20-point agreement

20-point Agreement

Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore
Agreement relating to Malaysia
Signed	9 July 1963
Location	London, United Kingdom
Signatories	Government of United Kingdom Government of Malaya Government of North Borneo Government of Sarawak, and Government of Singapore
Parties	United Kingdom  Malaya North Borneo  Sarawak  Singapore
Depositary	Secretariat of UN registered Nr. 10760 (English and Malay)
Language	English, and Malay
Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore at Wikisource

Agreement Relating to Malaysia in English texts (document)

Malaysia Act 1963 (document)

The 20-point agreement, or the 20-point memorandum, is a list of 20 points drawn up by North Borneo, proposing terms for its incorporation into the new federation as the State of Sabah, during negotiations prior to the formation of Malaysia. It accomplished through the enactment of the Malaysia Act (1963), clause 1(1) of which states that on Malaysia Day, Her Majesty’s sovereignty and jurisdiction in respect of the new states shall be relinquished so as to vest in the manner agreed,^[1] on 16 September 1963.^[2][3] and in the Malaysia Bill some of the twenty points were incorporated, to varying degrees, into what became the Constitution of Malaysia; others were merely accepted orally, thus not gaining legal status. That act often serves as a focal point amongst those who argue that Sabah's rights within the Federation have been eroded over time.^[4]

History

From the international law perspective, moves were already afoot to turn decolonization into a major international issue. On 14 December 1960, the United Nations General Assembly had adopted the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples – the famous Resolution 1514 ^[5] – with 89 votes in favour and only 9 abstentions.^[6] Article 5 of Resolution 1514, states: Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all other territories which have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to the peoples of those territories, without any conditions or reservations, in accordance with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom, moreover, Article 3 provided that [i]nadequacy of political, economic, social or educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying independence.’ To monitor the implementation of Resolution 1514, the General Assembly created the Special Committee on the Situation With Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (referred to popularly as the UN Committee on Colonialism) in 1961. Even though Great Britain abstained from voting on Resolution 1514, pressure on her to decolonize was palpable. Not only did this pressure come from the international community, it came from its strongestally, the United States of America who extracted this concession from the British in the Atlantic Charter.^[7]

Under an Agreement signed between Great Britain and the Federation of Malaya, the issue of self-determination with respect to the peoples of North Borneo, and Sarawak, formed the bedrock of yet another challenge to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. Under the Joint Statement issued by the British and Malayan Federal Governments on 23 November 1961, clause 4 provided: Before coming to any final decision it is necessary to ascertain the views of the peoples of North Borneo, and Sarawak to supported the proposal to create the new federation. It has accordingly been decided to set up a Commission to carry out this task and to make recommendations ........

In the spirit of ensuring that decolonization was carried in accordance with the wishes of the peoples of North Borneo, the British Government, working with the Federation of Malaya Government, appointed a Commission of Enquiry for North Borneo and Sarawak in January 1962 to determine if the people supported the proposal to create a Federation of Malaysia. The five-man team, which comprised two Malayans and three British representatives, was headed by Lord Cameron Cobbold.^[8]

The 20 points were written with a view to safeguarding the interests, rights, and the autonomy of the people of Sabah upon the formation of the federation of Malaysia. A similar proposal, with certain differences in content, was made by Sarawak, and is commonly referred to as the 18-point agreement.

Attention is often drawn to these memoranda by those who believe that their principles were not subsequently adhered to after federation. There have been numerous calls for the 20 point memorandum to be reviewed so as to take into account social, economic, and political changes over time.^[9]

Brief timeline of related events (1962)

• 21 March: At a meeting of the Greater Malaysia Committee there was agreement that it would be preferable to wait for the Cobbold Commission, which had been tasked with assessment of support for the proposal in North Borneo and Sarawak, to complete its report, in order to consider its findings before a decision was made on the federation of Malaysia.
• 21 June: The Cobbold Report was completed and submitted to the prime ministers of Britain and Malaya (confidentially). The report concluded that one third fully supported the idea, one third were in favour provided that safeguards were included, and the remaining one third were divided between those who would prefer North Borneo and Sarawak to gain independence prior to the merger and those who rejected the merger outright. The Commission's view was - firm support for a federated Malaysia (with transfer of sovereignty within twelve months), incorporating a transitional arrangement in which the British would remain for the first few years.^[10]
• 31 July: The British and Malayan governments decided in principle that the proposed Federation of Malaysia should be brought into being by 31 August 1963. An Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) was to be formed to work on future constitutional arrangements.^[11]
• August: The Report was published to all parties. Reportedly, this came as a surprise to North Borneo.
• 13 – 14 August: Donald Stephens convened a meeting of political leaders who drew up a 14 point (later 20 point) memorandum of minimum demands. This gained support from Sarawak.^[12]
• 12 & 26 September (respectively): North Borneo and Sarawak legislative council agreed to the formation of Malaysia on condition that state rights were safeguarded.^[12]

