Federalism makes the nation stronger, say elder statesmen

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia was founded on the premise that its true strength lies in the unity of its constituent regions, say elder statesmen Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

“A federation gives strength to the states. Each state by itself will not be very strong. (That is why) from the very beginning we decided that we should have a federation of many states,” said Mahathir, a former prime minister.

Veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who has been in public service under Malaysia’s first four prime ministers, said one of the main concerns of the British authorities when seeking to withdraw from its colonial territories was the long-term security of the newly independent states.

“You have to think about why they and why we agreed to bring the territories together to form the Malaysian federation,” said Tengku Razaleigh.

“(The British) left with Sarawak already under communist threat, and Singapore facing a communist threat. When we formed Malaysia, we had Macapagal in the Philippines claiming Sabah and on the southern side we had Sukarno in Indonesia wanting to crush Malaysia,” said Tengku Razaleigh, who is known as Ku Li.

The Philippines, under President Diosdado Macapagal, claimed sovereignty over Sabah and opposed the formation of Malaysia, breaking off diplomatic relations, which were not fully restored until 1969. He also proposed the Maphilindo concept to unite Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Indonesian President Sukarno, on his part, launched his Confrontation campaign from 1963 to 1966, an undeclared war to “Ganyang Malaysia” (crush Malaysia) with the aim of asserting Indonesia’s dominance in the region. The Confrontation involved Indonesian paratroopers being sent to land in Batu Pahat and Melaka, and cross-border raids into Sabah and Sarawak.

Current threats

Tengku Razaleigh noted that in the present day Malaysia is faced with tensions constantly on the rise from the long standing rivalry between the US and China, and China’s incessant efforts to expand its claim to the South China Sea.

Malaysia must work as a collective unit to protect its territory and resources, said Tengku Razaleigh.

He said the stakes had been raised even higher with the development of Indonesia’s new capital city Nusantara, in eastern Borneo, through which Indonesia would have “a lot of influence in Borneo and what happens in Sabah and Sarawak”.

Federalism afforded Malaysia the best protection against military and political threats, said Razaleigh, a one-time finance minister. Arguing against separatist sentiments in Sabah and Sarawak, he said:

“Can you imagine the amount of money that we would have to spend if there is going to be a breakup (of the federation)?

“Can you imagine each (new) country having to spend and build up a new navy, new air force, new this, new that? You have China, you have America in the Pacific. Can you imagine?”

Defence spending

The government has announced measures to improve East Malaysia’s resilience by building new naval and air force bases in Bintulu, Sarawak.

The cost of setting up the two bases has not been disclosed. However, the cost of procuring military equipment alone is bound to run into tens of billions of ringgit, with the Bintulu base being designed to accommodate Malaysia’s littoral mission ships, which reportedly cost RM800 million each.

Under the constitution, national defence is the responsibility of the federal government. Last week, the government announced in its 2025 budget an allocation of RM21.2 billion for the defence ministry, an increase of RM1.4 billion compared to the 2024 allocation.

However, maritime expert Salawati Mat Basir of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia fears the government has not given national security adequate priority in its spending plans.

Other experts, taking into account geopolitical risks and other security challenges, say Malaysia must rapidly modernise its ageing military assets. However, doing so is an expensive undertaking, and there are competing priorities such as education and healthcare.

Claims on revenue

In addition, several states have in recent years sought to demand a greater share of national revenue.

Earlier this year, the Penang and Johor state governments indicated a desire to reclaim at least 20% of federal tax revenue collected from their states, while the state governments of Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak have sought a larger slice of royalties from oil revenue.

Legal action has also been taken by the Sabah Law Society over the state’s entitlement to a special grant promised under the Federal Constitution.

Sarawak has taken further steps using state law in its campaign to take over the role of gas aggregator from Petronas, which draws 90% of its liquefied natural gas supplies from the state’s waters.

The dispute has led to quiet whispers suggesting that Sarawak agitate to leave the federation if it does not get its way. Similar separatist sentiments have also been raised in the past in Sabah.

However, Mahathir places little value in such idle talk, attributing them to “some extremists”. He urged all parties to work at a compromise that will keep the federation intact.