Sabah dan Sarawak adalah BERSTATUS NEGARA dan bukannya Negeri.

Sabah dan Sarawak adalah sebuah Negara yang MERDEKA DAN BERDAULAT yang mana kedua - dua NEGARA ini telah bersama-sama dengan Singapura dan Malaya untuk membentuk Persekutuan Malaysia pada 16 September 1963.

Happy Sabah (North Borneo) Independence Day 51 Years

Sabah or previously known as North Borneo was gained Independence Day from British on August 31, 1963. To all Sabahan, do celebrate Sabah Merdeka Day with all of your heart!

Sarawak For Sarawakian!

Sarawak stand for Sarawak! Sarawakian First. Second malaysian!

The Unity of Sabah and Sarawak

Sabah dan Sarawak adalah Negara yang Merdeka dan Berdaulat. Negara Sabah telah mencapai kemerdekaan pada 31 Ogos 1963 manakala Negara Sarawak pada 22 Julai 1963. Sabah dan Sarawak BUKAN negeri dalam Malaysia! Dan Malaysia bukan Malaya tapi adalah Persekutuan oleh tiga buah negara setelah Singapura dikeluarkan daripada persekutuan Malaysia.

Sign Petition to collect 300,000 signatures

To all Sabahan and Sarawakian... We urge you to sign the petition so that we can bring this petition to United Nations to claim our rights back as an Independence and Sovereign Country for we are the Nations that live with DIGNITY!

Decedent of Rajah Charles Brooke

Jason Desmond Anthony Brooke. The Grandson of Rajah Muda Anthony Brooke, and Great Great Grandson of Rajah Charles Brooke

Thursday 28 August 2014

MALAYANIZATION PROCESS OF MELANAU TRIBES IN SARAWAK: THE MELANAU SOLUTION IN PREVENTING UMNO INCLUSION IN SARAWAK

In 1990s, the Melanau tribes started to sense the malayanization process. This is due to the decreasing population of the Melanau people where an investigation has been made to find the root of the problem.

From the investigation, it was believed that the process of Malayanization has been going on for 10 years started in early 1980s where certain attempt through the national registration department has changed the identity of Melanau people to Melayu during the registration of the birth.

To cope with this problem, melanau people started to create their own association by establishing small branches such as at district level and then they reunite the association with another melanau association to form the Federation of Melanau Association lead by Melanau Intellactual & Professionals of the State level (Sarawak as a Country) within the Federation of Malaysia which took about 15 years to success. 

Melanau unite among themselves due to the awareness of the importance of protecting their own identity and culture from being stereotyped as Malay (Malaya) which is against their true identity as one of the indigenous tribes in Sarawak.

Through this awareness, it helps to create the awareness to other indigenous tribes and helps them to protect and prevent their race from being turn into Malayanization attempts by the Federal Government for political purpose. From that moment, Sarawak is able to prevent UMNO inclusion to Sarawak until now.

By Abdul Halim Hamdian.

MELANAU ADALAH MELANAU, MELAYU ADALAH MELAYU

Menjawab percubaan MEMELAYUKAN BANGSA MELANAU oleh pihak Malaya yang DIKESAN semenjak 1980.

Penerangan : Perbuatan pihak Malaya yang cuba MEMELAYUKAN masyarakat bukan melayu di Sarawak adalah satu tindakan bertentangan perlembagaan Negara Sarawak, Perlembagaan Persekutuan itu sendiri dan perjanjian Malayasia yang mereka setujui dan tandatangani sendiri. Kerosakan it disemai dan dicambah ke dalam sistem pendidikan terutamanya subjek sejarah dan ditambah buruk dengan KERJASAMA oleh pihak KEMENTERIAN PENDIDIKAN MALAYSIA yang MEMBANTU dalam usaha MENGELIRUKAN rakyat Sarawak dan Sabah terutamanya RAKYAT MALAYA SENDIRI. Apa-apa tindakan yang bertentangan

dengan perlembagaan serta asas-asas perlembagaan boleh dianggap sebagai MENGHASUT dan KERAJAAN PERSEKUTUAN harus bertanggungjawab terhadap kerosakan pengetahuan dan polisi bersifat PEKAUMAN. Di dalam buku teks tersebut, dinyatakan bahawa Masyarakat Melanau menggunakan BAHASA MALAYSIA sedangkan bahasa yang rasmi digunakan oleh Masyarakat Melanau ialah BAHASA MELANAU

