By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Feb 26: Senator Robert Lau highlighted that progress is slow when it comes to compliance, but the moment there is a challenge, the federal machinery moves quickly, a pattern that erodes trust between the Borneo States and the Federation, particularly on three unresolved issues central to restoring the spirit of Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63): ownership of the continental shelf, one-third representation in Parliament, and special grants from State revenues.
Speaking in the Dewan Negara during the debate on the motion of thanks for the Royal Address 2026 yesterday (Feb 25), Lau stressed the need for the federal government to honour longstanding constitutional commitments to Sarawak and Sabah, and to restore the original intent of MA63, which calls for unity, mutual respect, and partnership between the Federation and the Borneo States.
“The foundation of Malaysia is a partnership of equals, not a takeover by Peninsular Malaysia,” Lau said, echoing the King of Malaysia, who in the Royal Address urged all Malaysians to return to the original spirit of MA63.
On the continental shelf, Lau recapped the long-standing history of Sarawak and Sabah’s offshore rights, inherited from colonial-era laws and automatically incorporated into Malaysia in 1963.
He reminded the House that the federal government’s unilateral assertion of control through 1969 Emergency Ordinances had lapsed in 2011, restoring the States’ constitutional rights.
Yet disputes persist, including Petroliam Nasional Berhad’s (PETRONAS) Jan 12, 2026 Federal Court application and Sarawak’s counter-petition, highlighting the urgency of political and legal clarity.
Regarding parliamentary representation, Lau emphasised that the original one-third safeguard was a crucial inducement for Sarawak and Sabah to join Malaysia.
He traced the origins of the one-third parliamentary safeguard to November 1962, when the first Prime Minister of Malaya and principal architect of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman, undertook a five-day tour of North Borneo and Sarawak to build support for the proposed federation.
During that tour, Tunku offered 40 parliamentary seats to the Borneo Territories in the future Malaysian Parliament. As reported by the Sarawak Information Service, he stated:
“At the moment, the Malayan Alliance Government with 77 (out of 104 seats in the Parliament) is able to change the law and the Constitution at any time, but with the 40 seats from the Borneo Territories we would not be able to do that unless with the fullest approval of the Bornean representatives.”
On Nov 17, 1962 in Jesselton, now known as Kota Kinabalu, Tunku described the allocation as a generous gesture and added: “It shows that we are indeed entering Malaysia as equal partners and that we are given the best guarantee possible that our voice will be heard in the most important body in Malaysia – its parliament.”
At the final stop of his tour in Kuching on Nov 24, 1962, he further declared: “We would have to make a lot of sacrifice in order to give to the people of Borneo the power we have in our hands today.”
Lau emphasised that the safeguard was subsequently reflected in the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report, where representatives of North Borneo and Sarawak recorded their satisfaction that the necessary protections for their special conditions had been secured.
In the House of Lords debate on the Malaysia Bill on July 26, 1963, IGC Chairman Lord Lansdowne affirmed: “The Malayan gesture of goodwill in agreeing that the Borneo States with a population of 1¼ million out of a total of 10 million should have 40 out of 159 seats in the Federal Parliament, was a decisive factor in convincing the Borneo leaders that there was here no question of a takeover bid, but a gesture of real partnership.”
When Malaysia was formed on Sept 16, 1963, Lau noted that the Parliament had 159 seats: Malaya 104, Sarawak 24, Sabah 16, and Singapore 15. The combined Borneo Territories and Singapore held 55 seats, approximately 34.6 per cent, effectively preserving the one-third blocking safeguard.
“However, after Singapore’s exit in 1965, its 15 seats were abolished rather than redistributed to Sabah and Sarawak, reducing Borneo representation to 40 out of 144 seats, approximately 27.8 per cent,” he elaborated.
He added that Sarawak’s then Chief Minister Stephen Kalong Ningkan and Sabah’s Chief Minister Stephen Fuad Stephens sought to retain the one-third safeguard and review the arrangement following Singapore’s departure, but their position was rejected by the federal government.
Today, Sarawak holds 31 parliamentary seats and Sabah 25, a combined 56 out of 222 seats, approximately 25.2 per cent, even lower than in 1965.
“The promise and safeguard must be restored,” Lau stressed.
The senator also addressed special grants under Articles 112C and 112D of the Federal Constitution, provisions designed to recognise Sabah and Sarawak’s unique fiscal position within the Federation.
On Oct 17, 2025, the Kota Kinabalu High Court ruled that Sabah is entitled to 40 per cent of net federal revenue derived from the State, and ordered a 180-day timeline for review and agreement on arrears covering the “lost years” from 1974 to 2021.
However, Lau said the progress appears stalled, with emphasis on appeal rather than compliance.
He cited Datuk Roger Chin, a member of the Sabah Assembly, who observed on Feb 17, 2026: “If the Federal Government accepted the substance of the High Court’s judgment, urgency would naturally be directed toward compliance. Instead, urgency is directed toward the appeal.
“The federal government controls both the negotiation process and the appeal. It determines the pace of engagement on compliance. It chooses when to proceed with meetings. It decides whether to file appeal. It seeks expedition when it considers it necessary.
“The High Court imposed a 180-day timeline for meaningful review. At day 123, substantive progress remains unclear. Instead of visible acceleration of negotiations, there is an application to accelerate the appeal. The pattern is evident: compliance moves slowly; challenge moves quickly.”
Lau said sincerity in resolving and complying with the court order is required to rebuild trust.
Sarawak has a parallel constitutional provision, historically comparable in percentage terms to Sabah’s entitlement and similar to the detailed arrangements once applicable to Singapore. Lau said these constitutional commitments must be honoured without delay.
“As Lord Cobbold warned in his 1962 Cobbold Commission Report, the creation of Malaysia was not a takeover by Malaya but a partnership and integration of equals. The Report described the proposed federation as ‘an association of territories joining to form a new nation—not an extension of Malaya’s control over North Borneo and Sarawak’,” he reminded. — DayakDaily
