The Cobbold Commission, was a Commission of Enquiry set up to determine whether the people of

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...

(now

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

) and

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

supported the proposal to create the Federation of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

consisting of

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, and

. It was also responsible for the subsequent drafting of the

Constitution of Malaysia The Federal Constitution of Malaysia ( ms, Perlembagaan Persekutuan Malaysia) which was promulgated on 16 September 1963, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 articles. It is a written legal document which was preceded ...

prior to the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. The Commission was headed by former

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

governor, Lord Cobbold.

Members

Signing-of-the-Cobbold-Report-of-the-Commission-of-Enquiry-North-Borneo-and-Sarawak

Members of the Commission were: * Lord Cobbold, former Governor of the

, chairman of the Commission *

Wong Pow Nee Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee (7 October 1911 – 31 August 2002) was a Malaysian politician and diplomat. He was Penang's first Chief Minister,Ng 2007 serving from 1957 to 1969 and Malaysia's first Ambassador to Rome. Early history He was born in Bu ...

, Chief Minister of Penang, *

Ghazali Shafie Tun Muhammad Ghazali bin Shafie ( ms, محمد غزالي بن شافعي, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 22 March 1922 – 24 January 2010) was a Malaysian politician and diplomat. He served under the administrations of four Prime Mi ...

, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs *

Anthony Abell Sir Anthony Foster Abell (11 December 1906 – 8 October 1994) was a British colonial official who was Governor of Sarawak and High Commissioner to Brunei. Career Abell was born in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, on 11 December 1906, the son of Georg ...

, former Governor of Sarawak * David Watherston, former Chief Secretary Of Malaya.

Report

The Commission released its findings, report and recommendations on 1 August 1962. It concluded that the formation of Malaysia should be implemented. However, Lord Cobbold also stressed that all parties enter the federation as equal partners. However , Lord Cobbold concealed his personal secret letter to Mr Macmilliam on 21 June 1962 : " I have supported Malaysia in the report on the assumption that Singapore also joins in .... if Singapore were to drop out , a federation between Malaya and the Borneo territories without Singapore would have few attractions."205722212 THE MAKING OF THE FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA BY AJ STOCKWELL PG 317 ARTICLE 119 The findings were summarised by Lord Cobbold as follows:

Table of content

:COMPOSITION OF THE COMMISSION :TERM OF REFERENCE :INTRODUCTION ::1. ENQUIRY IN SARAWAK ::2. ENQUIRY IN NORTH BORNEO ::3. ASSESSMENT OF EVIDENCE ::4. Recommendations :::A—Recommendations on certain general matters :::B—Recommendations by Sir Anthony Abell and Sir David Watherston :::C—Recommendations by Dato Wong Pow Nee and Enche Mohammed Ghazali bin Shafie :::D—Summary of Recommendations in Sections B and C, and Comments, by the Chairman ::5. OTHER MATTERS ::6. THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS :''Appendices'' :A. Itinerary :B. Census Abstract :C. Cardinal Principles of the rule of the English Rajah :D. Legal Meaning of the Term "Native" :E. North Borneo and Sarawak Governments Papers on Malaysia :F. "Memorandum on Malaysia" Submitted by the Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee :Map of the Borneo Territories

References

External links

Report of the Commission of Enquiry, North Borneo and Sarawak, 1962
full report)
UN General Assembly 15th Session - The Trusteeship System and Non-Self-Governing Territories (pages:509-510)

UN General Assembly 18th Session - the Question of Malaysia (pages:41-44)
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Members

Report

Table of content

See also

References

External links