Di Dalam Perlembagaan pula, MELANAU dan MELAYU dinyatakan TERPISAH daripada satu sama-lain. Ini kerana perlembagaan dan sejarah itu sendiri memperakui bahawa MELANAU adalah berbeza dengan MELAYU. Manajala “MELAYU” yang dinyatakan dalam Perlembagaan Negara Sarawak pula BUKANLAH MELAYU YANG dimaksudkan sebagai “MELAYU DAN BUMIPUTERA” di MALAYA, tetapi Masyarakat MELAYU SARAWAK yang boleh dianggap sebagai ETNIK LAIN yang mempunyai budaya dan bahasa tersendiri dan HAK MELAYU SARAWAK berserta HAK MASYARAKAT LAIN adalah TERMAKTUB JELAS dalam Perlembagaan Negara Sarawak. 

Dan kami TIDAK MEMERLUKAN pihak MALAYA untuk MENYEBARKAN PENYALAHGUNAAN KONTRAK SOSIAL untuk menimbulkan KETIDAKSENANGAN di kalangan Masyarakat Sarawak yang saling menghormati antara satu sama lain. Pihak MALAYA dan PERSEKUTUAN MALAYSIA HARUS INGAT bahawa KONTRAK SOSIAL TERGUNAPAKAI HANYA di MALAYA dan bukan di Sabah/Sarawak. Maka, kami akan memerhatikan apakah tindakan pihak Persekutuan Malaysia mengenai perkara ini, dan kami akan bertindak SELARAS dengan APA YANG PERSEKUTUAN lakukan.

Jangan disentuh hal kami di Negara Sarawak dan Sabah, selesaikan dahulu MASALAH PERKAUMAN anda di Malaya. KAMI TIDAK MEMERLUKAN ANDA.

-Bersama-Sama Kita Membina Semula Negara Kita-

#SarawakForSarawakian
#SabahForSabahan

DUM SPIRO SPERO | PERGO ET PERAGO 

Sunday 24 August 2014

Adakah Sabah dan Sarawak betul-betul mahu meninggalkan Malaysia?

Dua ahli politik Malaysia Timur cuba meredakan keinginan Sabah dan Sarawak untuk meninggalkan Malaysia, tetapi seorang ahli akademik dan pakar dalam subjek tersebut berkata, sentimen tersebut sedang menjadi satu gerakan selepas 51 tahun negara ini bersatu.

Ahli politik Menteri Pembangunan Tanah Sarawak Tan Sri Dr James Masing (gambar) dan ahli Parlimen Penampang Darell Leiking berkata keinginan tersebut sekadar sentimen sahaja, bukannya satu gerakan.
Leiking berkata keinginan pemuda Sabah untuk berpisah merupakan himpunan kemarahan mereka terhadap layanan daripada kerajaan Persekutuan.
Namun Profesor James Chin, seorang pakar dalam hubungan Malaysia Timur dan Barat, percaya bahawa gerakan untuk berpisah tersebut adalah benar. Ia cuma berselindung kerana pemisahan itu akan dianggap pengkhianatan dalam undang-undang Malaysia.
Beliau berkata, sukar untuk diketahui jika sentimen itu akan memberi impak kepada pilihan raya kerana walaupun sentimen tersebut kuat, ia hanya dapat diluahkan melalui media sosial dan jauh daripada pemerhatian kerajaan.
"Orang muda Sabah hari ini berkata mereka mahu merujuk semula kepada perjanjian asal. Apa yang mereka mahu ialah untuk mengkaji semula perjanjian Malaysia," kata Leiking di pelancaran buku "50 Years of Malaysia: Federalism Revisited”.
"Saya rasa ini bagus kerana dapat menunjukkan kesedaran orang muda tentang negeri Sabah,"  kata Leiking.
"Ia akan berterusan sehinggalah Putrajaya mengkaji semula perjanjian tersebut," katanya kepada hadirin di forum yang diadakan di Universiti Sunway, Subang Jaya baru-baru ini.
Keinginan untuk berpisah daripada penyatuan Persekutuan di kalangan rakyat Malaysia Timur ini kebanyakannya diluahkan di Internet melalui laman media sosial seperti SSKM (Sabah Sarawak Leave Malaysia).
Namun ahli akademik dan Badan Bukan Kerajaan (NGO) Malaysia Timur pernah mengakui sentimen tersebut amat benar, terutamanya di kalangan generasi muda.

