KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Sarawak Rights Australia New Zealand (SSRANZ) draws urgent attention to the Federal Government’s continued failure to act in good faith following the landmark Kota Kinabalu High Court judgement of October 2025.
Despite the court judicially corroborating 48 “lost years” of revenue neglect, Putrajaya has once again obstructed justice by securing a stay of execution on 6 April 2026, freezing the timelines for restitution.
SSRANZ President Robert Pei asserts that this impasse is a clear signal that the federal framework is incapable of self-correction.
“The Federal Government’s decision to suspend court-mandated negotiations is a strategic move to postpone justice indefinitely.
It demonstrates a profound disrespect for constitutional safeguards and a total lack of sincerity in fulfilling its obligations under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),” said Mr. Pei.
Sixty Years of Bad Faith and Constitutional Denial: SSRANZ highlights that the “lost years” of revenue are merely the latest in a 60-year history of bad faith and multiple fundamental breaches of MA63.
For nearly six decades, the Federal Constitution failed to even recognise MA63 as the founding treaty of the federation. It was only after intense pressure and demands from the Sarawak Government that an amendment was finally passed in late 2021.
“The fact that it took 58 years to even mention MA63 in the Constitution is damning evidence that the Malaysian government never intended to honour the agreement,”
Mr. Pei explained. “Even after the 2021 amendments to Articles 1(2) and 160(2), MA63 is still not explicitly cited as the primary founding document.
This deliberate constitutional erasure for over half a century proves that the bargain was struck in bad faith from the very beginning.”
A Case for Termination and International Justice: SSRANZ argues that under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT), these systemic violations and the historical denial of the treaty’s status constitute a material breach.
“Even if one were to assume MA63 was a validly made treaty—which SSRANZ disputes—the federation’s failure to recognise its own cornerstone for 60 years means the agreement must now be considered legally terminated.
Putrajaya has broken the contract beyond repair.”
Testing Legal Standing at the ICJ: SSRANZ calls upon the Sabah State Government to move beyond rhetoric and honour its primary obligation to its citizens.
By escalating this matter to the international arena, the Sabah Government can trigger a foundational examination of its legal standing (locus standi) as an original signatory to a multilateral treaty.
Such a manoeuvre would force the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to review the validity of MA63 itself, including whether the treaty was void ab initio due to the Borneo states’ lack of capacity as colonies—a principle reinforced by the ICJ’s Chagos Advisory Opinion.
“The current impasse proves that Putrajaya will never voluntarily surrender what it has taken by force and legal trickery,” Mr. Pei concluded. “Sabah must now act as the signatory it was in 1963. Seeking an ICJ ruling is the only way to resolve whether a treaty terminated by 60 years of breach can still hold a people captive.”
About SSRANZ: The Sabah Sarawak Rights Australia New Zealand (SSRANZ) is a human and civil rights NGO that supports the restoration of state rights and works with home movements for self-determination.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Jesselton Times.
