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20-point agreement
20-point Agreement
Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore
Agreement relating to Malaysia Signed Location Signatories 9 July 1963 London, United Kingdom Government of United Kingdom Government of Malaya Government of North Borneo Government of Sarawak, and Government of Singapore United Kingdom Malaya North Borneo Sarawak Singapore Secretariat of UN registered Nr. 10760 (English English, and Malay [1] and Malay [2] )
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Agreement relating to Malaysia between United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore at Wikisource
20-point agreement
The 20-point agreement, or the 20-point memorandum, is a list of 20 points drawn up by North Borneo, proposing terms for its incorporation into the new federation as the State of Sabah, during negotiations prior to the formation of Malaysia. It accomplished through the enactment of the Malaysia Act (1963), clause 1(1) of which states that on Malaysia Day, Her Majestys sovereignty and jurisdiction in respect of the new states shall be relinquished so as to vest in the manner agreed,[3] on 16 September 1963[4][5]. and in the Malaysia Bill 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. That act often serves as a focal point amongst those who argue that Sabah's rights within the Federation have been eroded over time[6].
History
From the international law perspective, moves were already afoot to turn decolonization into a major international issue. On 14 December 1960, the United Agreement Relating to Malaysia in English texts (document) Nations General Assembly had adopted the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples the famous Resolution 1514 [7] with 89 votes in favour and only 9 abstentions.[8] Article 5 of Resolution 1514, states: Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all other territories which have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to the peoples of those territories, without any conditions or reservations, in accordance with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom, moreover, Article 3 provided that [i]nadequacy of political, economic, social or educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying independence. To monitor the implementation of Resolution 1514, the General Assembly created the Special Committee on the Situation With Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (referred to popularly
20-point agreement
as the UN Committee on Colonialism) in 1961. Even though Great Britain abstained from voting on Resolution 1514, pressure on her to decolonize was palpable. Not only did this pressure come from the international community, it came from its strongestally, the United States of America who extracted this concession from the British in the Atlantic Charter.[9] 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 the bedrock of yet another challenge to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. Under the Joint Statement issued by the British and Malayan Federal Governments on 23 November 1961, clause 4 provided: Before coming to any final decision it is necessary to ascertain the views of the peoples of North Borneo, and Sarawak to supported the proposal to create the new federation. It has accordingly been decided to set up a Commission to carry out this task and to make recommendations ........
In the spirit of ensuring that decolonization was carried in accordance with the wishes of the peoples of North Borneo, 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.[10] The 20 points were written with a view to safeguarding the interests, rights, and the 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[11].
20-point agreement
The 20 points
Point 1: Religion
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
Point 2: Language
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.
Point 3: Constitution
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 (Sabah) was of course essential.
20-point agreement
Point 6: Immigration
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.
Point 8: Borneanisation
Borneanisation of the public service should proceed as quickly as possible[15].
20-point agreement
References
[1] [2] [3] [4] http:/ / untreaty. un. org/ unts/ 1_60000/ 21/ 36/ 00041791. pdf http:/ / treaties. un. org/ doc/ Publication/ UNTS/ Volume%20750/ volume-750-I-10760-Other. pdf See: Section 1(1), Malaysia Act 1963 (http:/ / www. legislation. gov. uk/ ukpga/ 1963/ 35/ pdfs/ ukpga_19630035_en. pdf), Chapter 35 (UK). "No.10760: Agreement relating to Malaysia" (http:/ / untreaty. un. org/ unts/ 1_60000/ 21/ 36/ 00041791. pdf) (PDF). United Nations Treaty Collection. United Nations. July 1963. . Retrieved 2010-09-22. [5] Agreement Concluded Between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore. Government Press, Kuala Lumpur (1 January 1963) [6] Abdication of Responsibility: The Commonwealth and Human Rights (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=_QTz5PCDvjEC& printsec=frontcover& dq=abdication+ of+ responsibility+ and& hl=en& ei=a2eQTNLiDYimvQOfjuDVCw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=1& ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage& q& f=false), United States of America: Human Rights Watch, October 1991, pp.3334, ISBN1-56432-047-2, , retrieved 2010-09-15 [7] See: General Assembly 15th Session - resolution 1541 (XV) (http:/ / unyearbook. un. org/ 1960YUN/ 1960_P1_SEC3_CH4. pdf) (pages:509-510) [8] The states which abstained were: Australia, Belgium, Dominican Republic, France, Spain, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States of America. [9] See: Clause 3 of the Charter reads: Third, they respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live; and they wish to see sovereign rights and self government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them.
20-point agreement
[10] Cobbold was Governor of the Bank of England from 1949 to 1961. The other members were Wong Pow Nee, Chief Minister of Penang, Mohammed Ghazali Shafie, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anthony Abell, former Governor or Sarawak and David Watherston, former Chief Secretary of the Federation of Malaya. [11] "Sabah, S'wak urged to review agreements" (http:/ / www. dailyexpress. com. my/ news. cfm?NewsID=31501). Daily Express. 2004-12-21. . Retrieved 2010-09-15. [12] Cobbold Commission (1962). "Report of the Commission of Enquiry, North Borneo and Sarawak, 1962" (http:/ / www. digitalibrary. my/ dmdocuments/ malaysiakini/ 767_Report of the Commission of EnquiryNorth Borneo & Sarawak & IGC 1962. pdf) (pdf). DigitaLibrary. DigitaLibrary Malaysia. . Retrieved 2010-09-16. [13] A J Stockwell (2004), p.377 (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=juXAmf2t1qEC& pg=PA377& dq="agreement+ on+ setting+ up+ of+ Federation+ of+ Malaysia"& hl=en& ei=Ug2RTPfHLcS2cajbrfMM& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=1& ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage& q& f=false) [14] A J Stockwell, ed. (2004), British Documents on the End of Empire (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=juXAmf2t1qEC& pg=PA386& dq="twenty+ point"+ borneo& hl=en& ei=1AiRTILvOMm2ca2vkbgM& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=1& ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage& q="twenty point" borneo& f=false), B, 8, Norwich, UK: TSO (The Stationery Office), pp.386 [141], ISBN0 11 290581 1, , retrieved 2010-09-16 [15] Ram Bahadur Mandal, ed. (1990), Patterns of Regional Geography: An International Perspective (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=XWwCHWwgKt0C& pg=PA252& dq="Twenty+ point"+ north+ borneo& hl=en& ei=lW-QTIfiC5KmvQOP0LTPCw& sa=X& oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=5& ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage& q& f=false), 3, New Delhi: Concept Publishing, pp.252254, ISBN81-7022-292-3, , retrieved 2010-09-15
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