahans to reject any attempt to:
turn MA63 into an election talking point
delay implementation under the guise of political strategy
repackage constitutional obligations as future promises
Let this be stated without ambiguity:
MA63 is not the next agenda.
MA63 is the unfinished obligation.
IMPLEMENTATION — NOT CAMPAIGNING
Sabah does not need more promises.
Sabah does not need more slogans.
Sabah does not need another election cycle used as an excuse.
What Sabah needs is simple:
Immediate, full, and unconditional implementation of MA63.
Anything less is not reform.
It is delay — dressed as politics.
“Do not tell Sabah to wait for the next election —
tell Putrajaya to honour what was agreed in 1963.”
