Malaysia has a strange land composition, with its 330,000 square kilometers of land made up of two disconnected territories.
The Malay Peninsula (West Malaysia) to the west and the northern part of Kalimantan (East Malaysia) are also more than 600 kilometres away at the closest point.
East Malaysia and West Malaysia.
Malaysia has a population of about 34 million, of which West Malaysia accounts for 39% of the country's total area5%, but with 80% of the population of Malaysia, East Malaysia is larger but sparsely populated.
Population density in Malaysia.
In addition to the physical and geographical differences, there is also a huge political gap between East Malaysia and West Malaysia. East Malaysia is divided into two states, Sarawak and Sabah, which retain great autonomy in education, immigration policy, law, resource development and distribution of benefits.
For a long time, even Malaysians (West Malaysian household registration) must apply for a domestic visa for East Malaysia to enter East Malaysia.
Even if the entry restrictions on West Malaysians were moderately relaxed after 2006, West Malaysians were still not allowed to stay in East Malaysia for more than three months, making it difficult for them to participate in elections and find employment.
Possession of a Malaysian identity card is not allowed to enter and exit East Malaysia at will.
If a foreigner enters the country from West Malaysia for tourism, if he wants to go to East Malaysia, he also needs to stamp another entry stamp by East Malaysia Customs, which is extremely rare in a unified sovereign country.
So why do the two states of East Malaysia have such a special domestic status?In the game of centralization and local autonomy, Malaysia has fought several power struggles with the East Malaysian region
Kuching, the capital of Sarawak in East Malaysia.
I. Indigenous Worlds
Southeast Asia is composed of two parts, the Indochina Peninsula and the Nanyang Islands, which are inhabited by Austronesian peoples (including the present-day Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.). The Malays are a branch of the Austronesian people, and they are now the majority ethnic group in Malaysia, mainly distributed in the Malay Peninsula.
Southeast Asia. Malays are also found in small numbers on the surrounding islands, such as northern Kalimantan (East Malaysia). The closest distance between the Malay Peninsula and Kalimantan is 600 kilometres, and there was little connection between the two in ancient times, when it was difficult to get around. On the contrary, the Malay Peninsula is more closely connected with the islands of Sumatra and Java.
Compared to other Austronesian peoples, the Malays lived in an area where civilization was established earlier. From the 7th to the 15th century, under the influence of the interaction between Chinese and Indian civilizations, the Malays successively established regional regimes such as Srivijaya and Majapahit in the Malay Peninsula and surrounding areas, and Buddhism also took root and developed here.
Srivijaya. After the 10th century, Islam followed in the footsteps of Arab traders to Southeast Asia. Islam preaches the doctrine that the believers are brothers and sisters to bring salvation to the people at the bottom, and the Malay Peninsula, located at the heart of the sea, was the first to Islamize.
By the 15th century, the Islamic kingdom of Malacca had risen to replace the regional hegemony of Majapahit, and Buddhism was in decline in the South Sea Islands.
Religion map of Southeast Asia.
To the east of the Malay Peninsula is the 740,000-square-kilometre island of Kalimantan (Borneo), ruled by the Brunei Empire, established in the 14th century. This is also an Islamic regime established by the Malays. The two states that are now part of East Malaysia have been part of Brunei for hundreds of years.
Compared to the Malay Peninsula, the Malays of Kalamantan are not overwhelmingly majority, and there are also indigenous peoples such as Kadashan and Dayak living here. These peoples are also Austronesian peoples, and their culture is similar to the Malays, but the level of civilization lags behind the Malays.
Distribution of Austronesian peoples.
After the 16th century, Western countries such as Portugal, the Netherlands, and Britain successively extended their tentacles into the South Sea Islands. They tried to establish a colonial stronghold in the area and thus control the lucrative spices**.
The Brunei Empire declined after the 16th century, and its northeastern territory (present-day East Malaysia-Sabah) was occupied by the Kingdom of Sulu from the Philippines, and the declining Brunei Empire was able to control only the northwestern part of Kaliman Island (present-day Brunei, East Malaysia, Sarawak).
Ancient Southeast Asia (Bo Ni i.e. Brunei).
