By Daniel John Jambun, President Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
KOTA KINABALU: Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) has taken note of Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin’s proposal for a national RESET founded upon three pillars: Common Goal, Shared Prosperity and Compassionate Governance.
These are commendable aspirations. Every Malaysian desires a stable nation, a strong economy and a government that serves its people with integrity, accountability and compassion.
However, from Sabah’s constitutional perspective, the proposal leaves unanswered the most fundamental question.
How does this RESET address the fundamental assurances upon which Sabah agreed to form Malaysia in 1963?
The Federation of Malaysia was not established merely upon political aspirations or election manifestos. It was founded upon constitutional assurances and solemn commitments that Sabah’s security, democratic institutions, autonomy and economic development would be protected.
These commitments were reflected in the constitutional arrangements that accompanied the formation of Malaysia. Article VIII of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 contemplated the implementation of the constitutional safeguards and recommendations agreed before the formation of Malaysia. Likewise, the Federal Constitution continues to recognise Sabah’s special constitutional position, including the constitutional safeguards preserved under Article 161E and the constitutional responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under Article 153 to safeguard the special position of the natives of Sabah and Sarawak while protecting the legitimate interests of other communities.
These constitutional obligations should continue to be honoured faithfully, both in letter and in spirit.
More than six decades later, many Sabahans continue to ask whether these assurances have been fully honoured.
For Sabah, security has never been confined to defending the State against armed incursions such as the Tanduo intrusion in 2013.
Security must also include the protection of Sabah’s demographic integrity, citizenship administration, electoral legitimacy and constitutional institutions.
One of the clearest indicators that Sabah’s constitutional security challenges remain unresolved is its demographic transformation.
According to official statistics published by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Sabah’s non-citizen population now exceeds one million persons. Few jurisdictions in the world carry such a large non-citizen population relative to their total population.
This is not merely an immigration issue.
It is a constitutional security issue.
It raises profound questions concerning border control, citizenship administration, public services, social cohesion, electoral integrity and the long-term protection of Sabah’s indigenous peoples.
The indigenous Momogun and other native communities were the peoples whose interests were specifically recognised and safeguarded under the constitutional arrangements leading to the formation of Malaysia. Today, they find themselves living in a State whose demographic composition has undergone a transformation on a scale never contemplated in 1963.
These constitutional safeguards were never intended to be merely symbolic. They were intended to ensure that the identity, rights, political representation and long-term interests of Sabah’s indigenous peoples would continue to be protected as an essential part of the constitutional settlement reached in 1963.
If left unresolved, such demographic change has the potential to fundamentally affect political representation, electoral outcomes, public policy, resource allocation and the constitutional balance upon which Sabah entered the Federation.
A State cannot truly be regarded as secure if its demographic composition is unlawfully manipulated, if citizenship is improperly granted, if illegal immigrants are able to influence the political process, or if public confidence in the electoral system is undermined.
These issues strike at the very heart of constitutional democracy.
They determine who governs Sabah, how governments are elected, how parliamentary representation is constituted, and whether the people of Sabah continue to enjoy genuine democratic self-government as envisaged by the Federal Constitution.
Likewise, economic security was one of the fundamental assurances given to Sabah before the formation of Malaysia.
Yet despite being richly endowed with oil and gas, forests, fisheries, agriculture and other natural resources, Sabah continues to record among the highest poverty rates in Malaysia.
This contradiction cannot simply be dismissed as an economic challenge. It raises important constitutional questions as to whether the promise of equitable development and fair participation in the Federation has been fulfilled.
A genuine national RESET cannot merely promise shared prosperity.
It must first explain why one of Malaysia’s richest resource-producing States continues to experience widespread poverty despite contributing enormously to the national economy.
For Sabah, shared prosperity requires more than economic growth statistics.
It requires the faithful implementation of constitutional obligations, respect for Sabah’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the Federal Constitution, equitable fiscal arrangements, restoration of democratic integrity, effective border management, protection of the citizenship system, and decisive action to safeguard the integrity of the electoral roll.
Compassionate governance must also mean honouring promises made to the people of Sabah more than six decades ago.
BoPiMaFo therefore respectfully submits that any meaningful national RESET should begin with a candid acknowledgement that Sabah’s fundamental constitutional concerns remain unresolved.
Until these foundational issues are addressed, new political visions—however well intentioned—will not fully resonate with many Sabahans.
Malaysia does not need another national slogan that overlooks Sabah’s constitutional realities.
A true national RESET must begin where the Federation itself began—by faithfully implementing, in both letter and spirit, the constitutional safeguards, obligations and fundamental assurances embodied in the Malaysia Agreement 1963, the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report, and the Federal Constitution.
Only then can Malaysia truly achieve the very ideals of Common Goal, Shared Prosperity and Compassionate Governance. Those ideals cannot rest on aspiration alone; they must be built upon constitutional fidelity, democratic legitimacy, justice and the equal partnership that formed the foundation of the Federation.
Only then can there be genuine unity, lasting security and shared prosperity for all Malaysians.
Justice for Sabah begins with honouring the constitutional assurances upon which Malaysia was founded.
