Anti-Federal Sentiment in Sabah and its Impact on Malaysian Politics (Sentimen Anti Persekutuan di Sabah dan Impaknya terhadap Politik Malaysia)

Abstract

The conflict between the federal government and the state of Sabah has occurred since 1963 stemming from the dissatisfaction of the people of Sabah towards the implementation of their autonomy rights as contained in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63). This dissatisfaction led to an anti-federal sentiment among the people of Sabah towards the federal government, which threatened the stability of the Federation of Malaysia. Hence, this study examines the factors leading to the emergence of anti-federal sentiment in Sabah and assesses the impact of such sentiment on Malaysian politics utilising the concept of federalism as an analytical tools. The primary source of this artile comprised interviews, whereas books, journals, official government reports, articles and news portals were used as its secondary sources. Findings revealed that the factors promoting the anti-federal sentiment among Sabahans are thedissatisfaction with the implementation of autonomy rights and MA63, the imbalance in infrastructure development, the socio-economic gap between Sabah and the states in the Peninsula, distribution of oil royalties and the presence of illegal immigrants. This anti-federal sentiment has createda strained relationship between the federal government and Sabah, the demand for self-government, the fading of patriotism, the threat to national harmony and unity, the rise of state nationalism and the decline of the people's nationalism. Consequently, this sentiment threatens the stability of the federation and therefore requires an immediate solution to maintain national unity and sovereignty.

Keywords: Federation of Malaysia; Malaysia Agreement 1963; Sabah; state nationalism; anti-federal

Abstrak

Konflik kerajaan persekutuan dengan negeri Sabah telah berlaku sejak tahun 1963 lagi akibat perasaan tidak puas hati rakyat Sabah terhadap pelaksanaan hak-hak autonomi mereka seperti yang terkandung dalam Perjanjian Malaysia 1963 (MA63). Ini kemudiannya mewujudkan perasaan anti federal rakyat Sabah terhadap kerajaan pusat yang menggugat kestabilan Persekutuan Malaysia. Dengan menggunakan konsep federalisme sebagai alat analisis, artikel ini meneliti faktor yang menyebabkan munculnya sentimen anti persekutuan di Sabah dan menilai impak sentimen tersebut terhadap politik Malaysia. Sumber primer artikel ini adalah melalui temu bual, manakala sumber sekunder pula adalah dari buku, jurnal, laporan rasmi kerajaan, makalah dan portal berita. Hasil analisis mendapati faktor timbulnya sentimen anti persekutuan penduduk Sabah adalah kerana mereka tidak berpuas hati dengan pelaksanaan hak autonomi dan MA63, ketidakseimbangan pembangunan infrastruktur, jurang sosioekonomi antara Sabah dengan negeri-negeri di Semenanjung, pengagihan royalti minyak dan isu pendatang asing tanpa izin.  Impak sentimen anti persekutuan ini adalah tegangnya hubungan kerajaan persekutuan dengan Sabah, tuntutan hak berpemerintahan sendiri, pudarnya semangat patriotisme, terancamnya keharmonian dan perpaduan negara, bangkitnya nasionalisme kenegerian, dan merosotnya semangat nasionalisme rakyat. Kesan sentimen ini menggugat kestabilan persekutuan dan oleh itu penyelesaian segera perlu dicari bagi mengekalkan perpaduan dan kedaulatan negara. 

Kata kunci: Persekutuan Malaysia; Perjanjian Malaysia 1963; Sabah; state nationalism, anti-federal