Sabah cannot just make demands: Salleh
Published on: Saturday, March 07, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: When it comes to negotiation, one needs to be realistic and practical and a win-win situation is likely a favourable solution.And former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak believes that it would be a complete waste of time when entering a negotiation with the knowledge that one's demands will not be accepted by the other side."We already know it is going to fail," said the Sabah State Speaker in his blog posting titled "Win-win, not winners take all".
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Salleh touched on the question of autonomy for Sabah and Sarawak, whether full or partial, and wants politics be set aside and adopt a diplomatic approach to solve these issues, meaning Putrajaya needs a clear message that Sabahans and Sarawakians wish to seek a compromise."That will attract Putrajaya to the conference table," he said, stressing that it was way better than making demands without allowing any room for compromise.Reminding the people that secession is not provided for in the Malaysian Agreement, he said Sabah cannot just make demands and then leave Malaysia if its wishes are not met."At the end of the day, we can only express our dissatisfaction and request that Putrajaya takes note of this and try to meet us at least halfway, somewhere in the middle. That, to me, would be a good start," he wrote.
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In his previous blog posting, titled "The possible partial autonomy for Sabah and Sarawak", Salleh said Sabah and Sarawak do not really want independence as what some people are propagating, because there was no denial that the two states have been enjoying some benefits within the country."Nevertheless, what is of concern to Sabah and Sarawak is the federalisation of the state government and the loss of its autonomy in deciding some matters.
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"We are not talking about independence as a nation-state. That is not even a subject that requires discussion. We are talking about independence in decision-making, or at least in some of the decision-making," he said.Currently, he said the Federal Government not only decides on the development expenditure but also controls how, what and when development is implemented, which causes delays, wastage and overlapping of functions between the state and federal agencies."Many times the state is left out entirely in the decision-making process. The present system of the federal government practically running the states does not go down well with states that are supposed to enjoy a certain level of autonomy."This would be a good first step for Barisan Nasional to prove to the Sabah and Sarawak voters that it respects their autonomy and honours the spirit of the Malaysian agreement and the 20/18 Point Memorandum."Sabahans and Sarawakians must be made to feel they are partners in Malaysia and not servants of West Malaysian colonialists. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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