Description
About the Editors

On 16 September 1963 Malaysia came into being with the accession of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore to the existing Federation of Malaya. This book marks the 50th anniversary of this notable event in South East Asia's history. The focus of the book will be mainly on the experience of Sabah and Sarawak as subjects of the federation. It looks at the experience of federalism from a number of different perspectives, keeping in mind not just the effects of federalism on Sabah and Sarawak but also the effects on the federation as a whole. Has the bargain of 1963 been adhered to? Has Malaysian federalism been a successful example of this form of government in Asia, or has the bargain been undermined in ways contrary to the original deal in the Malaysia Agreement of 1963? What have been the practical effects on East Malaysia during 50 years?
Professor Andrew Harding is Director, Centre for Asian Legal Studies at the National University of Singapore. He is a leading scholar in the fields of Asian legal studies and comparative constitutional law. He commenced his academic career at NUS before moving to SOAS, University of London, where he became Head of the Law School and Director of the Centre for South East Asian Studies. He joined NUS, as Director of the Centre for Asian Legal Studies and Director of the Asian Law Institute, from the University of Victoria, BC Canada, where he was Professor of Asia-Pacific Legal Relations and Director of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives.

Professor James Chin is Professor of Political Science and Head of the School of Arts & Social Sciences, Monash University, Sunway Campus in Malaysia. He has published extensively on Malaysian politics and was co-editor of the bestseller Awakening: Abdullah Badawi Years in Malaysia. Prof Chin is involved with the following organisations: Advisory Board, Centre for Public Policy Studies; Senior Fellow, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS); Programme Director, Jeffrey Cheah Institute of Southeast Asian Studies; Executive Committee, Transparency International Malaysia Branch (2009-2012) and Senior Visiting Fellow, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) Singapore.

Authors

50 Years of Malaysia: Federalism Revisit