East Malaysian states’ rights push may upend S-E Asia’s political order

THE onset of the political campaign for the state legislature in the East Malaysian state of Sabah has narrowed into a fiery debate over relations with the federal government. The Nov 29 election is being contested as a referendum on states’ rights. Every side seems to want to distinguish itself on how hard it can push for rights enshrined in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63).

The states’ rights quest has been gathering pace for some years in both Sabah and Sarawak. Leaders in both East Malaysian states argue that they are jointly entitled to one-third of seats in parliament as well as substantial financial autonomy under MA63 but say these undertakings were never honoured.

Both Borneo states depend heavily on resource extraction for revenue. But their portion of that revenue (raised within their states but after Putrajaya takes its cut) is nowhere near enough to meet their requirements for infrastructure, education or healthcare. Consequently, these states have demanded more of their revenue, particularly from oil and gas extraction which is under federal jurisdiction.