evidence: Sabah, located in the northern half of the island of Borneo has been at the centre of a diplomatic row between Malaysia and the Philippines – which claims much of its eastern half – since the early 1960s. Currently, Sabah remains under the sovereignty of Malaysia and the matter has laid dormant for many years. [...] When World War 2 ended, Sabah was handed over to the British government and made a crown colony. Sabah gained independence in 1963 when in a referendum, its people overwhelmingly voted in favour of joining the Federation of Malaysia. [...] In a post-colonial era, the right to self-determination should be made a priority in view of such territorial disputes that involve large swathes of the population. The people of Sabah for all these years have identified themselves as Malaysians and an overnight citizenship change could likely ruffle the feathers of the patriotic among them.