The 20 points

Point 1: Religion

While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo

Point 2: Language

• a. Malay should be the national language of the Federation
• b. English should continue to be used for a period of 10 years after Malaysia Day
• c. English should be an official language of North Borneo for all purposes, State or Federal, without limitation of time.

Point 3: Constitution

Whilst accepting that the present Constitution of the Federation of Malaya should form the basis of the Constitution of Malaysia, the Constitution of Malaysia should be a completely new document drafted and agreed in the light of a free association of states and should not be a series of amendments to a Constitution drafted and agreed by different states in totally different circumstances. A new Constitution for North Borneo (Sabah) was of course essential.

Point 4: Head of Federation

The Head of State in North Borneo should not be eligible for election as Head of the Federation

Point 5: Name of Federation

“Malaysia” but not “Melayu Raya”

Point 6: Immigration

Control over immigration into any part of Malaysia from outside should rest with the Central Government but entry into North Borneo should also require the approval of the State Government. The Federal Government should not be able to veto the entry of persons into North Borneo for State Government purposes except on strictly security grounds. North Borneo should have unfettered control over the movements of persons other than those in Federal Government employ from other parts of Malaysia into North Borneo.

Point 7: Right of Secession

There should be no right to secede from the Federation.^[13]

Point 8: Borneanisation

Borneanisation of the public service should proceed as quickly as possible.^[13]

Point 9: British Officers

Every effort should be made to encourage British Officers to remain in the public service until their places can be taken by suitably qualified people from North Borneo.^[13]

Point 10: Citizenship

The recommendation in paragraph 148(k) of the Report of the Cobbold Commission should govern the citizenship rights in the Federation of North Borneo subject to the following amendments:

• a) sub-paragraph (i) should not contain the proviso as to five years residence
• b) in order to tie up with our law, sub-paragraph (ii)(a) should read “7 out of 10 years” instead of “8 out of 10 years”
• c) sub-paragraph (iii) should not contain any restriction tied to the citizenship of parents – a person born in North Borneo after Malaysia must be federal citizen.^[13]

Point 11: Tariffs and Finance

North Borneo should retain control of its own finance, development and tariff,^[13] and should have the right to work up its own taxation and to raise loans on its own credit.

Point 12: Special position of indigenous races

In principle the indigenous races of North Borneo should enjoy special rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays in Malaya, but the present Malaya formula in this regard is not necessarily applicable in North Borneo.^[13]

Point 13: State Government

• a) the Chief Minister should be elected by unofficial members of Legislative Council
• b) There should be a proper Ministerial system in North Borneo.^[13]

Point 14: Transitional period

This should be seven years and during such period legislative power must be left with the State of North Borneo by the Constitution and not be merely delegated to the State Government by the Federal Government.^[13]

Point 15: Education

The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under state control.^[13]

Point 16: Constitutional safeguards

No amendment modification or withdrawal of any special safeguard granted to North Borneo should be made by the Central Government without the positive concurrence of the Government of the State of North Borneo

The power of amending the Constitution of the State of North Borneo should belong exclusively to the people in the state.^[13] (Note: The United Party, The Democratic Party and the Pasok Momogun Party considered that a three-fourth majority would be required in order to effect any amendment to the Federal and State Constitutions whereas the UNKO and USNO considered a two-thirds majority would be sufficient.)

Point 17: Representation in Federal Parliament

This should take account not only of the population of North Borneo but also of its size and potentialities and in any case should not be less than that of Singapore.^[13]

Point 18: Name of Head of State

Yang di-Pertua Negara.^[13]

Point 19: Name of State

Sabah.^[13]

Point 20: Land, Forests, Local Government, etc.

The provisions in the Constitution of the Federation in respect of the powers of the National Land Council should not apply in North Borneo. Likewise, the National Council for Local Government should not apply in North Borneo.^[13]

See also

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• Politics of Malaysia
• Manila Accord (31 July 1963)

References