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 Central Government must be strong and provide security; it must have powers sufficient for its purpose. But local aspirations and needs must also be recognised and safeguarded. The State Government must be able to protect vital local interests. Some there are no doubt who prefer no change in the existing order of things; to them the answer is that the "winds of change" are blowing and blowing hard, and no good can come out of refusing to face up to this fact, however unpalatable it may be to them. Some would prefer to achieve self-government first before entering into negotiations over Malaysia; this would indeed be attractive if there was a guarantee that the opportunity now presenting itself would still be there to grasp in a few years' time. But there can be no such guarantee. Events in the outside world are moving fast and unpredictably and the danger is that the opportunity, once missed, will not recur. It may indeed be a case of "And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures". Those who would put self-government before Malaysia would do well to reflect on the consequences if the Malaysian plan should come to nothing. Of one thing they may be certain, that there are forces in the world which will not be slow to take advantage of the situation.

16. It is hoped that this publication will help the people of North Borneo to understand the issues on which the Commission will seek their views. It will be the task of the Commission in the light of those views to work out a plan for Malaysia which will be acceptable to the people of North Borneo and Sarawak. There is no reason to suppose that this cannot be successfully accomplished. The people of North Borneo will be given a fair hearing, and it is hoped that after listening to their representations and assessing what modifications of the present Federal Constitution are necessary to meet local conditions, the Commission will be able to recommend a plan that will be workable, endurable, and acceptable to all the participants, not least the of North Borneo.

Jesselton, North Borneo. 31st January, 1962.


 * II.—

The British and Malayan Government have agreed that the creation of a "Federation of Malaysia", embracing the 11 States of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei is a desirable aim. The view of the British Government is that, if satisfactory terms of merger can be agreed, the plan offers the best chance of fulfilling its responsibility to guide the Borneo territories to self-government in conditions that will secure them against dangers from any quarter. A Commission will be visiting North Borneo and Sarawak in the near future to ascertain the views of the peoples these two territories on this proposal and to make recommendations. It will be for the Commission, in the light of the evidence they receive, to work out a plan which they believe will be acceptable to the peoples of both territories.

2. The object of this publication is to explain in simple terms what "Malaysia" means and to assist the people of Sarawak in making up their minds what views they should present to the Commission when it comes. There has already been much discussion on this subject in the newspapers, and there have been some very useful exchanges of views in the Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee, but there is general demand for a factual and objective exposition of Sarawak's place in the Federation of Malaysia.

3. The declared aim of the British Government is to grant independence to all Colonial territories as soon as they are ready for it. Hitherto this has been thought of simply as independence for Sarawak standing by itself or, more recently, in association with North Borneo. Now an opportunity is provided for independence as part of a larger Malaysian unit. There are obvious advantages in this. In area Sarawak is not much smaller than the Federation of Malaya but its population is under three-quarters of a million compared with 7 million in the Federation. It would find it very difficult and very expensive to stand alone as an independent