Second, the neighbors under the rice word
By the beginning of the 19th century, the British, who had established themselves in India, continued to expand eastward. Britain set its sights on the Malay Peninsula, and by 1824 Britain had taken control of Penang, Singapore, and Malacca, and the British integrated the three into the Straits Settlements as a stepping stone on the Malay Peninsula.
The Dutch, who had been expelled from the Malay Peninsula, focused on the island of Java and expanded to the surrounding outer islands such as Sumatra and southern Kalimantan.
Brunei-ruled northwestern Kalimantan was in turmoil in the 1840s due to excessive taxes. The Sultan of Brunei's uncle, Hassin, was ordered to quell the rebellion, and he enlisted the help of the British explorer James Brooke.
Hasin (left) and Brooke (right).
Brooke played a huge role in counterinsurgency, but Hasin tried to destroy the mines promised to Brooke due to domestic conflicts. Annoyed, Brooke led an expedition to war against Hasin in armed ships, and in the face of the crushing of the advanced **, Brunei was forced to cede Kuching (the capital of present-day Sarawak) and a large area of surrounding land to Brooke.
In 1842, Brooke accepted the canonization of the Sultan of Brunei and became the Raja of Sarawak (from Sanskrit for maharaja). Brooke continued to pressure the Sultan of Brunei to gain control of the whole of Sarawak and become an independent regime, and the Sultan of Brunei was confined to the perimeter of the capital (within the territory of present-day Brunei).
Expansion of the Kingdom of Sarawak.
Southeast Asia is just one of the scenes of the global colonial hegemony of the great powers, after the 60s of the 19th century, France invaded Vietnam and Cambodia from the sea;The Dutch controlled most of the islands in the South Seas.
The United States leased Sabah from the Kingdom of Sulu in 1865 and was acquired by the British in 1882. In 1888, Sabah became a British protectorate, along with neighbouring Brunei. In the same year, the Brooke dynasty, which ruled Sarawak, accepted Britain as its suzerainty and became a British protectorate.
The political map of Borneo was thus stable, with the British-controlled protectorate of Sarawak and Brunei and the Sabah colony in the north, with the British-controlled area accounting for 27% of Borneo's total area and the remaining 73% of the land controlled by the Dutch East Indies.
Great powers invade Southeast Asia.
At the same time as the European powers colonized and expanded, a large number of Chinese came to Nanyang to make a living. The relatively loosely managed, fast-growing British colony was one of the main destinations for the Chinese.
In order to suppress the Malays, the British actively recruited Chinese. The Chinese began to make their mark in the fields of commerce and mining, and soon surpassed the Malays in the standard of living. By the beginning of the 20th century, the Chinese footprint had expanded from commercial towns to the interior of Peninsular Malaysia, where they accounted for 40% of the local population.
Chinese in Southeast Asia.
Britain continued to refine the administrative structure of the Southeast Asian territories, and in addition to controlling North Borneo, Britain continued to infiltrate the Malay Peninsula with the Straits Settlements as a pedal. The local Malay states turned to Britain under military threat and economic **.
In 1896, Britain consolidated the four Malay states into the Federation of Malays. By 1914, five more states had been consolidated into Malay subject states, and with the addition of the Straits Settlements under direct British control, the British had taken complete control of the southern part of the Malay Peninsula (present-day West Malaysia).
The Malay Peninsula under British rule.
East Malaysia was also a British colony at the time, but it was governed by the British North Borneo Chartered Company (Sabah) and the Brooke Dynasty (Sarawak, British Protectorate), and was not under the same colonial framework as the Malay Peninsula.
After the end of World War II, the national power of the old colonial empires declined, Vietnam and Cambodia became independent from France, and Indonesia also repelled the invasion of the Netherlands and gained independence.
Indonesia independence. The Malay Peninsula is located on the Strait of Malacca, which is important and small, and the British still have the power to control it. In particular, after World War II, the communist forces of many countries in Southeast Asia continued to grow, and in order to prevent the Machimadians from seizing power and triggering the so-called "domino effect" in Southeast Asia, Britain decided to postpone its withdrawal from Southeast Asia.
The Malays feared that after the British withdrew, the Chinese, who had a higher economic status, would turn against the Chinese. The British complied with the Malays' demands, and the Malay Peninsula was integrated into the Federation of Malaya with the exception of Singapore.
