Fifty years later, it's clear that it's Malaya which turned out to be the real crocodile, and a big one too, in the region. The sovereignty of Sabah rests with its people, not in Putrajaya, Manila, Sulu, Brunei or elsewhere. 

Joe Fernandez 

There's a comment in Malaysia Today that if Sabah opts for freedom, the Philippines is waiting (meaning to swallow Sabah).

This is the same bogeyman story that we were told in 1963 by the Malayan Government and the British: that the Philippines and Indonesia are the big crocodiles in the region, waiting to swallow Sabah and Sarawak after the British leave.

This story was concocted when Sabah and Sarawak hesitated --- after they had exercised their self-determination for independence and obtained it on 31 Aug 1963 and 22 July 1963 respectively --- to enter Malaysia on 16 Sept 1963 to facilitate Singapore's independence via Malaysia through merger with Malaya.

Sabah, like Sarawak, was promised security through Malaysia.

Where's the security promised to Sabah through Malaysia? No security as the ongoing Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) makes it abundantly clear.

By 2005, 1.7 million foreigners had not only swamped the 1.5 million locals in Sabah, they had also entered the electoral rolls to marginalise and disenfranchise the locals especially the Orang Asal.

Fifty years later, it's clear that it's Malaya which turned out to be the real crocodile, and a big one too, in the region.

The sovereignty of Sabah rests with its people, not in Putrajaya, Manila, Sulu, Brunei or elsewhere.

That's under international law, the UN Charter, our history, Adat and the constitutional documents which make up the unwritten Constitution of Malaysia.

The self-determination of the people of Sabah is an option and initiative to be exercised solely by them.