117. To this substantial Muslim minority there was a decided attraction in the idea of joining up with the Federation of Malaya, where Islam is already the national religion. The attraction was even greater when it was realised that there was a prospect that more would be done in the way of improving the position in society of the indigenous peoples. We found that there was almost complete unanimity of support among these communities for Malaysia, and in most cases they expressed agreement with the recommendations made in the report of the Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee (see Appendix F), A point which was frequently mentioned to us by representatives of these communities was that a Federation of Malaysia would provide protection against the menace of Communism. One or two groups expressed a desire to be reunited with Brunei.
118. The safeguards which were suggested to us varied considerably in importance. In setting them out below, we shall endeavour to indicate the degree of importance which was attached to each of them and the extent to which they represented the views of substantial sections of the indigenous population. The suggestion was sometimes made that safeguards should be symbolised, following tradition, by a stone monument as lasting reminder of the assurances given.
Whenever this matter was raised by delegations of indigenous peoples, the request was made that the Head of State should be a "Bumiputera" (or native). Much less frequently, the appointment of Chief Minister was mentioned, and it was clear that there was some confusion of mind regarding the division of functions between these two posts. While some groups asked that the Chief Minister too should be a native, others were ready to agree that he might come from any race, provided that he was a citizen.
On the question of the eligibility of the Head of State for the post of Head of the Federation, few opinions were expressed. Some were ready to accept a situation where the Yang di-Pertuan Agong would continue to be elected from among the Rulers of the States in Malaya, so that the Head of State in North Borneo could never be eligible; some considered that their Head of State should also be eligible.
There was a general demand that îmmigration from other parts of the Federation should be controlled by the State Governments.
The request came from the Muslims that Islam should be the national
religion, as in the Federation of Malaya. There was everywhere agreement, however, that there should be no restrictions on complete freedom for other religions.
