Deals

Deals, Datusand Dayaks: Sarawak and Brunei in the Making of Malaysia

Author: Michael Leigh

Publisher: SIRD

ISBN: 9789672165217

Year: 2018

Weight: 0.250kg

Price: RM25

This book tells the story of Malaysia’s formation and itsearly struggle for survival. A treasure trove of recently de-classified recordsfrom the UK National Archives and the US Consulate in Kuching, demonstrate howthe British, Singapore and Malayan governments seized upon the Brunei revolt,and Indonesian attacks across the Sarawak border, to justify their extensiveuse of coercive measures against the strongest opponents of the federationproposal, and to reinforce strong messaging that forming Malaysia was the bestavailable future for Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore too.

Despite all of those efforts, new archival evidence showshow the political situation in Sarawak almost caused Malaysia to be aborted atthe last minute. The book then goes on to document how strong international andinternal pressures throughout 1964 and 1965 meant that the very survival ofMalaysia was in doubt.

Michael Leigh arrived to commence his research in Sarawak inDecember 1962, at a turbulent time just after the Brunei revolt had beensuppressed and shortly before the start of armed Indonesian confrontation. Hehas maintained an active interest as an analyst of the processes of politicaland economic change, and has authored some 60 books, chapters and articles onSarawak and greater Malaysia, in particular The Rising Moon: Political Changein Sarawak (1974), Council Negri Sarawak: Malaysia’s Oldest Legislature (1992)and Mapping the Peoples of Sarawak (2002).

He has held the position of Professor at the Universities ofSydney, Melbourne and UNIMAS, where he established the Institute of East AsianStudies.