Police inspector-general (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar has cautioned groups discussing secession of Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia against making “provocative” remarks.

He said that this includes threatening to drag the British government into the dispute, over claims that the Malaysia Agreement is lopsided.

He said the claim that the British had bound Sabah and Sarawak into an unfair agreement which should be nullified is “irresponsible”.

“This irresponsible move will threaten public order and ultimately destroy national unity.

“The police advises those involved to not play up sensitive issues which are provocative and seditious, which could lead to illegal and unconstitutional action,” he said in a statement late yesterday.

He also urged all to not take any action that could “threaten national safety and sovereignty”.

Groups who call themselves Borneo nationalists have mulled suing the British government over the Malaysia Agreement.

The suggestion was first mooted by Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia leader P Waythamoorthy ( left ), who at a forum on the issue of separation last June said the British government should be taken to court.

He said the group should follow Hindraf's lead of suing the British government for bringing Indians into Malaya during the colonial era without protecting their rights, leading to the community's marginalisation today.