Malaysia Agreement

The Malayan Union was established by the British Malaya and comprised the Federated Malay States of Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang; the Unfederated Malay States of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan, Terengganu, Johor; and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It came into being in 1946, through a series of agreements between the United Kingdom and the Malayan Union.[6] The Malayan Union was superseded by the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948, and achieved independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957.[4]

After the end of the Second World War, decolonisation became the societal goal of the peoples under colonial regimes aspiring to achieve self-determination. The Special Committee on Decolonisation (also known as the U.N. Special Committee of the 24 on Decolonisation, reflected in the United Nations General Assembly's proclamation on 14 December 1960 of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples hereinafter, the Committee of 24, or simply, the Decolonisation Committee) was established in 1961 by the General Assembly of the United Nations with the purpose of monitoring implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples and to make recommendations on its application.[7] The committee is also a successor to the former Committee on Information from Non-Self-Governing Territories. Hoping to speed the progress of decolonisation, the General Assembly had adopted in 1960 the Resolution 1514, also known as the "Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples" or simply "Declaration on Decolonisation". It stated that all people have a right to self-determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end.[8]

Under the Malaysia Agreement signed between Great Britain and the Federation of Malaya, Britain would enact an act to relinquish sovereign control over Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo (now Sabah). This was accomplished through the enactment of the Malaysia Act 1963, clause 1(1) of which states that on Malaysia Day, "Her Majesty’s sovereignty and jurisdiction in respect of the new states shall be relinquished so as to vest in the manner agreed".[9]

The Malaysia Agreement lists annexes of

After the Proposed 2019 amendment to the Constitution of Malaysia on the equal status of Sabah and Sarawak failed to pass, the Malaysian federal government agreed to review the agreement to remedy breaches of the treaty with the "Special Cabinet Committee To Review the Malaysia Agreement" and directed a Special Task Force Team (Taskforce MA63) to prepare a final report on the 1963 agreement before 31 August 2019, to be tabled at the next meeting of the Special Cabinet Committee. On 23 July 2019, seven issues concerning the 1963 agreement had reached joint agreement while 14 issues still required further discussion and were expected to be resolved before the deadline of 31 August.[13][14] The seven agreed issues were:

• Export duty claims on logging exports and forest products.
• Gas distribution and regulatory powers on electricity and gas.
• Implementation of Federal and State Public Works.
• Manpower.
• The power of the state on health issues.
• Administration of Sipadan and Ligitan islands for Sabah.
• Agricultural and forestry issues.

The first meeting on the issues was held on 17 December 2018 at which 21 issues were received by the special Cabinet committee for review. 13 issues were identified as joint issues involving both the Sarawak and Sabah governments, and eight as issues involving only the Sabah government.[14] Despite the willingness of the federal government to review the agreement, reports have arisen that the negotiations between Sabah and the federal government have not been smooth, with the latter dictating some terms of the review, causing perception of the review as a one-sided affair in which the federal government seeks to maintain control in several matters.[15]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Hansard of Parliament of the United Kingdom (1963) - Malaysia Bill

• 20-point agreement
• 18-point agreement
• Cobbold Commission
• Independence of Singapore Agreement 1965
• Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
• Malaysia Act 1963
• Manila Accord
• Separatist movements in Malaysia
• Timeline of Malaysian history
• Proclamation of Singapore
• Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

• Hansard of Parliament of the United Kingdom Malaysia Bill
• Malaysia Act 1963
• Affecting the Malaysia Act 1963
• Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories by Resolution of General Assembly 60/119 of 18 January 2006
• Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories listed by the United Nations General Assembly.
• United Nations General Assembly 18th Session - the Question of Malaysia (pages:41-44)
• Malaysia Timeline by the BBC News Channel.

• J. de V. Allen; Anthony J. Stockwell (1981). A Collection of Treaties and Other Documents Affecting the States of Malaysia: 1761-1963. Oceana Publ. ISBN 978-0379007817.
• James Chin (2014). "Federal-East Malaysia Relations: Primus-Inter-Pares?, in Andrew Harding and James Chin (eds) 50 Years of Malaysia: Federalism Revisited (Singapore: Marshall Cavendish)". The Straits Times: 152–185 – via Academia.edu.
• James Chin (31 May 2018). "Why new Malaysian govt must heed MA63 rallying cry". The Straits Times – via Academia.edu.