fbpx
Wikipedia

Malaysia Agreement

May 04, 2023

The Malaysia Agreement or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore (MA63) was the agreement which combined North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore with the existing states of the Federation of Malaya,[3] the resulting union being named Malaysia.[4][5] Singapore was later expelled from Malaysia, becoming an independent state on 9 August 1965.[6]

Malaysia 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
Drafted15 November 1961
Signed9 July 1963
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
Sealed31 July 1963
Effective16 September 1963
Signatories
Parties
  •  United Kingdom
  •  Malaya
  • North Borneo
  • Sarawak
  • Singapore
Depositary
LanguagesEnglish, Malay
Full text
Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore at Wikisource

Background

The Malayan Union was established by the British Malaya and comprised the Federated Malay States of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang; the Unfederated Malay States of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu, Johor; and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It came into being in 1946, through a series of agreements between the United Kingdom and the Malayan Union.[7] The Malayan Union was superseded by the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948, and achieved independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957.[5]

After the end of the Second World War, decolonisation became the societal goal of the peoples under colonial regimes aspiring to achieve self-determination. The Special Committee on Decolonisation (also known as the U.N. Special Committee of the 24 on Decolonisation, reflected in the United Nations General Assembly's proclamation on 14 December 1960 of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples hereinafter, the Committee of 24, or simply, the Decolonisation Committee) was established in 1961 by the General Assembly of the United Nations with the purpose of monitoring implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and to make recommendations on its application.[8] The committee is also a successor to the former Committee on Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories. Hoping to speed the progress of decolonisation, the General Assembly had adopted in 1960 the Resolution 1514, also known as the "Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples" or simply "Declaration on Decolonisation". It stated that all people have a right to self-determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end.[9]

Under the Malaysia Agreement signed between Great Britain and the Federation of Malaya, Britain would enact an act to relinquish sovereign control over Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo (now Sabah). This was 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".[10]

Decolonisation, self-determination and referendum

See also: Singapore in Malaysia

The issue of self-determination with respect to the peoples of North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore 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. 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 decolonisation 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 Cobbold.[11]

In Singapore, the People's Action Party (PAP) sought merger with Malaysia on the basis of the strong mandate it obtained during the general elections of 1959 when it won 43 of the 51 seats. However, this mandate became questionable when dissension within the Party led to a split. In July 1961, following a debate on a vote of confidence in the government, 13 PAP Assemblymen were expelled from the PAP for abstaining. They went on to form a new political party, the Barisan Sosialis, the PAP’s majority in the Legislative Assembly was whittled down as they now only commanded 30 of the 51 seats. More defections occurred until the PAP had a majority of just one seat in the Assembly. Given this situation, it would have been impossible to rely on the mandate achieved in 1959 to move forth with merger. A new mandate was necessary, especially since the Barisan argued that the terms of merger offered were detrimental to the Singapore people (such as having reduced seats in the federal parliament compared to its population, only being able to vote in Singapore elections,[12] and the obligation that Singapore contribute 40% of its revenue to the federal government). In order to allay these concerns, a number of Singapore-specific provisions were included in the Agreement.[13]

While Brunei sent a delegation to the signing of the Malaysia Agreement, they did not sign as the Sultan of Brunei wished to be recognised as the senior ruler in the federation.[14]

On 11 September 1963, just four days before the new Federation of Malaysia was to come into being, the Government of the State of Kelantan sought a declaration that the Malaysia Agreement and Malaysia Act were null and void, or alternatively, that even if they were valid, they did not bind the State of Kelantan. The Kelantan Government argued that both the Malaysia Agreement and the Malaysia Act were not binding on Kelantan on the following grounds that the Malaysia Act in effect abolished the Federation of Malaya and this was contrary to the 1957 Federation of Malaya Agreement that the proposed changes required the consent of each of the constituent states of the Federation of Malaya – including Kelantan – and this had not been obtained. This suit was dismissed by James Thomson, then Chief Justice, who ruled that the constitution had not been violated during the discussion and creation of the Malaysia Act.[15][16]

