‘CIA document reveals true intention of Malaysia formation’

(FMT) – A declassified CIA document, entitled “Implications of dispute over Sarawak continental shelf”, has raised questions on the formation of Malaysia and oil and gas reserves belonging to Sabah and Sarawak.

Sarawak activist Zulfaqar Sa’adi told FMT the document had exposed the real story of what happened in 1969 when Sarawak lost its territorial waters and with it, rich natural resources to the federal government.

The five-page document was believed to have been written in the weeks leading up to the day when the Continental Shelf Act 1966 was extended to the Bornean states.

It noted that Kuala Lumpur was seen to be trying to stamp its power in order to exploit resources beyond the three-mile limit.

Zulfaqar pointed out that even though Malaya had achieved independence in 1957, the federal government only found it necessary to enact the Continental Shelf Act in 1966 after the formation of Malaysia and immediately after the secession of Singapore.

“Reading through the CIA document, it makes one wonder whether the Federation of Malaya, acting as the federal government of Malaysia, engineered the political situation from the beginning to ensure it could exploit the rich natural resources of the Bornean territories.”

He also recalled the words of Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman who openly said he wanted Sabah and Sarawak, and at the time, Brunei, to be in the new country because the territories were resource-rich, having stated earlier “it would be good financially, they have oil”.

Based on his research, Zulfaqar said the Malayan government at the time made use of the British desperation to keep its obligations to the Bornean states and safeguard its interests in Singapore to force a merger that would include all three territories.

“I am not saying it was deliberate, but without Singapore in the picture, Malaya was free to exploit Sabah and Sarawak resources.

“Singapore would have objected vehemently to any attempt by Malaya to extend the Continental Shelf Act to the three territories.

“So after Singapore seceded, the federal government put its plan into action almost immediately.”

Nevertheless, Zulfaqar told FMT that the most poignant aspect of the document was the fact that Sarawak leaders at the time knew that Malaya’s attempt was against the agreement.

The Sarawak government, at the time under a caretaker government after Kuala Lumpur ousted Stephen Kalong Ningkan, stood firm against the attempt to extend the Act to Sabah and Sarawak.

However, Kuala Lumpur told Sarawak that it would be a democratic and wise decision to accept because Sabah had assented to it.

“The federal government also used the same excuse when they approached the Sabah government later, saying that Sabah should accept because Sarawak had already agreed to it,” he said.

The CIA document revealed that using the Malaysia Agreement, acting state attorney-general Jemuri Serjan outlined the rights of Sarawak on territorial waters, which was decreed in 1954 through an Order In Council and further established by the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958.

“He argued that Article 1 of the Malaysia Constitution, which at that time was based on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (amended in 1976), provides the definition of the territory of Sarawak and that includes the continental shelf.

“This is new information because until today we never knew that the Sarawak government was already aware and even employed this entire legal instrument when they dealt with the federal government,” he said.

The document also noted that the Sarawak government could actually stand against Kuala Lumpur on the Continental Shelf Act 1966 and against the exploitation of the “Emergency” power to take over Sarawak’s territorial waters.

Instead, he said the Sarawak government accepted the Kuala Lumpur proposition in return for minor concessions, which a few years later was sealed through the Petroleum Development Act 1976, giving a cash payment, named “5% royalty”, to the state.

“In the end, Kuala Lumpur was able to establish its authority over the exploitation of resources beyond the three-mile limit and shamefully exploited its ‘Emergency’ powers and the weak ‘caretaker’ government of Sarawak to achieve its objective,” he said.

Zulfaqar, however, believed that with new information and declassified documents suddenly surfacing everywhere now, there was renewed enthusiasm to revisit the history of the formation of Malaysia and to make things right again.

“I am hoping that our Sarawak lawyers, who went to London recently, will uncover more information that could give us a clearer picture of the formation of Malaysia and thus help safeguard Sarawak’s rights,” he concluded.