Needless to say, all 57 MPs failed to understand and have failed in their constitutional roles to defend, uphold and strive for their respective homeland’s rights and failed to fight for the restoration of the rights which have been diluted or not implemented since 1963.
Some of them including their predecessors have even been complicit and guilty of giving or surrendering Sabah and Sarawak’s rights in the past.
It needs to be appreciated and understood that Sabah and Sarawak are different from the 11 States of Malaya. They must realize that their MP seats in the federal parliament are constitutional safeguards to ensure that their homeland’s rights are not eroded or lost. Some of these losses are major disasters to Sabah and Sarawak and resulted in them being the poorest in the nation despite huge natural resources.
In 1965, the federal parliament failed to restore the one-third veto power of MPs from Sabah and Sarawak after the departure of Singapore resulting in Malaya having a free hand to amend the Federal Constitution. Amend, they did in 1976, when Sabah and Sarawak were reduced to and downgraded to be the 12th and 13th States of Malaya with effect from 27 August 1976. As a result, Sabah and Sarawak, though bigger in land size, were swallowed up by Malaya.
In 1974, the draconian and thieving Petroleum Development Act (PDA74) was passed and pursuant thereto on 26 March 1975, Tun Abdul Razak signed away all of Sabah and Sarawak’s oil and gas rights to vest in Petronas.
As a result, Sabah and Sarawak’s oil and gas resources were “stolen” and their people made to suffer until today when even an increase of the current measly 5% cash payment is denied by the federal government. To compound the poverty, the Petronas revenues were used to develop Malaya until it can achieve “developed” status while Sabah and Sarawak lag 50 years behind with many having no clean treated water, no electricity and poor roads.
The MPs of today are no different and are tied to their party’s stand which is a Malaya Agenda to maintain their hold over Sabah and Sarawak and taking away of their resources to Malaya.
The MPs of today because of their Malayan parties’ ties and stand are unable to even table a motion to review the Malaysia Agreement, or to abolish the unconstitutional PDA74, or even ask for the cash payment for the oil and gas resources to be increased to 20% despite it being in the BN and Pakatan election manifesto.
Their should wake up from their high positions and comfort zones as MPs and realize that as “Kingmakers” they can change the federal government, even as this article is being read by the people. Such is the power of the 57 MPs from Sabah and Sarawak.
It is no coincidence that there are 11 Ministers and 10 Deputies from Sabah and Sarawak in the current Cabinet. It is not because they are Umno or BN but because they come from Sabah and Sarawak and are kingmakers as championed by the opposition in Sabah in PRU-13. And if they deny their support to BN, the federal government will change hands not overnight but on the spot.
The 57 MPs need to change their mindset and prioritize the upholding and safeguarding of Sabah and Sarawak rights in Malaysia. If they do that, there is no stopping the restoration of their homeland’s rights and there is no necessity for the Chief Minister of Sarawak to seek the devolution of autonomy for Sarawak.
The Prime Minister, whether from BN or Pakatan, will willingly hand Sabah and Sarawak’s rights, full autonomy, financial allocations and all, on a silver platter to Sabah and Sarawak.
For the people of the Borneo States especially in Sabah, it is an important lesson to be learnt from Wan Azizah and Professor Faruqi’s statements and ensure that in coming elections, they put their votes to good use and wisely choose MPs who are prepared to fight for Sabah rights, not the rights and priorities of their Malayan parties which is contradictory to the Sabah Agenda.
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