On the island of Kalimantan, Sabah was upgraded to a British Crown Colony, but Sarawak was in turmoil. The third white Raja Charles Brooke was reluctant to pass the throne to his nephew, who had political differences with him, and simply handed over the rule of Sarawak to the British.
Raja, the last white man of the Sarawak Kingdom.
Sarawak had a population of about 600,000 at the time, of which 50% were Iban, 25% Malay and 25% Chinese, and the rest were other indigenous groups. The locals have always wanted to completely colonize and establish their own country. The white Rajah privately handed over the rule of Sarawak to the British, triggering an "anti-concession movement" in the region.
The movement lasted from 1946 to 1950, when the British Governor General in Sarawak was assassinated by local nationalists and a large number of schools and organizations were shut down, and the British eventually took control of Sarawak.
Anti-concession movement.
On the whole, the colonial rule of the great powers has laid the foundation for the geopolitical pattern of Southeast Asia today. As the suzerainty of Malaysia, Britain pursued different colonial policies in Peninsular Malaysia, North Borneo, and Sarawak. After the decline of Britain after World War II, under the pattern of hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union, the British colonies in Southeast Asia also underwent drastic changes, and Malaysia will be born in this change.
3. The oppressed indigenous people of East Malaysia
In 1957, Britain announced its withdrawal from Malaya and recognized the independence of the Federation of Malaya. At this time, the fate of the three British territories in Kalimantan (North Borneo) was the focus of attention.
Malaya independence.
Historically, the Malay Peninsula and Borneo have had little connection in history, and it stands to reason that the two sides should be established separately. Back in the early 50s, the British planned to have the three states of North Borneo (Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei) imitate the Malayan way, and eventually gain independence by forming a federation through increasing autonomy.
This model is quite marketable among the people of the three states, because the indigenous ethnic groups in the three states, mainly the Iban, want to protect their interests, and the Chinese, who make up about 20% of the population of the three states, also support it, believing that it will better protect the Chinese monopoly on local commerce.
The Chinese of North Borneo.
After the independence of Malaya in 1957, the federal plans of North Borneo were challenged. The Malays are also an important ethnic group in Pak Po, accounting for more than 30% of the local population. Before the advent of the modern colonial era, Sarawak and Sabah were ruled by the Malay Brunei for a long time.
Even after World War II, Sarah was a British direct colony, but Brunei was a protectorate and the country had more autonomy.
In 1961, Malaya first proposed the idea of forming Malaysia with Singapore and the three states of Pak Po. At that time, the population of Malaya was over 6 million, and the total number of the three states of North Pha was 1 million. Minorities felt that merging with Malaya would harm their interests, while the Sultan of Brunei expressed support.
North Po Sambang. At the same time, Indonesia, which controls the southern part of the island of Karamantan (South Borneo), has shown great interest in North Po. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, Indonesian nationalists who were still under Dutch colonial rule developed a theory that the entire Nanyang Islands would be integrated under a "Pan-South Island national regime" under Indonesian leadership, which developed into "Greater Indonesianism" after Indonesia's independence, which was regarded by Indonesia as an important measure against colonial remnants.
In the eyes of Indonesians, the entire Nanyang Islands are the scope of "Greater Indonesia", and the current territorial scope of Malaysia and Indonesia is a colonial product, which should be integrated into a unified Austronesian nation-state according to the actual ethnic composition of the local area.
Indonesia's ambitions.
Due to the lack of established local political parties in Sarawak and Sabah, Brunei led the political direction of Banda Phar, and the ruling party of Brunei, which supported the Bandar Phra Federation, staged a coup d'état to try to take control of the Sultan of Brunei.
Indonesia actively supported the coup d'état, hoping to annex North Borneo. In order to prevent the local situation from getting out of control, the overlord Britain quickly sent troops to extinguish the coup d'état, and the Beipo plan suffered a heavy blow.
Flag of the Federation of North Borneo.
Indonesia's geopolitical expansionist ambitions threatened British interests, and in order to prevent the North Po from falling into the hands of Indonesia, the British began to strongly support the Malaysian plan after the abortion of the North Po federal plan.
