By Peter John Jaban,
2018 is coming fast and it will be an election year. Already sides are being drawn and as with all
elections, there will be winners and losers.
The courting period is beginning, evidenced by incumbent
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s address to the Sarawak United People's Party
(SUPP) Triennial Delegates Conference early this month.
Sarawakians, from
each individual to every party leader, face difficult and complex decisions
alongside each and every fellow Malaysian.
But the decisions should not be solely which party will win and which
will lose or which leader they prefer.
In fact, the only
decisions that matter are those which will produce a stronger Sarawak and a
stronger Malaysia alongside it.
Therefore, Sarawak 4 Sarawakians (S4S) urges all Sarawakian voters and particularly
all prospective candidates to take their decisions not on personalities but on
the policies, practices and partnerships that will build a better Sarawak and a
fairer nation.
We would never presume to tell anyone how they must vote,
as our current Prime Minister does. That
is a matter of their own personal conscience and an exercise in their own free
will and self-determination.
However, we urge all voters, and especially all
Sarawakians, to take at least some of his words to heart: if we want a stronger
Malaysia, we must vote for the representatives who will recognise the rights of
the people in full, without bias, ulterior motive or expectation of any return
beyond the fulfilment of their duty to the people who allowed them into office.
Clearly the Prime Minister has no real concept of what
democracy is. From his statement, he
seems to believe that democracy is a system of government that gives him power
to dictate terms to the people when, in fact, he is there at our service.
In one breath he recognises that Sarawak’s rights have
been infringed, yet in the next, he seeks to demand an additional return for
simply doing his job in fulfilling their rights.
Common sense tells us that you cannot begin negotiations
when an agreement has already been made.
Recognition of Sarawak’s rights cannot be
conditional. If he recognises their
existence, they are inalienable. They are not a subject for negotiation. He
should be reminded that, in a properly functioning democracy at least, leaders
are there for five years at the will of the people to represent their
interests.
After all, at the end of polling day, Najib Razak might
well be an ordinary person who holds no political office.
Democracy and the pursuit of greater autonomy might not
automatically be seen as the same goal. In modern Malaysia, however, they go
hand in hand. Democracy is more than a
system; it is a mindset – rule by the people for the good of the nation.
While there can be no perfect system, at least we can
strive for good intent. If our
representatives make decisions with this in mind, then no matter how flawed,
those decisions can at least be justified.
Democracy is not a system under which large sections of
the population – either racial or regional - can be marginalised.
Democracy is not a system under which most have no voice,
either in the press or at the ballot box. Democracy is not a system under which
individual political leaders should cling to power when their continued role
threatens the economy and stability of the nation as a whole.
Democracy should be a system, however, in which the
representatives of the people strive to balance the interests of every group or
individual, no matter how big or small, against all the others.
Democracy is a system in which we are all equal in our
rights as citizens, whether we are from East or West Malaysia, whether we are
Muslim or Christian, whether we are indigenous or non-indigenous.
As long as the Federal Government is allowed to
marginalise entire states or entire races as an accepted part of Malaysian
political culture, the nation will never become stronger.
Sarawak and Sabah’s special rights and privileges were
not negotiated to set us above the rest of the Federation. Instead, they were negotiated to protect us
from being consumed by a more developed neighbour.
They were negotiated to prevent the plunder of our
natural resources such as the oil and gas within our boundaries, to protect us
from being supplanted in our livelihoods and economies, to preserve our unique
cultures and traditions from overwhelming outside influences.
In short, they were negotiated to prevent us from
becoming the two poorest states in the Federation, with substandard roads,
education facilities and development opportunities.
This is why every Sarawakian keenly feels the failure to
implement them. This is why greater autonomy for Sarawak, Sabah and for every
state in the Federation – an autonomy that will allow them to stand up for
their own rights and individualities - becomes an exercise in greater
democracy.
This election feels like a turning point and, in Sarawak,
autonomy will be a key issue.
The world is watching what the Malaysian people will
do. For all those who already feel the
downward spiral of the economy, these decisions could compound or reverse
this.
Do we seek to support the architect of a flawed system
who speaks of change or its current leader who brings a new promise every
week? Do we cling to coalitions that are
no longer serving us or do we seek to create a new paradigm for Malaysian
politics?
Are we choosing a party or are we striving to develop a
better system?
There are numerous ways to organise a nation. But race-based politics is no longer serving
this one. Almost every Malaysian beyond
a hardened few already realise this.
Perhaps it is time for a regional model, with every
unique state in Malaysia retaining its own individualities, held together by
mutual interest and respect rather than fear of the ‘other’.
We live with a system based on a Malaysia which no longer
exists. In fact, we live in a Malaysia
where there is no more racial purity: a Malaysia where Bugis and Bajau have
mixed; where Malay Muslims have married Dayak Christians; where Arabs,
Portuguese, Siamese and English have made families; and where a Malay Mamak or
a man of Indonesian birth and parentage can rise to the highest offices in the
land.
In a modern world, this should be a source of pride, not
shame. This is the inclusiveness in
action that so many nations around the world are currently struggling with and
here in Malaysia, we have it in the hands and homes of the people.
It is time that the loving and accepting nature of all
Malaysians is reflected in our political systems. Choices and coalitions must be made. Let us make sure they are the right ones for
a stronger Malaysia for every state, including Sarawak.- December 30, 2017
Note: Peter John
Jaban is the leader of civil movement Sarawak For Sarawakians (S4S)
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