Both Sabah and Sarawak were key components of the 1963 agreement which gave birth to the Federation of Malaysia.
The forum on 'Formation of Malaysia Revisited and The Way Forward' will be held at a hotel here tomorrow.
The one-day forum, organized by two KK-based NGOs - the Borneo Heritage Foundation (BHF) and CigMa or Common Interest Group Malaysia - is aimed at raising public awareness on the birth of the country.
"It will give an insight into the background that led to the inception of the idea of Malaysia… the formation of the nation in 1963 and the many issues and promises made then," said the forum's publicity committee chairman Kanul Gindol yesterday.
The five main papers that would be presented will also dwell on the eventual outcome of those issues and promises almost five decades later, he said.
"Jeffrey Kitingan, the BHF and CigMa head will present the first paper titled 'The Genesis of Malaysia Revisited and the Way Forward'", he said.
The other papers to be presented are:
* 'Equal partnership and merger concept of the Federation of Malaysia (The role and findings of the Cobbold Commission, The IGC Report and the UN special mission)' by James Wong, one of the founding leaders of the Federation.
* 'My personal views and observation on the formation of Malaysia” by former Suhakam vice-chairman, Simon Sipaun
* 'The status of Malaysia Agreement, Federal Constitution, Sabah states rights and autonomy: The 20 Points, assurance and undertakings' by a representative of the Sabah Law Association (SLA).
* “One Malaysia, 13 States; One Federation, Three Components" by Karim Ghani, a veteran local politician who was involved in the formation of Malaysia in 1962/63.
Kanul, who is also secretary-general of CigMa, said a panel of contributing speakers would also be on hand to deliberate on the issues discussed in the forum papers.
He said the forum had received a good response, including participants from Sarawak and some from the Peninsular, and all 500 tickets were snapped up. About 30 participants from Sabah will attend the by-invitation only forum.
"We had to limit participation. In fact, initially we planned to have only 250 participants, however due to requests, we doubled the number. We apologise for not being able to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend.
"Those unable to be participants will be able to view a video recording of the forum which will be recorded in full. We will also be publishing a book containing all the working papers, the dialogues and the resolutions," he said.
"Our organising chairman, Jeffrey, who is also Sabah PKR chief, is confident that this seminar will be a milestone to stimulate more discussions on the subjects to be presented tomorrow.
"All we are interested in is the truth of history and to correct any misconceptions for the sake of the present and future generations of Malaysians.
“This is our contribution towards the realization of a truly harmonious, progressive, just and freer Malaysia,” he added.
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