Documents

The Malaysia Agreement lists annexes of

Annex A: Malaysia Bill
               First Schedule—Insertion of new Articles in Constitution
               Second Schedule—Section added to Eighth Schedule to Constitution
               Third Schedule—Citizenship (amendment of Second Schedule to Constitution)
               Fourth Schedule—Special Legislative Lists for Borneo States and Singapore
               Fifth Schedule—Additions for Borneo States to Tenth Schedule (Grants and assigned revenues) to Constitution
               Sixth Schedule—Minor and consequential amendments of Constitutions
Annex B: The Constitution of the State of Sabah
               The Schedule—Forms of Oaths and Affirmations
Annex C: The Constitution of the State of Sarawak
               The Schedule—Forms of Oaths and Affirmations
Annex D: The Constitution of the State of Singapore
               First Schedule—Forms of Oaths and Affirmations
               Second Schedule—Oath of Allegiance and Loyalty
               Third Schedule—Oath as Member of the Legislative Assembly
Annex F: Agreement of External Defence and Mutual Assistance
Annex G: North Borneo (Compensation and Retiring benefits) Order in Council, 1963
Annex H: Form of public officers agreements in respect of Sabah and Sarawak
Annex I: Form of public officers agreements in respect of Singapore
Annex J: Agreement between the Governments of the Federation of Malaya and Singapore on common and financial arrangements
               Annex to Annex J—Singapore customs ordinance
Annex K: Arrangements with respect to broadcasting and television in Singapore

2019 review of the agreement

After the proposed 2019 amendment to the Constitution of Malaysia on the equal status of Sabah and Sarawak failed to pass, the Malaysian federal government agreed to review the agreement to remedy breaches of the treaty with a "Special Cabinet Committee To Review the Malaysia Agreement".[17][18] The seven agreed issues were:

The first meeting about these issues was held on 17 December 2018.[18] Despite the willingness of the federal government to review the agreement, reports surfaced that negotiations between Sabah and the federal government had not been smooth, with the latter dictating some matters of the review, causing the perception that the review was a one-sided affair with the government appearing reluctant to relinquish control of affairs.[19]

See also

 
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Hansard of Parliament of the United Kingdom (1963) - Malaysia Bill

References

 
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
United Nations Trusteeship Agreements listed by the General Assembly as Non-Self-Governing
 
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
General Assembly 18th Session, Plenary Meetings 1206, 1233, 1234, 1237.– the Question of Malaysia
  1. ^ United Nations General Assembly Resolution 97 (1).
  2. ^ (PDF). web.archive.org. 14 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ^ "Malaysia Act 1963".
  4. ^ See: The UK Statute Law Database: the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Malaysia Act 1963
  5. ^ a b See: The UK Statute Law Database: the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 (c. 60)
  6. ^ See: the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 and the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Singapore Act 1966.
  7. ^ See: Cabinet Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies. 21 February 1956 Federation of Malaya Agreement
  8. ^ See: the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation - Official Website
  9. ^ See: History of U.N. Decolonisation Committee - Official U.N. Website
  10. ^ See: Section 1(1), Malaysia Act 1963, Chapter 35 (UK).
  11. ^ Cobbold was Governor of the Bank of England from 1949 to 1961. The other members were Wong Pow Nee, Chief Minister of Penang, Mohammed Ghazali Shafie, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anthony Abell, former Governor or Sarawak, and David Watherston, former Chief Secretary of the Federation of Malaya.
  12. ^ Tan, Kevin Y.L. (1999). The Singapore Legal System. Vol. 2. Singapore University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9789971692124.
  13. ^ HistorySG. "Signing of the Malaysia Agreement - Singapore History". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. National Library Board. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  14. ^ Mathews, Philip (February 2014). Chronicle of Malaysia: Fifty Years of Headline News, 1963–2013. Editions Didier Millet. p. 29. ISBN 978-967-10617-4-9.
  15. ^ Admission of New States: The Government of the State of Kelantan v. The Government of the Federation of Malaya and Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj [1]   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  16. ^ Kathirasen, A. (9 September 2020). "When Kelantan (and PMIP) sued to stop formation of Malaysia". FMT. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  17. ^ "MA63: Seven issues resolved, 14 need further discussion, says PM's Office". Bernama. The Malay Mail. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Seven MA63 issues resolved". Bernama. Daily Express. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  19. ^ Julia Chan (2 September 2019). "In Sabah, doubts linger as Putrajaya's MA63 review accused of being one-sided affair". The Malay Mail. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

