Malaysia Agreement 1963

Unity Government and Reform · Debate · 9 min read

Should Sabah and Sarawak's Autonomy Be Expanded?

Sixty Years of the Malaysia Agreement: Contract or One-Way Devolution?

The 1963 Malaysia Agreement promised Sabah-Sarawak autonomy, but the 1976 constitutional amendment downgraded both states to ordinary states, compressing oil royalties from about 40% to 5%. Sabah's poverty rate of 17.7% is three times the national average. Sixty years on, is this a federal debt or an integration dividend?