SARAWAK: THE REAL DEAL
A summary
This book is about defending the inalienable right of our peoples to self-determination, national identity, territorial integrity, our truth, our seas, our skies and our sovereignty. It is dedicated to our young sons and daughters of Sarawak; and also to our compatriots who had sacrificed much to defend our homeland from foreign rule
It is the story of the betrayal of the independent kingdom of Sarawak - through trickery, coercion and subterfuge - to become part of a larger whole a.k.a. Malaysia.
Sarawak sovereignty was won, and lost three times: from genesis on 24 September 1841 to Japanese occupation in 1942, British colonial rule in 1946 and finally, incorporation as the 13th state of Malaya under the guise of “independence within Malaysia” on 16 September 1963.
The book uncovers many facts on Sarawak previously unknown, conveniently forgotten or simply, hidden. Much of the accounts are sourced from valuable reports compiled from official sources such as Council Negri proceedings and ‘Sarawak by the Week’ gazette by Ho Ah Chon who deserves the title of ‘Sarawak Chronicler’. To top it, the declassified British documents connect the dots to reveal the sinister truth behind the formation of Malaysia.
Prior to British colonization Sarawak had a history of 100 years of independence and sovereign rule. During WWII Rajah Vyner Brooke had already spurned Britain’s proposal of the Malayan Union plan to merge Malaya and Singapore with British Borneo into one colonial administration. After the surrender of the Japanese, the British government succeeded in twisting Brooke's arm to cede Sarawak to make it a Crown colony on 1 July 1946.
The UN Decolonization Declaration under Resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 necessitated the British to revive their Malayan Union plan to perpetuate their strategic and economic interests in the region; it was fact the process of decolonization by imperial powers in their sunset years had become a process of manipulating local allies into power and controlling the newly independent states; or incorporate territories under a federal system controlled by friendly, often repressive regimes.
The announcement by Tunku that Britain and Malaya had proposed to incorporate the three British Borneo states into the federated states of Malaya under his Greater Malaysia Plan to make it fourteen, touched off widespread protest and opposition.
The most damaging piece of evidence from the declassified documents reveal Malaysia was already pre-determined - in secret discussions between McMillan and Tunku in London - to surrender the sovereignty of British Borneo to Malaya.
Nevertheless, Britain and Malaya had to go through the motions in the making of Malaysia, by employing the stratagems of the Cobbold Commission, the Inter-Governmental Report and the United Nations Assessment to appease the Borneons, the British public and the international community. The communist bogeyman was also demonized and hunted down to ‘crush’ anti-colonial and anti-Malaysia sentiments to ensure that nothing, but nothing would stand in the way of British/Malaya plot to take Sarawak to the slaugher-house.
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Lina Soo is a candidate for State Reform Party (STAR) for P196 Stampin, Sarawak in GE-13
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In his parting message to the people the Rajah in 1946, had expressly affirmed on behalf of the British government that Sarawak would not form part of the Malayan Union, and that Britain would eventually restore Sarawak sovereignty according to Clause 7 of the Nine Cardinal Principles in the preamble to the 1941 Sarawak Constitution: “The people of Sarawak shall be entrusted in due course with the governance of themselves, and that continuous efforts shall be made to hasten the reaching of this goal by educating them in the obligations, the responsibilities, and the privileges of citizenship”.
Britain had breached its oaths by its actions to convert its British Borneo colony into a Malaya colony, and denying the peoples their inalienable right to self-determination by failing to restore their territorial sovereignty and people sovereignty. In the process Britain in concert with foreign influences and interferences, took armed action and repressive measures to rob Sarawakians of their right to peacefully and rightfully assert their right to complete independence. All this was a gross violation of UN Decolonization protocol, despite strong protests from Indonesia, Philippines, Russia and Pakistan who in the main, denounced the Malaysia Plan as a neo-colonialist plot.
Britain had not granted British Borneo independence first, nor did Britain ever had the intent to hold a referendum for Sarawak because, as Tunku had said, “the people would not understand”.
The Malaysia Agreement was inked on 9 July 1963 (Sarawak representatives had no mandate to present themselves as the government, but that is another story) and on 26 July, the Malaysia Bill was pushed through the House of Lords in the British Parliament to form the Federation of Malaysia on 31 August 1963, a date deliberately chosen by Tunku to match Malaya independence day.
Malaysia came into being on 16 September 1963, instead of 31 August, the delay being to accommodate Indonesia and Philippines demand for a plebiscite for Sarawak and North Borneo, which was met by a phoney “UN Assessment” to avoid a referendum and to legitimise Malaysia in the eyes of the world.
For Sarawak once a proud and independent kingdom, the sweetheart deal conjured between Britain and Malaya in the formation of the Federation of Malaysia had transformed into the “RAW DEAL” for Sarawak.
Up to today, the belief in the intrinsic right to self-determination and, freedom of the people to decide the destiny of their country has not been extinguished, and is still beating in the hearts of many Sarawakians. But, will this cry in the wilderness be heard? Is it 50 years too late?
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