Sabah

“ The three Heads of Government take cognizance of the position regarding the Philippine claim to Sabah (North Borneo) after the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia as provided under paragraph 12 of the Manila Accord, that is, that the inclusion of Sabah (North Borneo) in the Federation of Malaysia does not prejudice either the claim or any right thereunder. ”

“ In this Article " native " means— (a) in relation to Sarawak, a person who is a citizen and either belongs to one of the races specified in Clause (7) as indigenous to the State or is of mixed blood deriving exclusively from those races ; and (b) in relation to Sabah, a person who is a citizen, is the child or grandchild of a person of a race indigenous to Sabah, and was born (whether on or after Malaysia Day or not) either in Sabah or to a father domiciled in Sabah at the time of the birth. ”

“ Where under any provision of federal law not having effect as respects Sabah, or not having effect as respects Sarawak, any such aid as aforesaid is given by way of grant out of public funds in any year, there shall be paid by the Federation to the Government of Sabah or Sarawak, as the case may be, and applied for social welfare purposes in that State, amounts which bear to the revenue derived by the Federation from that State in the year the same proportion as the grant bears to the revenue derived by the Federation from other States in that year. ”

“ I hope that our associations with Malaysia will be long-continuing and as close as they have always been in amity, friendship, and also 951 in co-operation. There is still a considerable need for aid and trade with this area, as with many others. North Borneo (or Sabah, as we now call it) and Sarawak will certainly need a tremendous amount of help from Her Majesty's Government in the years to come. They are, in many respects, of course, developing—to use the polite expression we use nowadays; they are underdeveloped. They are a very small population spread over this considerable area of Borneo ”

“ The Governors of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore shall be members of the Conference of Rulers except for those purposes for which the Governors of Malacca and Penang are not members, and accordingly in the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution, in sections 1 and 7, for the words "Malacca and Penang" there shall, in each case, be substituted the words "States not having a Ruler". Religious functions.. ”

“ The three Governments would similarly send observers to the two territories to witness the investigations of the working teams and the Federation of Malaya would do its best to ensure the co-operation of the British Government and of the Governments of Sabah and Sarawak. ”

“ The words “is established that there is a vacancy” substituted for “occurs” by Act 26/1963, subsection 11 (2) , in force from 16-09-1963. 3. The words “the states of Sabah and Sarawak” substituted for “the Borneo States” by Act A354, section 43, in force from 27-08-1976. 4. The proviso was inserted by Act A1, section 3, in force from 18-11-1968. 5. The words “or in the case of each of the Legislative Assembly of each of the States of Sabah and Sarawak within ninety days” were deleted by Act A585, paragraph 27 (b) , in force from 14-04-1984. 6. ”

“ WHEREAS it is the inalienable right of a people to be free and independent;
AND WHEREAS Malaysia was established on the 16th day of September, 1963, by a federation of the existing states of the Federation of Malaya and the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore into one independent and sovereign nation ”

“ It was built in 860 by Hassan Ben Seid Bakeri, and now in 1090 Hassan Sabah, who had hitherto sought in vain for a stronghold, was in possession of it. He at once began to build walls and ramparts around his fortress and had a canal dug which would ensure a water supply. Gardens and orchards were planted in the surrounding country and the inhabitants were soon engaged in agricultural pursuits. Men of power in the Seljuk country Hassan won by secretly placing Assassins at their service; whoso wished in those days to ruin any man had but to accuse him of connivance with Hassan Ben Sabah. ”

“ It cannot afford matter of surprise that, in Hassan Sabah, their seed met with a fertile soil. We will relate the beginning of his connexion with them, in his own words, as history preserves them.49
“From my childhood, from my seventh year, my sole effort has been to extend the bounds of my knowledge and to increase my capacities. Like my fathers, I was educated in the tenets of the twelve imams (Imamie) , and I formed an 48acquaintance with an Ismailite Refik (Fellow) , called Emire Dharab, with whom I cemented bonds of friendship. ”

