My comments on proposed amendment to use the term ‘Borneo States’ to refer to Sarawak and Sabah

This morning I had told our media friends that it is about time for the proposed amendment to use the term ‘Borneo States’ to refer to Sarawak and Sabah to be decided because this is a long overdue issue. They seek my comments on the proposed amendments to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution under the Federal Constitution (Amendments) Bill 2021 which is expected to be approved. This had shown us that our country is finally putting this matter into the right perspective. 

In fact, I have also mentioned that this is what was agreed in the negotiations when both Sarawak and Sabah had agreed to form Malaysia which led to the signing of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

Under the country’s Federal Constitution, it was initially stated that the states of the Federation shall comprised of the states of Malaya namely Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis, Selangor and Terengganu; the Borneo States namely Sabah and Sarawak; and the State of Singapore, which had separated from us on 9 August 1965. 

So it is specifically stated there that we are different but over the years, somehow they included us with the other states which made it look like we are on the same category as the other states in Malaysia. We had never signed anything with the other states. We only signed with the representative representing one Peninsular Malaysia when we formed Malaysia. I had reiterated that with the proposed amendment to the constitution, this will finally put Sarawak and Sabah back to the right perspective. It is a long overdue decision and I hope it doesn’t go back to that point again. 

This matter was highlighted by our media friemds after our Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, YB Datuk Hajah Hanifah Taib on December 1 had mentioned in the Dewan Rakyat that Sarawak and Sabah will no longer be known as East Malaysia but as the Borneo States once the proposed amendments to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution under the Federal Constitution (Amendments) Bill 2021 is approved. Putrajaya was said to have no plans to rebrand Sabah and Sarawak as “mainland Malaysia” as the current terms used to address the two Borneo states was suffice.