…., there was also doubt about the motives of the possible rebels.  What did they want?  Much of this has to do with the enigmatic performance of Azahari.  In September 1962,  The Borneo Bulletin  had two

statements on the front page from Azahari.  In one he talked about a meeting with leaders in Sarawak and North Borneo to press for the creation of “an independent federation of Borneo.”  In the other, in an interview with the Sultan, he pledged the support of his party to the ruler’s acceptance in principle of the proposed plan for Malaysia.Early in December, Azahari announced that three motions would

be proposed at the first meeting of the new Legislative Council:

(i) Rejecting Malaysia.

(ii) Requesting the restoration of Brunei sovereignty over Sarawak

and North Borneo.

(iii) Calling for a British grant of independence to a Borneo

federation not later than 1963.

The Party Rakyat appear to have been genuine in their belief that the findings of the Cobbold Commission were fraudulent and had hopes of popular support in Sarawak and North Borneo.

The Sultan of Brunei saw the uprising as a rebellion against joining the Federation. In this sense the popular mood contrasted sharply with the views of the Sultan’s  closest advisors.  Many of the appointed members of the Legislative Council were happy in principle to be part of the new

Malaysia; though some voiced doubts and concerns over the concessions demanded by Kuala Lumpur.

The Sultan had no intention of surrendering his sovereignty to the PRB by fleeing the country.  The Sultan and the people shared one thing in common.  They were fed up with the protracted negotiations over the new Federation.  The people feared their country would be coerced into joining; the Sultan believed that while Brunei was a Protectorate with very considerable control over its affairs, Malaya was a former colony.