The 20-point agreement, or the 20-point memorandum, is an agreement
made between the state of Sabah (then North Borneo) with what would be
the federal government of Malaysia prior to the formation of Malaysia
in September 16, 1963. A similar agreement was made between the state
of Sarawak and the federal government but with certain differences in
their 18-point agreement. History The
agreement was written for the main purpose of safeguarding the
interests, rights, and the autonomy of the people of Sabah upon the
formation of the federation of Malaysia. It was originally envisaged
that Sabah be one of the four entities in the federation, the others
being Malaya, Singapore, and Sarawak. However as times passed, Sabah
and Sarawak has ended up being merely one of the 13 states in the
federation. The position today There
has been numerous calls for the agreement to be reviewed to take into
account social, economic, and political changes over time.
The agreement Point 1: Religion While
there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia
there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions
relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not
apply to North Borneo.
Point 2: Language a. Malay should be the national language of the Federation. b. English should continue to be used for a period of 10 years after Malaysia Day. c. English should be an official language of North Borneo for all purposes, State or Federal, without limitation of time.
Point 3: Constitution Whilst
accepting that the present Constitution of the Federation of Malaya
should form the basis of the Constitution of Malaysia, the Constitution
of Malaysia should be a completely new document drafted and agreed in
the light of a free association of states and should not be a series of
amendments to a Constitution drafted and agreed by different states in
totally different circumstances. A new Constitution for North Borneo
(Sabah) was of course essential.
Point 4: Head of Federation The Head of State in North Borneo should not be eligible for election as Head of the Federation.
Point 5: Name of Federation “Malaysia” but not “Melayu Raya”.
Point 6: Immigration Control
over immigration into any part of Malaysia from outside should rest
with the Central Government but entry into North Borneo should also
require the approval of the State Government. The Federal Government
should not be able to veto the entry of persons into North Borneo for
State Government purposes except on strictly security grounds. North
Borneo should have unfettered control over the movements of persons
other than those in Federal Government employ from other parts of
Malaysia into North Borneo.
Point 7: Right of Secession There should be no right to secede from the Federation.
Point 8: Borneanisation Borneanisation of the public service should proceed as quickly as possible.
Point 9: British Officers Every
effort should be made to encourage British Officers to remain in the
public service until their places can be taken by suitably qualified
people from North Borneo.
Point 10: Citizenship The
recommendation in paragraph 148(k) of the Report of the Cobbold
Commission should govern the citizenship rights in the Federation of
North Borneo subject to the following amendments: a) sub-paragraph (i) should not contain the proviso as to five years residence. b) in order to tie up with our law, sub-paragraph (ii)(a) should read “7 out of 10 years” instead of “8 out of 10 years”. c)
sub-paragraph (iii) should not contain any restriction tied to the
citizenship of parents – a person born in North Borneo after Malaysia
must be federal citizen.
Point 11: Tariffs and Finance North
Borneo should retain control of its own finance, development and
tariff, and should have the right to work up its own taxation and to
raise loans on its own credit.
Point 12: Special position of indigenous races In
principle, the indigenous races of North Borneo should enjoy special
rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays in Malaya, but the present
Malays’ formula in this regard is not necessarily applicable in North
Borneo.
Point 13: State Government a) the Prime Minister should be elected by unofficial members of Legislative Council. b) There should be a proper Ministerial system in North Borneo.
Point 14: Transitional period This
should be seven years and during such period legislative power must be
left with the State of North Borneo by the Constitution and not be
merely delegated to the State Government by the Federal Government. Point 15: Education The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under state control. Point 16: Constitutional safeguards No
amendment modification or withdrawal of any special safeguard granted
to North Borneo should be made by the Central Government without the
positive concurrence of the Government of the State of North Borneo. The
power of amending the Constitution of the State of North Borneo should
belong exclusively to the people in the state. (Note: The United Party,
The Democratic Party and the Pasok Momogun Party considered that a
three-fourth majority would be required in order to effect any
amendment to the Federal and State Constitutions whereas the UNKO and
USNO considered a two-thirds majority would be sufficient).
Point 17: Representation in Federal Parliament This
should take account not only of the population of North Borneo but also
of its seize and potentialities and in any case should not be less than
that of Singapore.
Point 18: Name of Head of State Yang di-Pertua Negara.
Point 19: Name of State Sabah.
Point 20: Land, Forests, Local Government, etc. The
provisions in the Constitution of the Federation in respect of the
powers of the National Land Council should not apply in North Borneo.
Likewise, the National Council for Local Government should not apply in
North Borneo.