Malaysia — The essential reading list

TWO weeks ago, I suggested to my readers to reflect and to ask questions of those Malaysians who were born on Sept 16, 1963. Some of them are now legislators or politicians, awaiting their time to walk in the corridors of power.

They are our leaders, like it or not. On their collective shoulders lies the grave responsibility to make this country great and the people happy.

Or unhappy!

Like the skippers and crew of the ship of state, they are in a better position to see far ahead, to spot any dark clouds on the horizon. They will be able to weather the storm if they are set on the same course without fear of a mutiny on board.

Malaysia can become a great country economically if the affairs of state and the resources are properly managed by political leaders with personal integrity and a sense of honour.

Malaysia has had a bitter experience of the ‘rule by kleptomaniacs’.

What can make or break Malaysia?

For Malaysia to succeed as a federation, however, it is vital that there will be a constant reminder to all sensible Malaysians to sincerely observe and honour the terms and conditions of merger.

It is all quite clearly defined in the agreement and related documents relating to that merger.

Both the Peninsular Malaysians and the Bornean Malaysians must be familiar with the history of this nation.

Sometimes I wonder how many of them have read a statement made in 1962 as part of the Cobbold Commission’s recommendations. These were the deals, terms and conditions of the very formation of Malaysia, designed to unite North Borneo, Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya.

The Commission cautioned: “… If any idea were to take root that Malaysia would involve a ‘takeover’ of the Borneo territories by the Federation of Malaya and the submersion of the individualities of North Borneo and Sarawak, Malaysia in my judgment would not generally be acceptable or successful.”

The Peninsular Malaysians and the Bornean Malaysians should have read this long time ago, and paid heed to Lord Cobbold’s warning.

We are in the same boat – sink or swim in the event of a disaster. It is crucial that we cling together: ‘sehati, sejiwa’ or ‘segulai, sejalai’, so that the ‘individualities’ of the Bornean Malaysians will not be submersed for all times.

From today until Sept 16, I suggest to history buffs to read all the literature about this ‘Grand Design’, to use the title of a publication edited by the late Zainnal Ajamain of Sabah.

I would also recommend the following books and publications:

• ‘50 years of Malaysia- Federalism Revisited’, edited by Andrew J. Harding and James Chin – Marshall Cavendish Editions, July 2014;
• ‘British Sunset over S.E.A. Territories’, edited by AJ Stockwell, London TSO;
• ‘British Documents On the End of Empire’, General Editor: S.R. Ashton, Project Chairman: AN Porter. Series B Volume 8 is on Malaysia – edited by AJ Stockwell, published for the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in the University of London, October 2003;
• ‘Constitution of Malaysia – Its Developments: 1957-1977’, Edited by Tun Mohamed Suffian, H.P. Lee and F.A. Trindade – OUP, Kuala Lumpur, 1978;
• ‘The Constitution of Malaysia – Further Perspectives and Developments’ – essays in honour of Tun Suffian – Edited by F.A. Trindade and H.P. Lee. (From this second book on the Constitution of Malaysia, one may read articles on Sabah and Sarawak, written respectively by the Attorney General Datuk Nicholas Fung Ngit Chung and Attorney General Datuk Haji Mohamed Jemuri Bin Serjan;
• ‘Report of the Inter-Governmental Committee’, 1962.

The ‘individualities’ which Lord Cobbold was referring to are priceless as far as Sabahans and Sarawakians are concerned. Will they be able to sustain those in the face of challenges by advocates of extreme racialism and religious bigotry?

To the young Sarawakians, I suggest that they read the article written by Datuk Jemuri bin Serjan. He wrote: “… In terms of Section 4 of the Act (referring to the Petroleum Act 1974, my addition) gives recognition to the State’s claim of ownership over petroleum whether onshore or offshore.”

Every Sarawakian should know that before the merger with Malaya and Singapore and North Borneo, Sarawak’s territorial boundaries had been determined and fixed a good decade earlier.

How? On June 24, 1954, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, on the advice of her Privy Council, made the Sarawak (Alteration of Boundaries) Order in Council. The operative provisions of this Order were as follows:

• “2. The boundaries of the Colony of Sarawak are hereby extended to include the area of the continental shelf being the seabed and its subsoil which lies beneath the high seas contiguous to the territorial waters of Sarawak;
• “3. Nothing in this Order shall be deemed to affect the character as high seas of any waters above the said area of the continental shelf.”

Read on. I have run out of space allocated for my column this week.

Put that hand phone away for five minutes! Sorry for being personal.