<figure id="attachment_3156498" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3156498" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3156498" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/940e0486-12_azalina_othman_sesi_townhall_anti_buli_bheuu_moganraj_fmt_11092025-copy-copy-6.webp" alt="AZALINA_OTHMAN" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3156498" class="wp-caption-text">Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said the labelling of Sabah and Sarawak as ‘states’ was also backed by the Hansard of the Dewan Rakyat proceedings in 1963.</figcaption></figure>
PETALING JAYA: Sabah and Sarawak are defined as “states” under the Federal Constitution, in accordance with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said said that Clause 1 of the MA63 reads:
&#8220;The Colonies of North Borneo and Sarawak and the State of Singapore shall be federated with the existing States of the Federation of Malaya as the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore in accordance with the constitutional instruments annexed to this Agreement and the Federation shall thereafter be called ‘Malaysia’.&#8221;
Azalina also said the labelling of Sabah and Sarawak as “states” was backed by the Hansard of the Dewan Rakyat proceedings in 1963.
She said the official records of the debates for the sitting on Aug 12 and Aug 14, 1963, reads:
“That this House, noting the desire of the people of North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore to be federated in Malaysia with the existing States of the Federation in accordance with the agreement signed in London on 9th July, 1963, hereby endorses that agreement.”
Azalina was responding to Chong Chieng Jen (PH-Stampin) who asked when the government planned to amend the constitution to change the reference to Sabah and Sarawak from “states” to “regions” or another term.
The governments of Sabah and Sarawak had long protested against a change in the Federal Constitution by which Sabah and Sarawak were listed as being among the 13 states forming the federation.
They had demanded that their states be listed separately, as at the time of the formation of Malaysia.
In December 2021, the Dewan Rakyat passed several constitutional amendments to elevate Sabah and Sarawak’s status in the federation.
The following month, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claimed at the party’s general assembly that Sabah and Sarawak had been accorded the status of regions and were no longer regarded as states within Malaysia.
Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg pointed out that the change in status had yet to be gazetted.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim later said the matter needed to be referred to the Conference of Rulers first.

MatchPoint Times

MA63 defines Sabah, Sarawak as states, Dewan told

Law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said says the first clause of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 uses the term ‘states’ for Sabah and Sarawak.

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