“20 Points Valid Forever - Sabah Failed By Her Leaders - Jeffrey”

KOTA KINABALU - “The 20-Points is relevant forever as long as Sabah is part of Malaysia and it must be implemented together with the Malaysia Agreement, in particular Article VIII where the Governments of Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak are required by whatever means including legislative, executive or other action as may be required to implement the assurances, undertakings and recommendations of the IGC Report which are not implemented by express provision in the Constitution of Malaysia ” said Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, Chairman of STAR Sabah, in a press statement released today disagreeing with Tan Sri Harris Salleh’s opinion that the 20-Points is irrelevant.

Even Prime Minister Najib in the run-up to GE-13 agrees that the 20-Points is valid and needs to be respected with autonomy for Sabah unless he is lying, of course, to win the votes of the people in Sabah.

With due respect to Tan Sri Harris, his contention that the 20-Points have been incorporated in the Constitution and irrelevant is not true.  Where is the new Constitution of Malaysia under Point No. 3?

Where is the Borneonisation of the public services under Point No. 8 when 80% of the top posts in government departments are headed by Malayans while Sabahans are only given low-ranking positions and menial jobs?  Where is the control of Sabah’s own finance, development funds and tariffs under Point No. 11?  Where is the special position of indigenous races under Point No. 12 when the State is over-run by foreigners given dubious ICs and better rights than the local natives?  Why is an Indian Muslim born in India but given a IC and enjoys better privileges and rights than a native born in Sabah?  Why is the education system not under the control of the Sabah government under Point No. 15?   Why are amendments to the Federal Constitution made without the positive concurrence of the Sabah Government under Point No. 16,  in particular the amendment on 27 August 1976 downgrading Sabah to be the 12th State?   Why is the federal representation in Parliament not in line with Point No. 17?

Furthermore, it is not necessary to focus on the constitution when Article VIII of the Malaysia Agreement clearly provides that the Governments of the Federation of Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak are to take such legislative, executive or other action as may be required to implement the assurances, undertakings and recommendations of the IGC Report in so far as they are not implemented by express provision of the Constitution of Malaysia.

The 20-Points will forever be relevant so long as Sabah remains in Malaysia and the Malaysia Agreement and the 20-Points will be at a higher hierarchy than the Constitution of Malaysia as the Constitution will be subject to the terms and conditions agreed and promises and assurances given to Sabah for the formation of Malaysia under the Malaysia Agreement and the 20-Points.

The greatest failure of the formation of Malaysia is the non-compliance of the Malaysia Agreement and the down-grading of Sabah and Sarawak from equal partners to the 12th and 13th subservient state/colony of Malaya.

Where is the government of the Federation of Malaya if it not masquerading as the federal government of Malaysia?

As unanimously told by all the 4 speakers, Tan Sri Herman Luping, Tan Sri Peter Lo and Tan Sri Majid Khan, at the recent forum on “The Formation of Malaysia – the Untold Story”, Sabah agreed to form the new nation of Malaysia as an equal partner with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore and did not join Malaysia.

“I agree totally with Tan Sri Harris that the leaders of Sabah have failed to safeguard the position of Sabah in Malaysia and these leaders including Harris himself are to be blamed for the position of Sabah today, down-trodden, subservient and colonized as the 12tht state of Malaya masquerading as Malaysia” added Dr. Jeffrey.

After 50 years of lies and cover-up, the time has come for the Sabah government and Sabahans to assert itself as an equal partner in Malaysia.   We will need to see whether the Chief Minister and the government leaders will prove Harris wrong since the Chief Minister had at the opening session of the current State Assembly asserted that Sabah join Malaya and Sarawak to form Malaysia in 1963.