On Malaysia’s National Day, Sabah and Sarawak question place in nation

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has promised to restore autonomy to the two Bornean territories but a year on observers say there has been little movement

Further inaction could trigger a headache for the ruling coalition, which depends on allies in these states

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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:45am, 16 Sep 2019Updated: 8:26pm, 16 Sep 2019

As Malaysia marks its National Day, questions are being raised by the Bornean states of Sabah and Sarawak about the restoration of their status as equal partners in the nation, potentially triggering fresh headaches for a ruling coalition that relies heavily on these allies.

Malaysia Day on September 16 each year commemorates the 1963 signing of the Malaysia Agreement, a treaty between Britain, the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo (now Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore which saw Malaysia come into being.

Singapore was later expelled from the federation, and a constitutional amendment in 1976 listed Sabah and Sarawak – collectively referred to as East Malaysia – as being states of Malaysia, alongside other states on the peninsula.

When the Pakatan Harapan government helmed by Mahathir Mohamad swept to power last May, it promised to restore autonomy to these territories, but a year on observers say there has been little movement on this front.

“Pakatan Harapan is too preoccupied with West Malaysian politics, such as the rise of a race and religion-based opposition, and trying to get the government going after winning the elections last year. Many think it is not moving fast enough, but it is not possible to solve all the issues any time soon,” said Malaysia watcher James Chin at the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute.

Already, he said, niche secessionist movements within both states were gaining steam as the federal government continued to dither on the promised decentralisation of powers.