Sarawak

Independence and the Making of Malaysia · Chronicle · 6 min read

Why Were Sabah and Sarawak Central to Malaysia Formation?

When Tunku Drew Malaysia in Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo Already Had Their Own Parties, Fears, and Future Plans

In 1961, Kuala Lumpur placed Sarawak and North Borneo into the Malaysia plan, but these two territories were not blank spaces waiting for others to arrange their fate. Sarawak's political parties worried about swapping colonial masters before achieving independence, while North Borneo's leaders were anxious about land, immigration, religion, and the status of locals; Some also saw opportunities for security, development, and a quicker end to colonial rule. The so-called "joining" was, from the very beginning, a conditional debate.

Unity Government and Reform · Treatise · 4 min read

Why Does East Malaysian Politics Matter? Taib, Shafie, and Sabah-Sarawak State Rights

One held Sarawak for thirty-three years; one briefly governed Sabah after leaving UMNO; East Malaysia is not an appendix to Peninsular coalition arithmetic

Peninsular politics often writes East Malaysia as coalition numbers: how many seats for GPS, how many for GRS, whether Sabah and Sarawak can complete a majority. But East Malaysia has its own strongman politics, state-rights demands, local anti-centre stories, MA63, petroleum revenue, and native land questions. Taib Mahmud and Shafie Apdal stand on two different East Malaysian political routes.

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?