Dalam satu tinjauan yang dilakukan The Malaysian Insider pada akhir minggu Julai, di antara 100 rakyat Malaysia Timur menunjukkan angka terbesar dalam tinjauan tersebut – 43% – merasa Sabah dan Sarawak hanya boleh menyelesaikan masalah mereka dengan berpisah daripada Persekutuan.
Kedua-dua tinjauan bandar dan luar bandar mendapati rakyat Sarawak lebih mahukan pemisahan berbanding Sabah.
Kuasa untuk memerintah sendiri merupakan pilihan yang paling disukai di kalangan rakyat Sabah dalam tinjauan. Pilihan pertama mereka adalah untuk bekerjasama dengan kerajaan Sabah untuk menyelesaikan masalah.
Punca utama kemarahan mereka adalah kerana perdana menteri negara berturut-turut yang berpangkalan Umno dari Semenanjung masih belum memenuhi 20 dan 18 persetujuan perjanjian yang dijanjikan kerajaan bagi menyelesaikan masalah Sabah dan Sarawak.
Perjanjian ini membenarkan Sabah dan Sarawak lebih kebebasan dalam menguruskan kewangan negeri, khidmat sivil dan pendidikan.
Pemimpin dan ahli akademik timur Malaysia berkata perjanjian itulah yang memujuk pemimpin Sabah dan Sarawak pada masa itu untuk bersetuju membentuk Malaysia dengan menyertai  Singapura dan Malaya.
Rakyat Malaysia Timur sudah lama merungut tentang Sarawak dan Sabah tidak mendapat peruntukan untuk pembangunan secukupnya meskipun ia memberikan berbilion kepada Putrajaya daripada sumber petroleumnya.
Bagaimanapun, Presiden Parti Rakyat Sarawak Masing yang juga menghadiri forum tersebut berkata sentimen itu tidak sekuat rakyat Sabah jika dibandingkan dengan rakyat Sarawak.
"Mereka mahukan kajian semula persetujuan tersebut, tetapi saya lebih sederhana dan akan meminta mereka sekadar merujuk semula persetujuan tersebut.
"Jika ada janji yang masih belum dipenuhi, marilah kita laksanakannya," kata Masing kepada The Malaysian Insider apabila ditemui selepas forum tersebut.
Leiking juga memberitahu The Malaysian Insider ugutan pemisahan tidaklah seteruk yang disangka.
"Saya dengar tentang (sentimen pemisahan) ini setiap hari di Sabah. Tetapi saya percaya ia lebih kepada keinginan untuk mencapai autonomi dan pengagihan kuasa pusat.
"Ia seperti penceraian. Pasangan mungkin masih marah dengan satu sama lain sehingga berfikir, kita tamatkan sajalah. Tetapi sentiasa ada pilihan untuk berbaik semula daripada terus bercerai."
Chin dari Universiti Monash Malaysia bagaimanapun mendakwa sememangnya ada usaha akar umbi di Sabah dan Sarawak yang menyalurkan kemarahan ini kepada tindakan konkrit.
Ini termasuklah kempen atas talian untuk mengumpul tandatangan bagi petisyen kepada Persatuan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu serta rancangan untuk menyaman Britain.
Prinsip saman terhadap Britain adalah berdasarkan cara Britain salah menguruskan penyatuan  pada 1960 tersebut, oleh itu memberi impak kepada masa depan rakyat Sabah dan Sarawak, kata Chin.
"Sama seperti saman Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Front) terhadap kerajaan Britain," kata Chin.
Saman tersebut mendakwa Britain tidak menyediakan perlindungan yang mencukupi untuk memastikan komuniti India akan selamat di bawah kerajaan Malaya baru.
Selain daripada saman tersebut, adalah kurang jelas bagaimana kemarahan ini akan memberi kesan kepada pilihan raya.
"Kita tidak boleh mengagak kerana tiada parti politik yang boleh berkempen untuk pemisahan. Itu menyalahi undang-undang.
"Tetapi masih kekal perasaan di antara generasi muda Sabah dan Sarawak bahawa eksperimen Persekutuan sudah pun menggagalkan mereka." – 23 Ogos, 2014.