External links

Further reading

  • J. de V. Allen; Anthony J. Stockwell (1981). A Collection of Treaties and Other Documents Affecting the States of Malaysia: 1761-1963. Oceana Publ. ISBN 978-0379007817.
  • James Chin (2014). "Federal-East Malaysia Relations: Primus-Inter-Pares?, in Andrew Harding and James Chin (eds) 50 Years of Malaysia: Federalism Revisited (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish)". The Straits Times: 152–185 – via Academia.edu.
  • James Chin (31 May 2018). "Why new Malaysian govt must heed MA63 rallying cry". The Straits Times – via Academia.edu.
  • James Chin (2019) The 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63): Sabah And Sarawak and the Politics of Historical Grievances - Via ResearchGate

May 04, 2023
malaysia, agreement, agreement, relating, malaysia, between, united, kingdom, great, britain, northern, ireland, federation, malaya, north, borneo, sarawak, singapore, ma63, agreement, which, combined, north, borneo, sarawak, singapore, with, existing, states,. The Malaysia Agreement or the Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Federation of Malaya North Borneo Sarawak and Singapore MA63 was the agreement which combined North Borneo Sarawak and Singapore with the existing states of the Federation of Malaya 3 the resulting union being named Malaysia 4 5 Singapore was later expelled from Malaysia becoming an independent state on 9 August 1965 6 Malaysia AgreementAgreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Federation of Malaya North Borneo Sarawak and SingaporeAgreement relating to MalaysiaDrafted15 November 1961Signed9 July 1963LocationLondon United KingdomSealed31 July 1963Effective16 September 1963Signatories United Kingdom Malaya North Borneo Sarawak SingaporeParties United Kingdom Malaya North Borneo Sarawak SingaporeDepositaryGovernment of the United KingdomSecretary General of the United Nations acting in his capacity as depositary 1 2 LanguagesEnglish MalayFull textAgreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Federation of Malaya North Borneo Sarawak and Singapore at Wikisource Contents 1 Background 1 1 Decolonisation self determination and referendum 2 Documents 3 2019 review of the agreement 4 See also 5 References 6 External links 7 Further readingBackground EditThe Malayan Union was established by the British Malaya and comprised the Federated Malay States of Perak Selangor Negeri Sembilan Pahang the Unfederated Malay States of Kedah Perlis Kelantan Terengganu Johor and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca It came into being in 1946 through a series of agreements between the United Kingdom and the Malayan Union 7 The Malayan Union was superseded by the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948 and achieved independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957 5 After the end of the Second World War decolonisation became the societal goal of the peoples under colonial regimes aspiring to achieve self determination The Special Committee on Decolonisation also known as the U N Special Committee of the 24 on Decolonisation reflected in the United Nations General Assembly s proclamation on 14 December 1960 of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples hereinafter the Committee of 24 or simply the Decolonisation Committee was established in 1961 by the General Assembly of the United Nations with the purpose of monitoring implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and to make recommendations on its application 8 The committee is also a successor to the former Committee on Information from Non Self Governing Territories Hoping to speed the progress of decolonisation the General Assembly had adopted in 1960 the Resolution 1514 also known as the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples or simply Declaration on Decolonisation It stated that all people have a right to self determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end 9 Under the Malaysia Agreement signed between Great Britain and the Federation of Malaya Britain would enact an act to relinquish sovereign control over Singapore Sarawak and North Borneo now Sabah This was 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 10 Decolonisation self determination and referendum Edit This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message See also Singapore in Malaysia The issue of self determination with respect to the peoples of North Borneo Sarawak and Singapore 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 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 decolonisation 