COMMENT | Yesterday, the country marked the occasion when Malaya merged with Sabah and Sarawak to form a new political entity, Malaysia, the historical mix of Malaya’s several races and immigrants spanning the sea to take in the complex weave of communal/tribal/religious relations of East Malaysia.

The government is not expected to do anything else, but assert that all is hunky-dory between parts of the country, but the reality is that over the past five decades, there has always been an undercurrent of resentment in the East, that they always had to go West with cupped hands for handouts.

In recent times, the Malaysia Agreement has come under scrutiny, the wording of clauses examined to consider the intent and rights. And Petronas has found Sarawak and Sabah financially tough to placate.

With peninsular politics fragmented into multiple power bases, Sabah and Sarawak, as kingmakers, can dictate reward terms. There are no poor winners...