20 point Agreement

Point 1: Religion

While there was no objection to
Islam being the national religion
of Malaysia there should be no
State religion in North Borneo,
and the provisions relating to
Islam in the present
Constitution of Malaya should
not apply to North Borneo

Point 2: Language

a. Malay should be the national
language of the Federation
b. English should continue to
be used for a period of 10
years after Malaysia Day
c. English should be an official
language of North Borneo for
all purposes, State or Federal,
without limitation of time.

Point 3: Constitution

Whilst accepting that the
present Constitution of the
Federation of Malaya should
form the basis of the
Constitution of Malaysia, the
Constitution of Malaysia should
be a completely new document
drafted and agreed in the light
of a free association of states
and should not be a series of
amendments to a Constitution
drafted and agreed by different
states in totally different
circumstances. A new
Constitution for North Borneo
(Sabah) was of course essential.

Point 4: Head of Federation

The Head of State in North
Borneo should not be eligible
for election as Head of the
Federation

Point 5: Name of Federation

“Malaysia” but not “Melayu
Raya”

Point 6: Immigration

Control over immigration into
any part of Malaysia from
outside should rest with the
Central Government but entry
into North Borneo should also
require the approval of the State
Government. The Federal
Government should not be able
to veto the entry of persons into
North Borneo for State
Government purposes except on
strictly security grounds. North
Borneo should have unfettered
control over the movements of
persons other than those in
Federal Government employ
from other parts of Malaysia
into North Borneo.

Point 7: Right of Secession

There should be no right to
secede from the Federation.

Point 8: Borneanisation

Borneanisation of the public
service should proceed as
quickly as possible[13].

Point 9: British Officers

Every effort should be made to
encourage British Officers to
remain in the public service until
their places can be taken by
suitably qualified people from
North Borneo[13].

Point 10: Citizenship

The recommendation in
paragraph 148(k) of the Report
of the Cobbold Commission
should govern the citizenship
rights in the Federation of North
Borneo subject to the following
amendments:
a) sub-paragraph (i) should
not contain the proviso as to
five years residence
b) in order to tie up with our
law, sub-paragraph (ii)(a)
should read “7 out of 10
years” instead of “8 out of
10 years”
c) sub-paragraph (iii) should
not contain any restriction tied
to the citizenship of parents –
a person born in North Borneo
after Malaysia must be federal
citizen[13].

Point 11: Tariffs and Finance

North Borneo should retain
control of its own finance,
development and tariff[13], and
should have the right to work
up its own taxation and to raise
loans on its own credit.

Point 12: Special position of
indigenous races

In principle the indigenous races
of North Borneo should enjoy
special rights analogous to
those enjoyed by Malays in
Malaya, but the present Malaya
formula in this regard is not
necessarily applicable in North
Borneo[13].

Point 13: State Government

a) the Chief Minister should be
elected by unofficial members
of Legislative Council
b) There should be a proper
Ministerial system in North
Borneo[13].

Point 14: Transitional period

This should be seven years and
during such period legislative
power must be left with the
State of North Borneo by the
Constitution and not be merely
delegated to the State
Government by the Federal
Government[13].

Point 15: Education

The existing educational system
of North Borneo should be
maintained and for this reason
it should be under state control
[13].

Point 16: Constitutional
safeguards

No amendment modification or
withdrawal of any special
safeguard granted to North
Borneo should be made by the
Central Government without the
positive concurrence of the
Government of the State of
North Borneo
The power of amending the
Constitution of the State of
North Borneo should belong
exclusively to the people in the
state[13]. (Note: The United
Party, The Democratic Party and
the Pasok Momogun Party
considered that a three-fourth
majority would be required in
order to effect any amendment
to the Federal and State
Constitutions whereas the UNKO
and USNO considered a two-
thirds majority would be
sufficient.)

Point 17: Representation in
Federal Parliament

This should take account not
only of the population of North
Borneo but also of its size and
potentialities and in any case
should not be less than that of
Singapore[13].

Point 18: Name of Head of State

Yang di-Pertua Negara[13].

Point 19: Name of State

Sabah[13].

Point 20: Land, Forests, Local
Government, etc.

The provisions in the
Constitution of the Federation in
respect of the powers of the
National Land Council should not
apply in North Borneo. Likewise,
the National Council for Local
Government should not apply in
North Borneo