In 1963, after a symbolic inquiry, the British announced that the majority of Sarawak and Sabah people in Pak Po had agreed to form a federation with Malaya (Brunei eventually gave up joining because of a dispute over oil interests).
For the residents of Sarawak and Sabah, it is clear that negotiating with Malaya, with a population of 6.2 million, is much better than negotiating with Indonesia, with a population of 92 million, since the former and himself were born out of a British colony, while the latter is so populous that joining Indonesia will only turn them into a marginal land of exploitation.
Indonesia is a behemoth.
The population of Sarasand is more than 900,000, which is only 14% of Malaya. However, the combined area of the two places is 152% of Malaya's, and local indigenous interests have entered into negotiations with Malaya** to obtain more rights.
In the summer of 1963, Sabah and Sarawak signed the "20-Point Agreement" and "18-Point Agreement" with Malaya respectively, and the two places (plus Singapore) and Malaya jointly formed the Federation of Malaysia on an equal footing. Sarak and Sand have local heads of state (fictitious), and the actual operation is the responsibility of the local prime minister.
At the beginning of the Federation, Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak and Sabah were four first-tier political entities, with the provinces or states within each entity under them.
Malaysia was established on the history line.
In order to form a federation, Malaya made huge concessions in the distribution of rights. Under the agreement, Malaya will provide US$500 million in aid to Sarawak over the next five years (Malaysia's GDP was US$2.5 billion at the time).
Sarah Sha can have an independent education system and does not have to make Malay and Islam the Chinese and state religions as in Malaya. If a law promulgated by the Federation of Malaysia** harms the interests of Sarawa, both places may refuse to amend the law.
The first local ** in Sarawak was sworn in.
In addition, in order to prevent a large influx of Malays into East Malaysia and change the local ethnic structure, the two states have the right to control the entry of local immigrants. Even West Malaysians, who are also Malaysian nationals, must obtain a domestic visa to come to East Malaysia, and are not allowed to stay in East Malaysia for a long time, let alone participate in local political elections.
East Malaysia is rich in forestry and mineral resources, and according to the agreement, East Malaysia can obtain 40% of the benefits from the resources. With these clauses, East Malaysia can well guarantee its own interests.
East Malaysia Gas Field. After the establishment of Malaysia, Indonesia's geopolitical goals were frustrated, but its domestic radicals were not willing to accept defeat. Since April 1964, Indonesian personnel have frequently crossed the border into East Malaysia and attacked police stations and villages. By September of that year, Indonesian paratroopers had even raided a number of coastal towns in West Malaysia, and Singapore's MacDonald Tower was attacked.
Sukarno, who was in charge of Indonesia at the time, had a tendency to be close to the Soviet Union in his political stance, and in order to prevent the regional situation from being unfavorable, the United States, Britain, and Australia began to assist in the defense of Malaysia. The India-Malaysia confrontation lasted until August 1966, when it ended with the coming to power of the Indonesian army, with more than 1,000 people from both countries.
Soekarno. After the external threat was resolved, with the consolidation of the Malaysian regime, the Malays, who occupy the majority of the population and control the regime, began to emphasize the "Malay supremacy" and continuously curtailed the rights of the Chinese and the indigenous people of East Malaysia. In order to dilute the proportion of Chinese, the Chinese-dominated Singapore was even kicked out of the federation in 1965 and forced to become independent.
Singapore has developed rapidly through entrepots**, finance and some industrial support, while Brunei, which did not join Malaysia, has quickly become rich with rich oil reserves, and Brunei and Singapore, two small countries, have become the countries with the highest per capita income in Southeast Asia.
Singapore at night.
According to the agreement, East Malaysia has the right to retain the local education system. However, due to the backward local economy, there is a lack of sufficient teachers. A large number of Malay teachers have entered East Malaysia, and the local education system has gradually become Malayized, that is, the Malay language and Malay culture are emphasized.
In 1973, Sabah was the first to introduce Malay as the official language of the region. Sarawak has both English and Malay as the official languages of the region.
In 1974, Malaysia** promulgated the Petroleum Exploitation Act. By stripping East Malaysia of its control over the coastal continental shelf, the distribution of profits from local oil extraction has been reduced from 40% to 5%, which has greatly deepened East Malaysia's fiscal dependence on Malaysia**.