“ Muslim (Malays) , Buddhist (Chinese) , Hindu
(Indians)
Sabah: Muslim 38%, Christian 17%, other 45%
Sarawak: tribal religion 35%, Buddhist and Confucianist 24%, Muslim
20%, Christian 16%, other 5%
Languages:
Peninsular Malaysia: Malay (official) , English, Chinese dialects,
Tamil
Sabah: English, Malay, numerous tribal dialects, Chinese (Mandarin and
Hakka dialects predominate)
Sarawak: English, Malay, Mandarin, numerous tribal languages *** No
data for this item ***
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population: 78%
male: 86%
female: 70% ”

“ Sarawak—agriculture processing, petroleum production and refining, logging
_#_Agriculture:
Peninsular Malaysia—natural rubber, palm oil, rice;
Sabah—mainly subsistence, but also rubber, timber, coconut, rice;
Sarawak—rubber, timber, pepper; there is a deficit of rice in all areas; fish catch of 608,000 metric tons in 1987
_#_Illicit drugs: transit point for Golden Triangle heroin going to the US, Western Europe, and the Third World
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-84) , $170 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88) , $4.5 billion ”

“ I have had the benefit of close personal relationships with people in North Borneo and Sarawak and throughout the territory of Malaya and in Singapore.
Like noble Lords who have spoken—the noble Lords, Lord Milverton, Lord Twining, Lord Shepherd, Lord Shackleton and Lord Ogmore—and many of the other noble Lords who know this part of the world, I have found myself becoming increasingly attached to the people who live in these countries. It has been said with great truth that the peoples in North Borneo and Sarawak have a deep affection and respect for the British people. ”

“ Far away in front of us, surrounded by an interminable forest of jungle, lies Gunong Poé, the south-west boundary of Sarawak, while behind it again rise the long low hills of Sambas, in Dutch Borneo. Stretching far out to sea, and to the right of Poé, is the long spit of land, or promontory, known as "Tanjong Api," on this side of which lies the mountain of "Gading," or Mount Brooke, in Sarawak territory. Nearer to us again are Santubong and Moratabas, and far down the coast the Sadong mountains, the home of the Mias or orang utan of Borneo. ”

“ Sarawak has to-day a coast-line of over four hundred miles, with an area of fifty thousand square miles, and a population of three hundred thousand souls. The country produces gold, silver, diamonds, antimony, [97] quicksilver, coal, gutta-percha, rubber, canes, rattan, camphor, beeswax, edible bird’s-nests, sago, tapioca, pepper, and tobacco, all of which find their way to Singapore, and thence to Europe and America. ”

“ A less fierce heat, but rain almost every day in the year, was our lot at Sarawak; and though it was very healthy for English men and women, it was not so good for crops: pepper and coffee prefer a drier climate.
There will be one difficulty in the North Borneo settlement which will require wise handling. I mean the slaves which are the possession of every petty chief and every Malay family in the country. All pirates bring home fresh slaves from every expedition. ”

“ But the pride of Sarawak must always be the Sea Dyaks who live on the Batang Lupar, the Seribas and the right-hand branches of the Rejang. These were the destructive pirates of the coast, who put to sea in large fleets of fast vessels, and ravaged every district they could reach. ”

“ No relative is abandoned because he is poor, or because an injury or an illness may have incapacitated him for work. I like the Malays, although I must allow that I became weary of having only them with whom to associate.
Sarawak appears to the natives of the western coast of Borneo what an oasis must be to the wandering Arab, and it is often visited by the people of the neighbouring countries to examine as a sort of curiosity. ”

“ The example set in the capital is followed in all the dependent districts, and the local rulers are always associated with the European in the government. The effect has been to prevent any jealousy arising; and the contempt of all natives, which appears a part of our creed in many portions of our empire, is not felt in Sarawak. Nothing appears more striking to those who have resided long in Sarawak than the extraordinary change which appears to have been effected in the character of the people, and also in that of individuals. ”