Saturday 23 August 2014

It's Not A Question of Secession But Solution


KOTA KINABALU - “When people talk about separation or secession it means that they are fed-up with the situation and see no hope to their future except opting out” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief, responding to reports that talk of secession is treasonous and threats of being cited for sedition.

It is wrong for any leader or even the government and Ministers to keep on threatening the people and warning them every time there is a mention of wanting to get out of Malaysia.   Instead, they leaders should take the opportunity to listen to the grouses of the people. They cannot seem to understand or refuse to understand the truth behind the discussions and calls for getting out.

They should acknowledge the rising call for separation/secession as a serious sign of dissatisfaction and a cry for solution to deeper underlying problems.

After 50 years in Malaysia, Malaysians are becoming more and more aware of the true history of formation in 1963 and the distortion and manipulation of the true history and the unfair treatment of Sabah, Sarawak and their people.


The true history is Malaya gained independence on 31 August 1957 and Malaysia was only formed on 16 September 1963 through the federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (which left in 1965) as equal partners.   There was no Malaysia before 1963 and there would be no Malaysia today without Sabah and Sarawak.

What has transpired is Sabah and Sarawak were demoted and down-graded to be the 12th and 13th States of Malaysia from 1976?   

This is not the Malaysia that the founding fathers of Sabah and Sarawak had wanted.   In fact, Tun Fuad Stephens in 1963 rejected that Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei be the 12th, 13th and 14th states when he said the following:-

“If we had been asked to join Malaysia at the time Malaya achieved independence and Britain made it possible for us, the story would have been a different one.   Now that “merdeka” has been Malaya’s for some years, and we are still struggling towards it, Malaya’s proposal that we join as the 12th, 13th and 14th states savours of imperialism, of a drive to turn us into Malayan colonies ….. To join Malaya, while we are still colonies ….. The implication is to hand (ourselves) over to your control.”

The Malaysia today is not the “Malaysia” that the founding fathers envisaged.   There was to be freedom of religion and autonomy of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners to Malaya which would include special rights and privileges as well as the indigenous natives of Sabah and Sarawak to be equally treated with the Malays under Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

Alas, it is not to be.   Today, instead of promoting racial harmony and national unity, the Umno-led federal government is promoting and condoning racial and religious bigotry, intolerance and inciting hatred and diluting and restricting religious freedom.  The indigenous natives are marginalized and in Sabah over-run with illegal immigrants granted dubious ICs and MyKads and with voting rights and the racist Umno treating Sabah as its colony as fixed deposit and private property.

Umno in its racism and racial and religious extremism cannot be better said than Pehin Sri Chief Minister of Sarawak who wanted his successor and other leaders to keep Umno and their brand of politics out of Sarawak.

All in, the people in Sabah and Sarawak cannot be blamed for wanting to opt out since they see no light at the end of the tunnel and their future growing dimmer and dimmer by the day.

