Why is sabah part of malaysia

In the case of Singapore's union with Malaysia, it was short-lived and lasted for less than 23 months. Sabah is located at the north-eastern tip of Borneo and lies about kilometres from the Philippines. Although Malaysia controls the territory, the Philippines has laid claim over Sabah since The first official attempt by the Philippines to claim Sabah was on 22 June, , when the Philippines filed a claim over Sabah against the United Kingdom UK , which has possession of the territory at that time.

The occupation of the territory first by Overbeck and Dent and later by the British North Borneo Company had been occupation by lessee or an administrator, not occupation by an owner or sovereign. The Philippines was explaining the history and legal basis of its claim over Sabah and the origins of the dispute to the UK government. Sabah was originally ruled by the Sultanate of Brunei in the early s under the rule of Sultan Bolkiah. In , Sabah was ceded to the Sultanate of Sulu for helping the Sultanate of Brunei settle and suppress a revolt.

From , Sabah was under the control of the Sultanate of Sulu, especially by its coastal inhabitants. However, the control over the territory was relinquished to the British, specifically to the British North Borneo Company between and under the treaty signed on 4 January, between the Sultan of Sulu Mahomet Jamal Al Alam and Baron de Overbeck and Alfred Dent as a contract of lease, grant and concession of North Borneo territories for an annual payment of 5, dollars.

Nevertheless, since the founding of the Federation of Malaysia in till this day, the Philippines has refused to recognise the possession of Sabah by Malaysia. The Philippines has maintained its contention that Overbeck and Dent only transferred the rights on the leasehold and not sovereignty over Sabah since the transaction was a private one.

Overbeck and Dent's partnership had no political bearing and Sabah was under the suzerainty of the Sultan of Sulu and Borneo. And the annual payment of 5, dollars was equivalent to the lease term.

However, the British government maintained its stand on the matter that North Borneo was ceded to them and it refused to allow any Filipino or third party for that matter to examine its copy of the contract.

It was found that people generally favoured the union of Malaysia, leading to the signing of the Malaysia Agreement in London on 9 July, Accordingly, the agreement clearly stated that Sabah is part and parcel of the Federation of Malaysia along with Sarawak and Singapore. Ever since, Sabah has been under the direct control of Malaysia. Also, Malaysia contends that Sabah has been recognised by the UN and by other countries worldwide as a Malaysian territory thus justifying their claim.

That year, Britain agreed to relinquish control of most of its remaining colonies in Southeast Asia — Singapore, North Borneo now called Sabah and Sarawak. They then joined with Malaya, which had gained independence from Britain in , to form a new nation called Federation of Malaysia.

The legal instrument to form the federation is called the Malaysia Agreement MA Yet, for the people of Sabah and Sarawak, located on the island of Borneo, the agreement left many with mixed emotions. Some people in these states have long desired secession and, in recent years, the drumbeat of separation has only grown louder.

This issue is now a key political issue in the Sabah state election this weekend and upcoming the Sarawak elections, which must be held before the end of In a nutshell, most people in Sabah and Sarawak also known as East Malaysia are unhappy with federation because they think it has not delivered on two main promises made in — high levels of autonomy and economic development. In the first area, the federal government has stripped away a lot of local powers in Sabah and Sarawak in the last 57 years.

On top of that, the federal authorities have tried to impose the same toxic racial and religious politics found in Malaya also known as West Malaysia to the eastern states.

East Malaysia is much more ethnically and religiously diverse compared to the west. As a result, political Islam has not taken root here. Read more: Now that Malaysia has a new government, the real work begins reforming the country. In fact, one of the defining features of East Malaysia is intermarriage among the different ethnic and religious groups.

The divide between Muslims and non-Muslims is reasonably insignificant — a marked difference from the often suspicious attitude Islamic leaders have toward non-Muslims in Kuala Lumpur. In terms of economic development, Sabah remains one of the poorest states in Malaysia.

And the infrastructure in both Sabah and Sarawak is vastly underdeveloped compared to the west of Malaysia. The common joke is that all the iconic infrastructure in peninsular Malaysia, such as the Petronas Towers, Penang Bridge and Kuala Lumpur international airport, was built with money from East Malaysia.

In recent times, one of the biggest grievances in East Malaysia comes from the process of decolonisation administered by the British after the second world war. There is clear, documented evidence that back in , the colonial office in London used its powers and influence to get the local leaders in Sabah and Sarawak to agree to the formation of Malaysia.

The British wanted a clean exit from Southeast Asia and to ensure its former colonies did not turn to communism. Activists in East Malaysia say if the British had not supported the formation of the federation, it was highly unlikely local leaders would have agreed to it. Many would have instead preferred independence or a federation consisting of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei which gained independence from Britain much later, in All these historical grievances have led to a growing movement in Sabah and Sarawak advocating for secession from the federation.

Social media is one key reason the secessionist movement has taken off in East Malaysia.