The team, led by Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Maximus Ongkili, is scheduled to leave for the week-long trip on June 19.

“Preliminary research has shown more than 300 documents referring to our rights and matters related to MA63 are at the National Archives in London,” Ongkili said in a statement today.

“There have been so many misconceptions and it is time to set the record right. We need all the facts and figures to enable us to make claims that are rightfully ours.”

He said it was vital for the team to do its homework so that the rights of Sabah and Sabahans were protected.

A similar effort was carried out by the Sarawak government six years ago.

“We are excited as we can now finally access these confidential documents which have been declassified at the National Archives.

“We hope to get a better insight into what transpired prior to our independence in 1963,” he said.

Among the team members are Sabah Attorney-General Nor Asiah Mohd Yusof, Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) special envoy Pandikar Amin Mulia, officials from the ministry’s office and the Sabah and Sarawak affairs division, and representatives from the Sabah chief minister’s department.