KUCHING, July 19, 2017:
Malaysia can be said to have been truly formed only if the terms and
conditions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) have been fully adhered to by
the federal government, Sarawak For Sarawakians (S4S) leader Peter John Jaban
said today.
 |
| Peter John: After 54 years, many Sarawakians feel that the terms in the MA63 have been ignored |
"For Sarawak, the promises made in the Agreement
must be honoured before the partnership can truly start," he said in a
statement.
He said the Malaysia that has existed for the last 54
years has been Malaysia in name only and, until the terms of our founding
agreement are met in full, that will continue to be the case.
He said Malaysia was formed in 1963 was intended to
create the basis for national unity.
"The very idea that MA63 was an agreement,
negotiated and signed by all the different parties, was key and its terms and
conditions reflected the very real concern felt by all the various parties that
this union would need to be carefully managed if it were to be successful - as
Lord Cobbold put it - each partner would need to maintain its own
‘individualities’.
"Without the various safeguards in MA63, it is
almost certain that Malaysia would never have existed.
"Now, 54 years later, Sarawakians feel that many of
the terms of this agreement have been ignored.
"Many of the concerns that the signatories and those
they represented raised have indeed come to pass.
"Sarawak has lost its oil revenues. Sarawak has not
achieved the economic potential of West Malaysia, despite its wealth of natural
resources and talents.
Sarawak is under-represented at the highest forms of
government and business. Sarawak does not receive its fair share of tax
revenues or development expenditure.
"Sarawak’s history is rarely taught. Sarawak’s economic and cultural identity has
been eclipsed by Malaya’s.
"However, despite these concerns, Sarawak has not
given up on the idea of Malaysia yet.
After 54 years of union, Malaysia still means something -
if nothing else as a potential that has yet to be realized.
"It is wrong to say that Malaysia is at an end. It is more accurate to say that Malaysia
never truly began," Peter said.
He said Sarawak did not agree to be one state out of
thirteen neither was it agreed to be economically downtrodden.
Peter reminded that Sarawak did not join Malaysia, it
formed Malaysia. Sarawak formed Malaysia to build a new nation, not to be
tacked onto an existing one like a poor cousin.
He said it is unfair to say that Sarawakians reject
Malaysia or a Malaysian identity.
"This is a way to paint Sarawak as the troublemaker;
the delinquent. Sarawak is not rejecting
Malaysia, it is attempting to build the Malaysia it was promised.
"They may reject a Malaysia in which their cultural
uniqueness is not represented.
"They may reject a Malaysia in which their
development comes second to the other 12 states.
"They may reject a Malaysia which promotes the
dominance of a Malayan identity, including Hudud and the Allah issue, as well
as the universal celebration of Malaya’s Independence Day instead of the day of
the formation of our nation.
"They may reject a Malaysia in which the natives of
Sabah and Sarawak are consigned to be ‘lain-lain’ and the police are forbidden
from getting tattoos, despite the long tradition of Sarawak’s great tattooed
warriors.
"Sarawak has accepted an unequal Malaysia in which
it has been marginalized for many years.
"Simply asking for what we were promised is not
unreasonable and any attempts to paint Sarawak as demanding or difficult for
asking for its dues are unwarranted.
Sarawak only wants what is fair.
Sarawak wants the nation it signed up for.
"The calls for greater autonomy are not the end of
national unity. In fact, greater
autonomy for each region can be the new basis for national unity and a new
national identity.
"Malaysia is famous for being a multi-cultural
nation and yet we do not fully celebrate our regional uniqueness – instead it
is masked in a racial blanket.
"Autonomy can give us the chance to celebrate our
diversity, not just in name but also in reality.
"Each region of Malaysia has its own fascinating
history that should be taught. Our
differences should never be the end of any relationship. In fact, they should be the basis of
one.
"The circumstances of our union should not be
forgotten, unique as they are, they should be taught in every school and
discussed in every coffeeshop with pride.
"But that can
only be done if our nation has lived up to its own goals. Now is the time for Malaysia to start doing
so. Then we can all be proud to be part
of this new nation our forefathers foresaw," said.
No comments:
Post a Comment