The 20-point agreement, or the 20-point memorandum, is a list of 20 points drawn up by North Borneo (now Sabah and Labuan), proposing terms for its incorporation into the new federation as the State of Sabah, during negotiations prior to the formation of Malaysia.
In the Malaysia Bill of the Malaysia Agreement 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.
The 20-point agreement often serves as a focal point amongst those who argue that Sabah's rights within the Federation have been eroded over time.[1]
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 a challenge to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. A Joint Statement issued by the British and Malayan Federal Governments on 23 November 1961 announced that before coming to any final decision it was necessary to ascertain the views of the peoples of North Borneo and Sarawak. It was decided to set up a Commission to carry out that task and to make recommendations.
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.[2] An inter-governmental committee (The Lansdowne Committee) was appointed to work out the final details of the Malaysia Agreement.
Lord Lansdowne served for Britain and
Tun Abdul Razak, Deputy Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaya served for Malaya.[3]
The 20 points were written with a view to safeguarding the interests, rights, and 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.[4]
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- 17 January 1962: The Commission of Enquiry (Cobbold Commission) was announced to observe the views of the people of Singapore, Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo.
- 21 March 1962: 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 1962: 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.[5]
- 31 July 1962: 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.[6]
- August 1962: The Report was published to all parties. Reportedly, this came as a surprise to North Borneo.
- 13 – 14 August 1962: 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.[7]
- 12 & 26 September 1962 (respectively): North Borneo and Sarawak legislative council agreed to the formation of Malaysia on condition that state rights were safeguarded.[7]
The 20 points[edit]
Point 1: Religion[edit]
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.[7][8]
Point 2: Language[edit]
- 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.[7][8]
Point 3: Constitution[edit]
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 was of course essential. .[7][8]
Point 4: Head of Federation[edit]
The Head of State in North Borneo should not be eligible for election as Head of the Federation.[8]
Point 5: Name of Federation[edit]
“Malaysia” but not “Melayu Raya”[8]
Point 6: Immigration[edit]
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.[7][8]
Point 7: Right of Secession[edit]
Point 8: Borneanisation[edit]
Point 9: British Officers[edit]
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.[8][9]
Point 10: Citizenship[edit]
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.[8][9]
Point 11: Tariffs and Finance[edit]
North Borneo should retain control of its own finance, development and tariff, and should have the right to work up its own taxation and to raise loans on its own credit.[8][9]
Point 12: Special position of indigenous races[edit]
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.[8][9]
Point 13: State Government[edit]
- a) the Prime Minister should be elected by unofficial members of Legislative Council
- b) There should be a proper Ministerial system in North Borneo.[8][9]
Point 14: Transitional period[edit]
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.[8][9]
Point 15: Education[edit]
The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under state control.[8][9]
Point 16: Constitutional safeguards[edit]
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.[8][9] (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[edit]
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.[8][9]
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