As rightly clarified subsequently by the good Prof. James Chin, there is nothing treasonous for the people to consider separation as the only viable option out of the 3 available options, namely, maintaining the status quo with Sabah and Sarawak as the 12th and 13th States and continue to suffer with no hope for their future generations; seeking the restoration of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners with restoration of the rights, privileges and autonomy of the Borneo States that were taken away or eroded since 1963 which the federal government of Malaya masquerading as the federal government of Malaysia is refusing to even consider a review’ and finally, parting and going separate ways.

Instead of threats by his Ministers, what PM Najib can do as a positive step is to immediately set-up a Cabinet level National Malaysia Review Committee to review the Malaysia Agreement which is long overdue for 40 years.  At the same time, the PM should re-activate the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) to review and implement the Malaysia Agreement and other recommendations to strengthen the federation-state relations.

The latest threat of sedition by the Umno federal Minister from Sabah is nothing more than pure arrogance and abuse of power and a repeat of the previous unwarranted threats of other federal and Umno Ministers. 

Jeffrey said “Claiming for the restoration of these rights and autonomy are nothing more than the equivalent claim for Malay rights in the Peninsula. Separation or separation is always an open option, whether it is the best option is a separate matter altogether.” 

Choosing to opt out given no other viable alternative is merely seeking the only viable solution to the problems with no other viable solutions.   The calls and cries of the people in Sabah and Sarawak for their rights and leaving is the result of their political leaders failing to perform what is needed for their people.

The Minister from Sabah, if he still consider himself a Sabahan at heart, should lead the way for the restoration of the position and rights of Sabah and Sarawak and their equal treatment in the federation of Malaysia.   He should not behave as though he is the Minister for Malaya and the Umno Malays and not abuse his position and power to threaten the people who are doing no wrong.   As a Sabahan, he should fight for what is best for Sabah and Sabahans and not what is best for Umno/Malaya.

The biggest threat to the break-up of Malaysia is from the leaders like the Minister and the Umno-led ruling government that in itself is more seditious and a bigger threat to the well-being of the nation.
  
If at all there is any sedition, the Minister should review the calls by his Umno leaders, members and leaders and Umno-back or racist NGOs who threaten other peace loving Malaysians and chasing them out from the federation as well as those that incite racial intolerance and hatred against other Malaysians in the name of Malay rights and religion.

Secession: Unofficial referendum underway on FB

Activist Daniel Jambun also urged political parties in Sabah and Sarawak to quit Malaya-based BN and other legislators to quit Pakatan Rakyat and form a third force.

By William Mangor

KUCHING: If postings on Facebook is any indication, then an unofficial referendum on whether Sabah and Sarawak should stay or leave the federation may well be underway.

Citing the high activity in the social media over the issue, Borneo Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPIM) president Daniel Jambun said: “If Facebook is any indication its clear that all the people of Sabah and Sarawak want their countries to end their ties with the Federation.

“Even the illegal immigrants are jumping on the bandwagon of separation because they realised which side their bread would be buttered in the near future and also, they have their own axe to grind with Putrajaya which has given them, by the backdoor, MyKads which are not valid in law and can only be used for voting Barisan Nasional.”

Jambun was commenting on statements by Kota Belud MP Rahman Dahlan and political analyst James Chin on calls to secede.

He urged Rahman to visit the FB pages to better understand Sabah and Sarawakians frustrations.

“If Rahman has any doubts about the sentiments in Borneo towards Malaya, his political master, he should visit Facebook and not question whether Chin is basing his figures on any survey carried out by any authoritative body, “We don’t need to conduct a survey when the sentiment in the streets is clear,” he said. Jambun said that Bopim was taking a stand on the issue and did not want Sabah and Sarawak to continue staying within Malaysia.

“As a first step, we urge all political parties in Sabah and Sarawak to quit the Malaya-based Barisan Nasional coalition and for other legislators to quit Pakatan Rakyat component parties, “All legislators in Borneo should enter a grand coalition or third force in the Malaysian Parliament to protect the rights of the people under the Federal Constitution.

“The third force can back either PR (Pakatan) or BN in Parliament to form the Federal Government without itself being part of the Government.

“The price is full autonomy for Sabah and Sarawak with the Federal Government confined to defence, foreign affairs and national economy planning, “(And) Petronas must also get out of Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.