East Malaysia's rights are compressed.
In 1976, Hussein Aoun, then Prime Minister of Malaysia, pushed for constitutional amendments. The two states of East Malaysia have lost their status as first-class political entities on a par with Malaya and have been reduced to the same status as the subordinate states of Malaya.
The two places in East Malaysia were originally on the same level as the whole of West Malaysia.
The Bumiputera of East Malaysia have organized political parties, but they have long been isolated from the periphery of Malaysia and have even become vassals of Malay politicians. Against this backdrop, this constitutional amendment, which harms the interests of East Malaysia, has been approved by the East Malaysian parliamentarians. East Malaysia's political status has plummeted, and it is even more powerless to confront Malaysia***
In 1981, Mahathir was elected prime minister of Malaysia and governed the country for 22 years. Malaysia's stable political environment, coupled with the influence of Western industrial relocation and East Malaysia's oil development, Malaysia's economic development has entered the fast lane, gradually developing from an agricultural country to a newly industrialized country.
Mahathir. After the 90s, Mahathir Mohamad initiated a series of major infrastructure construction, such as the Kuala Lumpur Petronas Twin Towers, Putrajaya Administrative Centre, North-South Expressway, etc. All of these infrastructures are located in West Malaysia, further enhancing the local economy. Malaysia's economy continues to soar, and its per capita GDP is second only to Singapore and Brunei, two small countries in Southeast Asia.
On the other hand, due to the single industrial structure and lack of adequate infrastructure, a large number of East Malaysians have no choice but to leave their hometowns to work in West Malaysia.
Bustling West Malaysia.
As of the beginning of the 21st century, among the many original rights in East Malaysia, only immigration restrictions have been well enforced. This is also due to the backward economy of East Malaysia, and West Malaysians do not have enough motivation to go to East Malaysia. There are also restrictions on the movement of people between Sabah and Sarawak, but compared to West Malaysia, the border control between Sabah and Sarawak is relatively relaxed.
However, in 2006, Malaysia** still abolished the domestic visa policy in East Malaysia, which had been in place for half a century. West Malaysians can enter East Malaysia with their Malaysian identity card, but their stay is still not more than 3 months.
One country, East Malaysia also has additional documents.
It is not difficult to see that after the establishment of Malaysia, the local rights of East Malaysia have not been adequately protected, and only the right of immigration governance can be regarded as the last fig leaf of dignity in East Malaysia. The widening development gap between East Malaysia and West Malaysia has further weakened the position of East Malaysia.
Unwilling to lose power, the opportunity has finally come for the indigenous people of East Malaysia to take advantage of the political turmoil in Malaysia to regain their rights.
East Malaysian politicians have called for the burden on the people to be reduced.
Fourth, the revolt of East Malaysia
At the beginning of the establishment of Malaysia, the lower house of parliament, which is the core of Malaysia's power, had a total of 130 members, and the seats were allocated according to the population and land area of West Malaysia and all parts of East Malaysia, with a total of 48 seats.
In the second half of the 20th century, UMNO, which represents the interests of the Malays, controlled the Malaysian regime for a long time. UMNO has organized a bunch of small political parties to form a "national line" and has long controlled the majority of seats in the Malaysian parliament. The political parties in East Malaysia are weak and scattered, unable to defend their own interests, let alone influence the political situation in Malaysia.
The House of Commons of the Malaysian Parliament.
In 2008, the number of members of the lower house of the Malaysian parliament was set at 222, a slight increase from the previous number. Sabah and Sarawak have a total of 56 members, accounting for 25 of the total number of parliamentarians2%。At this time, the development of political parties in East Malaysia is becoming more and more mature, and it has a certain influence on Malaysia**.
Although the proportion of seats in East Malaysia has declined, its importance has been highlighted in the case of Malaysia, which is also the confidence of the two states of East Malaysia to regain power.
Party politics in East Malaysia is maturing.
In 2013, Barisan Nasional (BN), which has been in charge of Malaysia for more than half a century, caused a series of corruption scandals, including corruption in East Malaysia's oil and gas resources. This year is the year of the Malaysian Parliament, Barisan Nasional has temporarily stabilized its power, and the corruption scandal has still triggered the awakening of the local consciousness of East Malaysians.
