Ku Li cites constitution in autonomy debate with Jo-anna Rampas

In an exclusive interview with FMT Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah claims many East Malaysians tend to mistake autonomy for independence.

In an exclusive interview, FMT guest host Jo-anna Rampas recently asked the veteran statesman how Malaysians should navigate the growing tension between state rights and federal needs, as the two states seek greater autonomy, with some even suggesting secession.

“How do you define your autonomy,” asked Tengku Razaleigh, who served as MP for 48 years until 2022 and as federal minister from 1976 to 1987.

He said many in East Malaysia appear to be confusing autonomy with independence.

Tengku Razaleigh stressed that all states, including Sabah and Sarawak, must function within the federation’s constitutional structure, adding that the autonomy they seek is already provided for in the Federal Constitution.

“You have to work within the framework of the constitution,” he told Jo-anna, pointing out that Sabah and Sarawak agreed to that framework when they joined Malaysia. There cannot be any demands outside of what the constitution allows, he added.

Tengku Razaleigh, affectionately known to many as Ku Li, said the constitution clearly sets out both federal powers and state rights. He said even the federal government does not have limitless powers.

“You are still constrained by the laws that inhibit your actions. Nobody is independent. Even the prophets had to abide by the limits imposed by God,” he said.

His remarks came against the backdrop of comments by GPS secretary-general and works minister Alexander Nanta Linggi, who said on a BFM radio interview in January that if Peninsular Malaysians continued quarrelling with Sarawak “over everything”, they should “just divorce us.”

Nanta later clarified that his remarks were intended to encourage greater harmony, not call for separation.

Tengku Razaleigh, 87, did not address Nanta’s comments directly but was unequivocal about Sabah and Sarawak’s place in the federation.

“Sabah and Sarawak are part of the federal government. They cannot be separated,” he told Jo-anna.

The federation, he said, was not built as a transactional pact between competing interests but as a system of shared responsibility.

“The strong must help the weak — not: ‘what is mine is mine’,” he told Jo-anna.

“We share. You don’t have a navy; you don’t have an army. Those of us elsewhere must help.”

“There is no such thing as: this belongs to Kuala Lumpur; this belongs to Perlis. No!”

Jo-anna, a Sabahan, insists she does not support secessionist sentiment.

“I love Malaysia and I do not see Sabah or Sarawak being in a good position if we succeeded in leaving,” she said.

However, Jo-anna said she understands why such talk has emerged, pointing out that it reflects deeper frustrations felt by East Malaysians toward Putrajaya.

“The conversation about leaving is a symptom. Perhaps there is a trust deficit. After 60 years of silence, it has now been taken to court,” she said, alluding to ongoing lawsuits brought by Petronas and the Sabah state government over oil and gas rights off the state’s coast.

Jo-anna added that discussions surrounding the Malaysia Agreement 1963 should not be viewed as concerns exclusive to East Malaysia.

“We don’t want Malaysia to be divided because we failed to understand our history. The idea that MA63 is only an issue for Sabah and Sarawak (is wrong). It has to be seen holistically,” she said.