The rising trend of Sabahans and Sarawakians preferring local rather than peninsula parties to represent their interests may be due to decades of West Malaysian lordship over them.
Referring to the emergence of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) coalitions in Sarawak and Sabah, former federal Attorney GeneralTan Sri Tommy Thomas said many in the peninsula fail to make a distinction between the history of Malaya and the history of Malaysia.
“The former is distinct and separate from the latter which was formed under the Malaysia Agreement on Sept. 16, 1963 (MA63).
“Peninsula Malays are often confused with Malaya and Malaysia and freely interchange these to mean the same. But they are not.
“Malaya and Malaysia have different birth dates. They are not twins. They are not tied by the same umbilical cord.
“Our histories and cultures are different. Sabah and Sarawak were never ‘Tanah Melayu’.
They were former British colonies and home to 40 or 50 ethnic groups.
“East Malaysia was not affected by the May 13, 1969 racial strife. The racial narrative of Malay, Chinese and Indian does not apply to East Malaysia,” he said.
“The people of Sarawak and Sabah, on the other hand, can justifiably say that their worst fears of British imperial rule being replaced by Malayan imperialism have materialised.” He was presenting his paper,
“The Formation of Malaysia Revisited” at the premiere talk by Sabah Action Body Advocating Rights (Sabar) at the Shangrila Tanjung Aru resort, here, recently.
Tommy said Labuan’s loss of its colonial-era duty-free port status by a PAS Federal Territories Minister during the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government one generation after the island was given away free by Sabah to become a Federal Territory is a cause for concern.
“Whether it is appointments of Governors and Chief Ministers, or selections and compositions of State Governments or posting of West Malaysian civil servants or exploitation of resource wealth or large-scale immigration into Sabah under ‘Project IC’ or withholding financial payments from the Consolidated Fund, Sarawak and Sabah have much to condemn, and peninsula much to be blamed.
”Tommy said it is critical for the health of the Federation that a candid assessment be impartially and independently conducted as to recognise legitimate grievances of East Malaysians and to resolve them expeditiously.”
Tommy also said the MA63 is still valid despite Singapore’s exit in 1965and accusations of unsatisfactory compliance to the terms by the Federal Government.He said it is this international agreement that has preserved the Federation against external forces seeking to break up the country, even though East Malaysians were largely spectators to geopolitical developments.
He said Sabah is the only region in Malaysia still being claimed by another country (Philippines) although Sarawak and Brunei were also eyed by Sukarno leading to the brief “Confrontation” that saw Allied troops repelling Indonesian troops.
He said the formation of Asean after the military coup by Suharto brought about 50 years of peace, which Malaysians should be thankful for.
He said Malaysia has given up on letting the International Court of Justice (ICJ) resolve the Sabah issue as it decided not to recognise the Philippines’ claim on Sabah, stopped federal payment of the Sabah cession amount of RM5,300 to the heirs of the defunct Sulu sultanate after the Tanduo intrusion incident in Lahad Datu post 2013.Past involvement in ICJ won Malaysia the Sabah islands of Sipadan and Ligitan disputed by Indonesia but lost the Batu Puteh dispute to Singapore.
In February 2013, terrorists linked to the Royal Sulu Army landed at Felda Sahabat, Lahad Datu. The prolonged episode at Kampung Tanduo saw 10 Malaysian security personnel and 68 Sulu terrorists killed.
“Do we really want to go to war with the Philippines over their claim?”
Tommy asked, confident that Asean, which will be chaired by Malaysia, will be able to placate the situation, even though the Philippines has published its new map claiming control over Sabah and its continental shelf.
Source : Daily Express
The Coverage Malaysia