East Malaysian NGOs began to call on local people to march and demand that Malaysia comply with the 1963 Constitution and return local autonomy such as oil and gas exploration in East Malaysia.
At the same time, East Malaysian MP Darell Leiking first proposed the restoration of Sasa's autonomy in Parliament, and 2013 is seen as the beginning of the East Malaysian struggle for autonomy movement, known as the Sasa Restoration Movement.
Flag of Sarawak.
After a series of scandals and a dwindling number of parliamentary seats, the rising Pakatan Harapan (PH) has tried to shake the political foundation of BN. At this time, the more than 50 parliamentary seats controlled by the East Malaysian political parties will fall, which side will become an important factor affecting the political trend of Malaysia.
Sarawak Prime Minister Anand met with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in 2016. In order to win over, Ma ** made a commitment to decentralize 13 powers. For example, judicial power, increasing the proportion of local people in civil servants and teachers, etc.
Najib. Barisan Nasional's overtures failed to impress the East Malaysian parties, as the core policy of BN is still to protect the interests of the Malays, and in the 2018 parliament**, most of the East Malaysian parties went to the opposition Pakatan Harapan (PH).
Thanks to the support of East Malaysia, Pakatan Harapan won by a narrow margin, and Barisan Nasional (BN), which had been in power in Malaysia for 55 years, lost power for the first time. Since then, the political force in East Malaysia has become Malaysia's "kingmaker", and for the first time among the deputy prime ministers, East Malaysians have emerged, and East Malaysia has shaken off its political marginal status.
In 2019, the East Malaysian political party, as a member of the ruling coalition, pushed for Malaysia to restore the 1963 Constitution, which states that Sarawak and Sabah are equal states to Malaya, rather than on an equal footing with Malaya's 11 states.
The constitutional amendment bill entered the parliament for discussion, but after coming to power, Pakatan Harapan forgot the promise it had made to the East Malaysians and did not want to lose the power to exploit oil and gas resources in East Malaysia because of the constitutional amendment, and the constitutional amendment was finally vetoed.
A gas pipeline across East Malaysia.
In 2020, the ruling Pakatan Harapan (Sheraton coup) caused internal conflicts over the issue of **people. A number of political parties in East Malaysia have left the ruling coalition and switched to support the opposition Barisan Nasional. Eventually, Pakatan Harapan lost its ruling position and Barisan Nasional (BN) came to power again.
In December 2021, the Malaysian National Assembly unanimously passed the constitutional amendment to the Malaysia Agreement 1963, which allows Sabah and Sarawak to enjoy equal status with Malaya (West Malaysia), that is, to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as "states" when they joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, and the two places are still commonly known as "states".
East Malaysia has asked for a return to its original status.
In the decade from 2013 to 2023, East Malaysia took advantage of the political turmoil in Malaysia to successfully become a "kingmaker" from a marginal force.
Despite some achievements, East Malaysia's economic development and population size still lag far behind West Malaysia's. In terms of industry, East Malaysia uses natural resources to develop tourism and other service industries, but it does not have the financial and high-tech industries with complete systems and high rates of return like West Malaysia.
There are no high value-added industries in East Malaysia, and oil and gas revenues are deprived.
In terms of education, the number of universities in East Malaysia is far less than that in West Malaysia, which means that there is a lack of sufficient talent pool. Local elites are also more willing to work and live in West Malaysia.
Although the status of the state has been restored, East Malaysia has not yet recovered the power of oil and gas exploration, so it does not have enough funds to promote development and construction. The two states of East Malaysia had no choice but to use the immigration control they still held in their hands to strictly restrict the entry and residence of West Malaysians to avoid being impacted by West Malaysian immigrants.
Proportion of ethnic groups in East Malaysia.
As a result, even foreign tourists entering the country from West Malaysia are required to stamp an entry stamp in their passports if they want to travel to East Malaysia.
The recovery of local autonomy is regarded as an important part of East Malaysia's development, and it is still working hard to regain its autonomy amid change.
East Malaysia's sense of belonging to Malaysia still needs to be improved.