Report of The Inter-Governmental Committee, Malaysia/Establishment of the Federation of Malaysia

by Commission of Enquiry in North Borneo and Sarawak Regarding Malaysian Federation

CHAPTER II
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA

10. The Federation will consist of the States of the existing Federation of Malaya Sabah (at present known as North Borneo), Sarawak, and Singapore and also if agreement is reached on the admission of Brunei, that State. The name of the Federation shall be Malaysia.

11. The Committee noted the mention stated in paragraph 4 of the joint public statement (Annex C) to conclude a formal agreement embodying detailed constitutional arrangements including safeguards for the special interests of North Borneo and Sarawak. In order to carry out this intention the annexures to the formal agreement should include:―—

(a) a Bill to be introduced into the Malayan Parliament to amend the Constitution of the present Federation of Malaya to meet the requirements of the new States and to change the name of the Federation;

(b) the Draft State Constitutions to be submitted to Her Majesty in Council.

12. The Committee examined the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya and this Report sets out the amendments, including transitional provisions which the Committee considers will be necessary to meet the requirements of North Borneo and Sarawak (hereinafter referred to as the Borneo States) and, subject to these and the amendments necessary in relation to any other new State, accepts that the Constitution of the Federation of Malaysia will be based upon the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya as it applies in relation to the States which are at present States of the Federation of Malaya. This Report will be laid more the Legislative Council of North Borneo and the Council Negri of Sarawak. If it is approved by those Councils, the draft of the formal agreement will be drawn up and initialled by representatives of the United Kingdom, the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak.

13. The Committee recognised that the nature of the constitutional arrangements to govern the relationship of the State of Singapore to the Federation of Malaya was not a matter within its terms of reference. But certain of the Committee's recommendations, for example regarding the composition of the Federal Supreme Court, and the establishment of territorial High Courts are in some respects necessarily of general application and in other respects such that a considerable degree of uniformity is clearly desirable. Consequently in a few contexts the recommendations are formulated in gerenal terms applicable to the whole of Malaysia and the Committee has expressed the hope that these recommendations will be acceptable in relation to Singapore and, should Brunei join the Federation, that State.

14. In certain respects the Committee agreed that the requirements of the Borneo States could appropriately be met by undertaking or assurances to be given the Government of the Federation of Malaya rather than by Constitutional provisions and these are mentioned in the appropriate sections of this Report. The Committee agreed that the more important undertakings should be included in the formal agreement and envisaged that the other undertakings and assurances might be dealt with in exchanges of letters between the Government concerned.

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