‘BN and Umno leaders pawning Sabah’

By  Queville To of FMT

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has denounced Kota Belud MP Abdul Rahaman Dahlan’s view that Sabah is just one of the 13 states in Malaysia.

SAPP supreme council member Peter Marajin accused Abdul Rahman of denying Sabah’s autonomy by twisting the history of the proclamation of Malaysia in Sept 16, 1963.

“The proclamation of Malaysia read by Donald Stephens at Padang Bandaran on that particular day that Sabah is one of the 13 states in Malaysia does not mean Sabah’s status is the same as Perlis or Kedah in Malaya at that time. It is only a question of convenience that such proclamation was pronounced.

“It must be remembered that Malaya had already attained independence on Aug 31, 1957 through a federation of 11 states. Sarawak gained her independence on July 22, 1963 and Sabah on Aug 31, 1963.

“These two Borneo territories were already full pledged nations when they joined up with the Federation of Malaya and Singapore to form a new nation called Malaysia” he pointed out in a statement issued here yesterday.

When discussions were held for the formation of the new nation, he noted, it was agreed that Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore were to be federated with Malaysia.

“But it does not mean that they agreed to be added as three new states under the already federated Federation of Malaya. The three nations were to be federated with the new nation Malaysia with distinct autonomy of their own and not to be treated like Perlis, Kedah and the other states of Malaya.

“This autonomy is well spelled out in the IGC Reports and other documents which include the 20 Points (Sabah) and 18 Points (Sarawak),” he said.

Changes came after Singapore left

Marajin accused Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, especially those from Umno, of pawning Sabah’s autonomy for their own interests.

He claimed that the ‘re-colonisation’ of Sabah and Sarawak by the federal government began when Singapore was ejected from the Federation in 1965 and the parliamentary seats for the two Borneo territories was then reduced to only 27% of the total number of the seats.

“(From) here KL started amending the laws and the Federal Constitution to the effect that now the status Sabah and Sarawak have been reduced to be similar with Perlis, Kedah and so on, thus, doing away our autonomy and KL now is simply reluctant to acknowledge this let alone restore it.

“Rahman ought to tell the people why KL never honoured the autonomy guarantee instead of trying to fool the people that Sabah lost privileges once Malaysia was formed,” he said.

Marajin said the people yearned for restoration of autonomy as stated in the Malaysia Agreement giving Sabah leaders total powers to determine the state’s direction without interference from Kuala Lumpur.

Federal powers were limited to matters concerning security and national level, he reminded.

There is no question of secession by Sabah because the formation of Malaysia was similar to the formation of Great Britain consisting of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland where each of them have their own autonomy.

‘Four parties signed Malaysia Agreement’

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Marajin’s party colleague cum Luyang assemblywoman Melanie Chia urged Abdul Rahman to stop misleading the people of Sabah that Sabah is one of the 13 states in Malaysia.

“This is a blatant example of the BN government wanting to mislead the people. Sabah has a stature that cannot be denied.

“It is because of politician like (Abdul Rahman) Dahlan that Sabah’s autonomy and the interests of its people have been abused and depleted progressively over the years since the formation of Malaysia,” she said.

She pointed out that Abdul Rahman had failed to acknowledge there was the Malaysia Agreement signed on July 9 July, 1963 between the United Kingdom and the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore.

“Without the signing of the Malaysia Agreement, an agreement relating to Malaysia together with the annexes including the Constitution of Sabah, there would have been no Malaysia. Please note, there were four parties signing of this agreement.

“These important documents determined the formation of Malaysia. The Malaysia Proclamation as read by our First Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and by the respective heads in Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore must be read in (the right) context to get the full spirit of the proclamation,” she said.

Chia went on to note that Abdul Rahman had chosen to refer and highlight only the last paragraph of the Malaysia Proclamation to state his claim that Sabah is only one of the 13 states.

“Has he not read the preceding paragraph of the Proclamation where it is written that our first Prime Minister with the concurrence and approval of His Majesty the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong of the Federation of Malaya, His Excellency the Yang Di-Pertuan Negara of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore ‘do hereby declare and proclaim’,” she asked.

Chia pointed out that unlike the other states in Malaya that are run by an Executive Committee, Sabah and Sarawak have State Constitutions besides their own Cabinet system of government.

This, she said, is a testimony of the special position of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia.

“History is always an important reference as it is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events, but we must not make selective references only.

“We should look at history in its totality and rectify any shortfall that is due to the people and not continue to blur and distort the facts and succumb to continued unfairness and injustices,” she said.

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