Call to act on secession talk premature, says MP
Published on: Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Penampang: MP Darell Leiking said the call by Sabah Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Tun Said Keruak for the authorities to act against secession talk is premature and made without much thought. He believes, contrary to Salleh's assumption, the cries of Sabahans are not on secession per se but rather anger, the result of a cumulative feeling of utter disappointment and disrespect that Sabah and Sabahans have endured since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. "Sabahans are now fast becoming aware of what we have lost as equal partner in the founding of the promised Federation of Malaysia," he said.ADVERTISEMENT "We have seen how our social demography has changed, how the distribution of wealth between the so-called remaining founding partners of the Federation of Malaysia is since then to today, the distorted history along with today's unequal administration of the Federation of Malaysia, the ownership of our oil and gas assets and hosts of serious problems like illegal immigrants becoming citizens. "If one was to even recall, Sabah used to have at least two or three of its own licensed banking and financial institutions but all of which today have been diminished into memories of the past whereby all banking and financial decisions right up to a simple loan approval are now solely left to those who sit 21/2 hours away from Sabah in West Malaysia with its corporate owners." He said he even noted that Salleh, along with Datuk Masidi Manjun, have taken pains to explain that Umno Sabah is different from Umno West Malaysia. "Why would the two individuals take the pain to explain this matter? ADVERTISEMENT That infers to me that they themselves know and are convinced that Sabahans are different from West Malaysia as we are equal founding partners of the Federation of Malaysia and not a mere state as those in West Malaysia," he said. "So it is baffling that one, especially a Sabahan, can misunderstand what Sabahans in general are saying today.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I envision that Sabahans must be different from their other founding partners and we must build our own unity as Sabahans made up of different Sabah ethnicity. I hope the call to describe any Sabahan, be it the Kadazans, Dusuns, Muruts, Bajaus, Bisayas, Rungus, Bruneis and all the ethnic Sabahans along with the Chinese and Indians of Sabah as coming from 'Rumpun Melayu' will be stopped once and for all and Sabahans should all just be Sabahans with various races and ethnicity." He believed that the call of Sabahans is not for secession per se but for the decentralisation of administration and for a serious review of the Federation of Malaysia.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
"This call also includes an inquiry of whether the terms and conditions and as laid out in the annexes to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 have been complied with and whether it can be reinstated to correct the spirit and letter resulting in the formation of the Federation of Malaysia," he said. "With this, I pray that the Sabahans from all divides will continue to speak and fight for what has been promised in the formation of Malaysia so that our future and our rights will be reinstated and protected always," he added.