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 Cobbold 11 In Singapore the People s Action Party PAP sought merger with Malaysia on the basis of the strong mandate it obtained during the general elections of 1959 when it won 43 of the 51 seats However this mandate became questionable when dissension within the Party led to a split In July 1961 following a debate on a vote of confidence in the government 13 PAP Assemblymen were expelled from the PAP for abstaining They went on to form a new political party the Barisan Sosialis the PAP s majority in the Legislative Assembly was whittled down as they now only commanded 30 of the 51 seats More defections occurred until the PAP had a majority of just one seat in the Assembly Given this situation it would have been impossible to rely on the mandate achieved in 1959 to move forth with merger A new mandate was necessary especially since the Barisan argued that the terms of merger offered were detrimental to the Singapore people such as having reduced seats in the federal parliament compared to its population only being able to vote in Singapore elections 12 and the obligation that Singapore contribute 40 of its revenue to the federal government In order to allay these concerns a number of Singapore specific provisions were included in the Agreement 13 While Brunei sent a delegation to the signing of the Malaysia Agreement they did not sign as the Sultan of Brunei wished to be recognised as the senior ruler in the federation 14 On 11 September 1963 just four days before the new Federation of Malaysia was to come into being the Government of the State of Kelantan sought a declaration that the Malaysia Agreement and Malaysia Act were null and void or alternatively that even if they were valid they did not bind the State of Kelantan The Kelantan Government argued that both the Malaysia Agreement and the Malaysia Act were not binding on Kelantan on the following grounds that the Malaysia Act in effect abolished the Federation of Malaya and this was contrary to the 1957 Federation of Malaya Agreement that the proposed changes required the consent of each of the constituent states of the Federation of Malaya including Kelantan and this had not been obtained This suit was dismissed by James Thomson then Chief Justice who ruled that the constitution had not been violated during the discussion and creation of the Malaysia Act 15 16 Documents EditThe Malaysia Agreement lists annexes of Annex A Malaysia Bill First Schedule Insertion of new Articles in Constitution Second Schedule Section added to Eighth Schedule to Constitution Third Schedule Citizenship amendment of Second Schedule to Constitution Fourth Schedule Special Legislative Lists for Borneo States and Singapore Fifth Schedule Additions for Borneo States to Tenth Schedule Grants and assigned revenues to Constitution Sixth Schedule Minor and consequential amendments of ConstitutionsAnnex B The Constitution of the State of Sabah The Schedule Forms of Oaths and AffirmationsAnnex C The Constitution of the State of Sarawak The Schedule Forms of Oaths and AffirmationsAnnex D The Constitution of the State of Singapore First Schedule Forms of Oaths and Affirmations Second Schedule Oath of Allegiance and Loyalty Third Schedule Oath as Member of the Legislative AssemblyAnnex F Agreement of External Defence and Mutual AssistanceAnnex G North Borneo Compensation and Retiring benefits Order in Council 1963Annex H Form of public officers agreements in respect of Sabah and SarawakAnnex I Form of public officers agreements in respect of SingaporeAnnex J Agreement between the Governments of the Federation of Malaya and Singapore on common and financial arrangements Annex to Annex J Singapore customs ordinanceAnnex K Arrangements with respect to broadcasting and television in Singapore2019 review of the agreement EditAfter the proposed 2019 amendment to the Constitution of Malaysia on the equal status of Sabah and Sarawak failed to pass the Malaysian federal government agreed to review the agreement to remedy breaches of the treaty with a Special Cabinet Committee To Review the Malaysia Agreement 17 18 The seven agreed issues were Export duty claims on logging exports and forest products Gas distribution and regulatory powers on electricity and gas Implementation of Federal and State Public Works Manpower The power of the state on health issues Administration of Sipadan and Ligitan islands for Sabah Agricultural and forestry issues The first meeting about these issues was held on 17 December 2018 18 Despite the willingness of the federal government to review the agreement reports