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KUCHING, July 4: The outcome of the Cobbold Commission, the precursor to Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) which led to the forming of Malaysia, was a testament to the power of self-determination with more than two-thirds of the people of North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak agreeing to join the Federated Malay States to form Malaysia.
As such, Dewan Negara Speaker Tan Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar emphasised these actions clearly indicate that the Agreement from 1878, which involved parties that have long ceased to exist, cannot supersede the right to self-determination of the people of Sabah.
“This outcome is a powerful demonstration of self-determination, with the people exercising their right to choose the nation to which they wished to belong.
“With this I must say that the ‘so called’ agreement (as claimed by the so-called Sulu heirs) had lost its validity when the people, through their own determination, decided to unify and form a single nation called Malaysia. I must also reiterate that this is not only my view, as a strong proponent of MA63, but the views of many scholars and legal experts,” he said.
He highlighted this when speaking at the International Arbitration Colloquium 2023, themed ‘State Sovereignty and Immunity in Commercial Arbitration’ at the Sabah International Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu, today.
As the previous Malaysia law minister, Wan Junaidi stressed that the case or claim by the so-called Sulu heirs, has no merits and should easily be dismissed by any court of law.
He emphasised that the people of Sabah cannot and must not be held ransom by an agreement signed in 1878 which did not even have an arbitration clause in it.
“Our nation cannot be treated the way we have been by a rogue arbitrator who moves the seat of arbitration from one jurisdiction to another on his ‘whims and fancies’. We as citizens cannot allow a third party funder to take advantage and manipulate a group of Filipino citizens for their own gain and benefit, while doing this affecting the sovereignty of our nation.
“I must reiterate here that there was no arbitration clause under the 1878 Agreement. Malaysia was not obligated to have the claim by the Sulu heirs arbitrated in the absence of any arbitration agreement between the government and the purported heirs,” he said.
He elaborated that the Cobbold Commission reached the momentous decision to form Malaysia following a meticulous and thorough process where community leaders from both North Borneo and Sarawak engaged in rigorous and iterative consultations.
About 4,000 individuals representing 690 communities across the two territories participated in these discussions. Additionally, the Commission received 2,200 memorandums from the people, expressing their viewpoints on the matter.
The Commission was established to gauge the sentiments and recommendations of the people of North Borneo and Sarawak regarding their desire to join the Federated Malay States in the formation of Malaysia.
MA63, signed between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Federated Malay States, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore, was the foundation of the formation of Malaysia.
“This Agreement, we must remember, was registered in the United Nations in 1970 and recognition was sought by Malaysia and the Federal Constitution was amended accordingly.
“We have to defend the rights of the Borneo region, particularly the State of Sabah,” he said.
Wan Junaidi thanked and expressed his strong support to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said for her strong will in spearheading the Sulu case team from both the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Legal Affairs Division.
“The success in France on June 6, 2023 where the Exequatur Order was annulled by the Paris Court of Appeal and the success in France on June 27, 2023 in Hague where the Court of Appeal had refused to recognise the Final Award, are not only victories for the nation but victories for all who have worked so hard in providing support to the international counsels in Spain, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands,” he added.
Also present were Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, Azalina via Zoom from Tokyo and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, among others. — DayakDaily