Rahman Dahlan: Seditious to suggest that Sabah, Sarawak secede

KUALA LUMPUR: Any suggestion that Sabah and Sarawak secede from Malaysia should be treated as sedition, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said Monday.
The Kota Belud MP also dismissed claims by Monash University Malaysia academician Prof James Chin that a slight majority of East Malaysians wished to cede from the country.
"That is a very seditious statement because under the 20-point agreement signed by both parties (Federation of Malaya, and Sabah and Sarawak in 1963), secession is considered treason under Malaysian law.
"Therefore, we cannot secede from Malaysia," he said, adding that Chin's statement was far off the mark in both states.
"As Barisan Nasional secretary in Sabah, never have I come across anyone who had presented their grievances and suggested secession of the state as a solution."
Rahman, who was speaking to reporters after launching the Sime Darby Housing-Income index study, also advised Chin to be more careful when issuing such statements, saying it was a sensitive matter.
Chin, in forum titled Towards A Fairer Electoral System on Sunday, claimed there were growing calls by the grassroots majority in Sabah and Sarawak to leave Malaysia as they felt mistreated under the 50-year-old Malaysia Agreement.
Meanwhile, Rahman also expressed his support for more parliamentary and state seats to be added in East Malaysia, in line with the 1963 agreement.
Responding to a call by non-governmental organisation Tindakan Malaysia over the weekend for more proportionate electoral constituencies, Abdul Rahman said the idea would give Sabah and Sarawak "better footing" in the country's administration.
"Several years ago, the idea to increase more parliamentary and state seats in East Malaysia was mooted and discussed in the Parliament.
"The then Minister in charge of Parliamentary Affairs Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz agreed to the plan but we have yet to see its implementation," he said adding that the Election Commission should consider the move when it commences its re-delineation exercise next month.
Sabah and Sarawak currently have a collective 56 seats in Parliament, translating to 25% of the parliamentary seat allocation.

Don’t muzzle Sabah’s grievances, say state opposition leaders

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 20 ― Members of Sabah’s opposition today today criticised calls to censor social media for discussion on Sabah’s continued future in Malaysia, saying this would ignore the undercurrent of discontent fuelling the topic.

They claim that the grouses are legitimate and there is growing resentment in the state, particularly over the rise in illegal immigrants, the erosion of the local identity, increasing cost of living and general disrespect from their peninsular counterparts.
“It is very obvious Sabahans and Sarawakians are aggrieved and they have every reason to be,” Borneo Heritage Foundation chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said today.
“The Sabah leaders are not listening or helping and people are voicing their frustrations out in social media and other ways,” said Jeffrey, who is also Sabah State Reform Party (STAR) president.
Today, Jeffrey urged State Speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak to work with Putrajaya to establish a “Malaysia Review Committee”  to discuss the problems under the 1963 Sabah Agreement and solve the grouses of the people.
Salleh had on Monday urged the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and police to take action against individuals or groups propagating talks about a Sabah secession on the Internet.
He said that the sentiments on FacebookTwitter and Instagram were creating disunity and might influence the younger generation “who do not understand the history of the nation and inevitably lead them to become rebellious”.
Secession is considered treason under Malaysian law, and discourse on the topic falls foul of the Sedition Act.
Former chief minister and Sabah Progressive Party president Datuk Yong Teck Lee said the way to stop such talk was to address the grievances of the disgruntled locals.
“Sabahans are becoming increasingly aghast at the erosion of identity as Sabahan natives and those touting the idea of succession online are not afraid as they consider themselves patriots and not traitors,” he said.
Penampang MP Darell Leiking said the sentiments behind the talks of secession were result from cumulative anger from several issues plaguing the people, including the large number of illegal immigrant allegedly given citizenship, and distribution of wealth.
“If one was to even recall, Sabah used to have at least three of its own licensed banking and financial institutions but today all banking and financial decisions, even a simple loan approval are now are being decided by corporate owners in West Malaysia,” he said.
Leiking added that it is his belief that the sentiment among Sabahans was not for secession per se, but a desire for the decentralisation of the administration and for a serious review of the Federation of Malaysia.
Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/dont-muzzle-sabahs-grievances-say-state-opposition-leaders#sthash.9XTgy61b.dpuf