surfaced that negotiations between Sabah and the federal government had not been smooth with the latter dictating some matters of the review causing the perception that the review was a one sided affair with the government appearing reluctant to relinquish control of affairs 19 See also Edit Malaysia portal Wikisource has original text related to this article Hansard of Parliament of the United Kingdom 1963 Malaysia Bill 18 point agreement 20 point agreement 2021 amendment to the Constitution of Malaysia Cobbold Commission Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 Indonesia Malaysia confrontation Malaysia Act 1963 Manila Accord Separatist movements in Malaysia Timeline of Malaysian history Proclamation of Singapore Vienna Convention on the Law of TreatiesReferences Edit Wikisource has original text related to this article United Nations Trusteeship Agreements listed by the General Assembly as Non Self Governing Wikisource has original text related to this article General Assembly 18th Session Plenary Meetings 1206 1233 1234 1237 the Question of Malaysia United Nations General Assembly Resolution 97 1 Wayback Machine PDF web archive org 14 May 2011 Archived from the original on 14 May 2011 Retrieved 15 January 2023 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link Malaysia Act 1963 See The UK Statute Law Database the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Malaysia Act 1963 a b See The UK Statute Law Database the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957 c 60 See the Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965 and the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Singapore Act 1966 See Cabinet Memorandum by the Secretary of State for the Colonies 21 February 1956 Federation of Malaya Agreement See the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation Official Website See History of U N Decolonisation Committee Official U N Website See Section 1 1 Malaysia Act 1963 Chapter 35 UK Cobbold was Governor of the Bank of England from 1949 to 1961 The other members were Wong Pow Nee Chief Minister of Penang Mohammed Ghazali Shafie Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anthony Abell former Governor or Sarawak and David Watherston former Chief Secretary of the Federation of Malaya Tan Kevin Y L 1999 The Singapore Legal System Vol 2 Singapore University Press p 46 ISBN 9789971692124 HistorySG Signing of the Malaysia Agreement Singapore History eresources nlb gov sg National Library Board Retrieved 9 March 2020 Mathews Philip February 2014 Chronicle of Malaysia Fifty Years of Headline News 1963 2013 Editions Didier Millet p 29 ISBN 978 967 10617 4 9 Admission of New States The Government of the State of Kelantan v The Government of the Federation of Malaya and Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al Haj 1 This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Kathirasen A 9 September 2020 When Kelantan and PMIP sued to stop formation of Malaysia FMT Retrieved 31 March 2021 MA63 Seven issues resolved 14 need further discussion says PM s Office Bernama The Malay Mail 19 August 2019 Retrieved 22 August 2019 a b Seven MA63 issues resolved Bernama Daily Express 20 August 2019 Retrieved 22 August 2019 Julia Chan 2 September 2019 In Sabah doubts linger as Putrajaya s MA63 review accused of being one sided affair The Malay Mail Retrieved 2 September 2019 External links EditHansard of Parliament of the United Kingdom Malaysia Bill Malaysia Act 1963 Affecting the Malaysia Act 1963 Solidarity with the Peoples of Non Self Governing Territories by Resolution of General Assembly 60 119 of 18 January 2006 Trust and Non Self Governing Territories listed by the United Nations General Assembly United Nations General Assembly 18th Session the Question of Malaysia pages 41 44 Malaysia Timeline by the BBC News Channel Further reading EditJ de V Allen Anthony J Stockwell 1981 A Collection of Treaties and Other Documents Affecting the States of Malaysia 1761 1963 Oceana Publ ISBN 978 0379007817 James Chin 2014 Federal East Malaysia Relations Primus Inter Pares in Andrew Harding and James Chin eds 50 Years of Malaysia Federalism Revisited Singapore Marshall Cavendish The Straits Times 152 185 via Academia edu James Chin 31 May 2018 Why new Malaysian govt must heed MA63 rallying cry The Straits Times via Academia edu James Chin 2019 The 1963 Malaysia Agreement MA63 Sabah And Sarawak and the Politics of Historical Grievances Via ResearchGate Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Malaysia Agreement amp oldid 1150181164, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.