By Baru Bian,
Sarawak PKR chaiman
I was taken aback by the statement of PRS president and
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing explaining his reasons for
wishing to keep the discussions on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) within
four walls and excluding any participation from the opposition.
This coming DUN sitting, there will be unanimous support
for a motion to reclaim our status as an equal partner in the Federation of
Malaysia. Whether Parliament will reverse the 1976 amendment of Article 1(2) of
the Federal Constitution will be an indication of Najib’s sincerity.-Baru Bian
The honourable minister’s reasoning is unsound and
absurd.
If the honourable minister would care to cast his mind
back to 2011/2012, the opposition parties were the ones to highlight the
erosion of Sarawak’s rights, which are safeguarded in the MA63.
In our Kuching Declaration 2012, we had pledged to
restore all the rights to Sarawak which had been ignored and trampled on by the
Federal government.
The opposition had repeatedly brought up these issues in
and out of the State Assembly back in those days when the BN representatives
were all meek and mild under the previous Chief Minister, for whom these
matters did not seem to be a priority.
Fortunately, the current Chief Minister had chosen to
take up the mantle of reclaiming Sarawak’s rights. Lo and behold, the
previously voiceless BN politicians suddenly found their long lost moral
courage and jumped on the bandwagon, each trying to outdo the other in voicing
their indignation against the Federal government over our lost rights.
It is easy to speak up when it is politically right to do
so, but people remember those who speak up even when it means going against the
establishment and one’s political masters. Let the honourable minister be
reminded that when Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution was amended to
downgrade Sarawak’s status, all the BN MPs voted for the amendment. Where was
the indignation then?
We must learn to put our heads together in dealing with
the rights of Sarawak. If people care to remember, we in the opposition, at
least from PKR, have always been supportive of the CM when it comes to
Sarawak’s rights.
We have raised these issues because it is right and our
duty to do so by virtue of our oath of office as elected representatives.
Secret meetings as proposed by the honourable minister are inappropriate
because it is not only the rights of the BN voters at stake, but the rights of
all Sarawakians - even those who voted for the opposition.
The government has had their talks on oil royalties and
devolution of powers with the Federal Government without inviting any
participation from the opposition and yet nothing has been forthcoming except
frustration.
The federal side has given no serious consideration to
the BN representatives from Sarawak because they are all from the same party
with the same political master.
They do not think that the friendly and hospitable
fixed-deposit Sarawakian BN leaders will risk their positions by rocking the
boat. Having a few opposition members in the team would show the Malayan
leaders that we are united in reclaiming our rights and they had better take us
seriously.
The honourable minister would do well to remember that
this is not his lone battle for Sarawak. We are all in this together and his
arrogant dismissal of the opposition is uncalled for and unbecoming of a
statesman.
James Masing must be humble to learn when to unite with
the Opposition and leave politics aside for the good of Sarawak.
On the same subject, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib
Razak’s recent speech in Penampang that he is ready to discuss MA63 is one that
Sarawakians have heard many times in the past, especially before the last
Sarawak Elections when he was almost camped here full time.
From past experience, we know that these are but rhetoric
to fool the people of Sabah and Sarawak as BN has done so for the last 50-plus
years. We have no confidence in this statement by PM especially when he is just
about to face GE14.
One of the main reasons for Sabah and Sarawak agreeing to
form the Federation of Malaysia with Malaya and Singapore then was because of
the promise by Tunku Abdul Rahman to lift our economic status to equal that of
Malaya but until today, we remain far, far behind them in economic development
and so many aspects.
In fact, some would say the gap is even wider now than it
was then. The Budget allocations for our education, infrastructure and
healthcare are reduced annually, and the recent budget was no different. There
have been countless promises to rebuild and repair our dilapidated schools but
the money has not been forthcoming.
On the other hand West Malaysia has announced extravagant
projects such as the railway costing billions and the park in KL costing RM650
million. What is most bitter, is the fact that our petroleum wealth has been
taken by the Federal government and squandered on projects and bail-outs, and
the Federal government has rejected our demand for an increase in oil royalty
from 5% to 20%, even after a unanimous motion from the Sarawak State Assembly
to seek this increase.
Over the years, the religious freedom that our
forefathers had so jealously guarded has been hindered and curtailed by
administrative and policy decisions and legal challenges to our rights, such as
the ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians,
seizure of the Al-Kitab and other Christian materials and obstacles put in the
way of converts wishing to leave Islam.
Our territorial rights have been compromised by the
passing of the Territorial Sea Act in 2012 and our rights to have English as an
official language is given no heed or criticised by some BN leaders.
Many native Sarawakians are denied ICs and birth
certificates, some being suspected of being Indonesians and yet we read about
foreigners from Bangladesh, Pakistani etc being given ICs.
In all these, there has only been talk from Najib to
restore and respect our rights, but very little action.
Najib came to Sarawak and said he was willing to
recognise our autonomy but has fudged around the issue after the elections and
we are nowhere near to getting any autonomy, just some devolution of power
concessions to try to keep us happy.
This coming DUN sitting, there will be unanimous support
for a motion to reclaim our status as an equal partner in the Federation of
Malaysia. Whether Parliament will reverse the 1976 amendment of Article 1(2) of
the Federal Constitution will be an indication of Najib’s sincerity.
Closer to my home, during the elections campaign Najib
had approved RM35mil to build SMK Long Semadoh but when I asked about this
after the elections, the answer I received from the government was that this
was to be included in the 11th Malaysia plan and even then, it was subject to
the availability of funds. So much for Najib’s promises.
We simply have no basis to believe Najib’s words.
Nevertheless I urge the State Government of Sabah and Sarawak to take this up
to the PM and ensure that he honours his words and promises before GE14,
failing which he would be proving us to have been right all along.
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