Page:Report of the Commission of Enquiry North Borneo & Sarawak.pdf/58

 would be to make recommendations to the three Governments as to the timing and manner of the integration into the Federal system of existing laws and practices, and of those Departments in the Borneo territories which are to become Federal. A particular concern of the Committee would be the question of the special safeguards for the Borneo territories which we have recommended in paragraph l48(b) of this report should be incorporated into the Constitution of the new Federation. We recommend that, in addition to senior officials of the Governments, one or more unofficlals from each of the Borneo territories should be appointed to this Joint Committee.

Under the general supervision of this Committee we recommend that there should be such Joint Working Parties as are found to be necessary to examine certain ﬁelds in detail. We visualise that formal Working Parties will be required at least to consider the judicial, educational, and economic ﬁelds, and the public services; and there will certainly be others. In those cases where separate Working Parties are needed for each territory, there should be equal representation of the Federal Government and of the State Government concerned.

The Joint Committee and the Working Parties should give the highest priority to their task so that it can be completed and the new arrangements introduced with the least possible delay.

(g) There should be close co-operation during the transitional period between the Federal Government and the Governments of the Borneo territories on all matters affecting their joint interests. In view of its importance, the Federal Government should be closely associated from the start with rural development. We have recommended in paragraph 170 the setting-up of a Development Board.

(h) The basis of employment of the expatriate staff during the transitional period should remain unchanged. At the end of the period, a compensation scheme should be introduced which we recommend should be as generous as possible and should be so devised as to give these officers the maximum encouragement to stay on for a further period if required.

(i) We recommend that the transitional period should be for ﬁve years from the date of the creation of the new Federation but that this period should be adjustable to a minimum or three years or a maximum of seven years. During this period the state Government should make appropriate financial contributions to the cost of services transferred to the Federal Government. The basis on which these contributions are computed would have to be varied from time to time if, as is to be expected during this stage, the Joint Committee and Working Parties referred to in sub-paragraph (f) above recommend that a State Department could be transferred to the Federal Government. The expatriate staff of such a Department should, however, remain a State responsibility for the duration of the transitional period for the reasons set out in sub-paragraph (h) above.