“ Internal violence ceased. The confidence of the natives was awakened. Industry and enterprise sprang up on every hand as by magic. Sarawak became a city of refuge. Sometimes as many as fifty fled thither in a day. In 1844, in the short space of two months, five hundred families took shelter in the province. In 1850, three thousand Chinese fled from Sambas to Sarawak. The Dyaks returned the good-will of their Rajah with love and reverence. ”

“ With fear in their hearts they turned to their stockade again, and disappeared within, feeling that to attempt pursuit of such an enemy would end only in further suffering.
"And now for Sarawak!" shouted Tyler, as the fleet of prahus sailed clear of the boom, and headed for the sea once more. "Our troubles are almost over, and within a day we should be safely amongst friends. Hurrah for Sarawak!" ”

“ When we left we could not but draw an unfavourable contrast between the ancient town and the young capital of the adjacent State of Sarawak, Kuching, which we had lately visited. There, under European rule, the jungle has been cleared, and a well built and planned town has sprung up, with good roads, handsome public buildings, an efficient police—all the essentials of civilisation in fact; Malays, Dayaks, and Chinese live and trade amicably together, and all the resources of a rich country are being opened up ”

“ With such knowledge of administrative systems in the tropics as may be gained by actual observation in almost every part of the British Empire, except the African Colonies, I can say that in no country which I have ever visited are there to be observed so many signs of a wide and generous rule, such abundant indications of good government as are to be seen on every hand in Sarawak. ”

“ I rejoice to think that English rule and justice is now to be offered to the inhabitants of the North of Borneo. They expect an Englishman to be just and generous, brave and firm, and they ground this expectation on their knowledge and experience of Labuan and Sarawak, and the lessons which her Majesty's ships of war have from time to time impressed on the corrupt and faithless Bruni people. I trust this experience will never be reversed by unworthy agents or settlers. The climate is too tropical for colonization, [246] no families of emigrants can be reared in such heat. ”

“ The country is traversed by fine rivers. The Rejang, four fathoms deep two hundred miles from the mouth, the Batang Lupar, and the Sarawak are the largest, and the great highways of the country; along the banks of which are [241] cultivated clearings and Dyak villages, but beyond these extend dense jungle which even clothes the sides of the mountains. Besides the before-mentioned rivers are many smaller ones which are still noble streams—the Sarebas, Samarahan, Sadong, Lundu, etc. It is indeed a well-watered country, and only requires the industry of man to develop its riches. ”

“ As Brunei decayed, Sarawak grew stronger. Its territory was enlarged from time to time and its prosperity has proved the benefit derived by the native inhabitants from strong and firm control.
An island rather larger than Guernsey, Labuan is the only British territory, as opposed to a Protectorate, which we shall find in this region. Rounding a headland we turn northwards into a broad and deep inlet, and come to anchor opposite a small town of white houses with red roofs and a background of low hills; this is Victoria, the capital and only town. ”

“ I will quote the Sarawak Gazette of September 1, 1894: ‘Some months back a most unaccountable scare took possession of the Asiatic population of Sarawak Proper—Malays, Chinese, Dyaks and others being similarly affected. It was at first rumoured that the Government required human heads to place under the foundations of the new high level reservoir at the waterworks, and that men were sent out at night to procure these.... Other equally absurd stories followed and were fully believed, many natives going so far as to assert that they had met with these head hunters about the native town at night. ”

“ At any rate we have much to be thankful for, and as every year makes Sarawak a more important State, consolidates its Government, and extends civilization to its subjects, we may look for more success for the missionaries, who can now point to the peace and prosperity of the people, and say, "This is the fruit of Christianity and Christian rulers." ”

“ The station at Limbang is situated at a bend of the river on its right bank below the range of the Kaban Hills. In coming up the river one first passes the Malay town, built as usual on piles, the houses being either near the water’s edge or, as the Malays seem to prefer, actually over the running water. Here were several sago factories. Later we passed the bazaar, or Chinese quarter, for nearly all the shopkeepers in Sarawak are Chinamen. ”