The 20/18-points Agreement or memorandum were the CONDITIONS laid out by Sabah and Sarawak respectively before agreeing to form the Federation of Malaysia with the Federation of Malaya and Singapore. The agreements, which can be found in the Proclamation of Malaysia and also the Cobbold Commission reports, stated the conditions and rights that were meant to safeguard the autonomy and the special interest of the people of Sabah and Sarawak, protecting, among others, these regions’ rights on religion, language, education, administration, economy and culture. Some of the points were INCORPORATED into the Constitution of Malaysia . “The decision to accept the proposal by Tunku Abdul Rahman to become part of the federation of Malaysia was made by the people of Sabah and Sarawak on the understanding that the special interests of the state would be safeguarded. The interests of the two states were enshrined in the 20/18 Point Agreement. OUR RIGHTS were also inscribed in the London Agreements and Inter-Governmental Committee Reports. When Sarawak agreed to form Malaysia together with North Borneo (Sabah), Singapore and Malaya 50 years ago, it was with the understanding that the safeguards were to be honoured and not taken away according to the whims and fancies of the federal government. Based on the recommendations of the Cobbold Commission, Sabah and Sarawak would become equal partners of the state of the Federation of Malaya; not as one of the component states as stipulated in the original Article 1 of the Federal Constitution. In other words, Sabah and Sarawak are partners of Malaysia, thus having a greater degree of fi nancial and political autonomy as compared to other sates in the Peninsula. Sabah and Sarawak should not end up being merely one of the 13 states in Malaysia. Therefore, it is paramount for the federal government to adhere to covenants for the purpose of safeguarding the interests, rights and autonomy of the people in Sabah and Sarawak. The 20/18-point agreement should not be ignored or eroded. Thus, certain policies and the relationships between Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak must be re-looked to address whatever imbalance in terms of infrastructure, social, economic or educational developments between the centre and periphery in the last 48 years. More financial allocations should be channelled to Sabah and Sarawak. The federal government should increase the petroleum royalty to at least 70 per cent from the current 5 per cent. Therefore, the spirit of the 20/18-point agreement should be safeguarded and honoured for the interest of our future generations and more importantly to ensure a progressive, united and harmonious multi-racial nation. Malaysia as a nation was formed of equal partners; Sabah and Sarawak did not join Malaysia. Together with Sabah, Malaya and Singapore, Sarawak formed Malaysia. By implication, we are equal under the constitution. Our political leaders should understand, respect and honour the agreement.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 23:18:29 +0000