Talk of secession is not treasonous, says Jeffrey

By Dukau Papau
When Sabah and Sarawak people talk about separation or secession, it means that they are fed-up with being part of Malaysia and see no hope for their future except by opting out, says Sabah’s maverick politician Jeffrey Kitingan.
“It is wrong to say that talk of secession is treasonous and threaten to cite those who do for sedition,” State Reform Party (Star Sabah) chief Jeffrey said when responding to reports that talk of secession is treasonous.
He said: “It is wrong for any leader, or even the federal government and its ministers, to keep on threatening the people and warning them every time there is a mention of wanting to get out of Malaysia.
“Instead, the leaders should take the opportunity to listen to the grouses of the people.
“They cannot seem to understand, or refuse to understand, the truth behind the discussions and calls for Sabah and Sarawak to get out of Malaysia.”
‘Acknowledge the rising call for separation’
Jeffrey went on to point out that the federal government should acknowledge the rising call for separation/secession as a serious sign of dissatisfaction among the people of the two Borneo states who are crying for solutions to their deeper, underlying problems.
After 50 years in Malaysia, Malaysians were becoming more and more aware of the true history of the country’s formation in 1963, the distortion and manipulation of the true history and the unfair treatment of Sabah, Sarawak and their people.
“The true history is Malaya gained independence on Aug 31, 1957, and Malaysia was only formed on Sept 16, 1963, through the federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore (which left in 1965) as equal partners.
“There was no Malaysia before 1963 and there would be no Malaysia today without Sabah and Sarawak.”
He lamented that what has since transpired was that from 1976, Sabah and Sarawak were demoted and downgraded to be the 12th and 13th States of Malaysia.
What Fuad Stephens said…
“This is not the Malaysia that the founding fathers of Sabah and Sarawak had wanted. In fact, Fuad Stephens in 1963 rejected Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei becoming the 12th, 13th and 14th states when he stated:
‘If we had been asked to join Malaysia at the time Malaya achieved independence and Britain made it possible for us, the story would have been a different one. Now that ‘Merdeka’ has been Malaya’s for some years, and we are still struggling towards it, Malaya’s proposal that we join as the 12th, 13th and 14th states savours of imperialism, of a drive to turn us into Malayan colonies …. To join Malaya, while we are still colonies … The implication is to hand (ourselves) over to your control.’
Jeffrey added: “The indigenous natives are marginalised and Sabah is over-run with illegal immigrants granted dubious MyKad and given voting rights, with the racist Umno treating Sabah as its colony, as fixed deposit and private property.
“Umno in its racism and racial and religious extremism cannot be better, for even the Pehin Sri Chief Minister of Sarawak (right) wants his successor and other leaders to keep Umno and its brand of politics out of Sarawak.
“All in, the people in Sabah and Sarawak cannot be blamed for wanting to opt out of Malaysia, since they see no light at the end of the tunnel and their future growing dimmer and dimmer by the day.
“Instead of threats from his ministers, what Prime  Minister Najib Abdul Razak can do as a positive step is to immediately set up a cabinet-level National Malaysia Review Committee to review the Malaysia Agreement, which is long overdue for 40 years.” – Malaysiakini

Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Can Sabah and Sarawak secede?

RECENTLY, there have been renewed calls for Sabah and Sarawak to assert their interests and rights within the federation of Malaysia. These calls, including by State Reform Party (Star Sabah) chief Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, have included proposals to consider secession. The same sentiments are also apparent in Sarawak. The Union of Sarawak and Sabah Nationalists has called on newly sworn-in Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem to fight for equal rights, or secede from the federation.
The Nut Graph speaks to political scientist Wong Chin Huat to find out what’s behind these calls for secession, and whether secession by any state in the federation would even be possible.
TNG: What is triggering these calls for secession in Borneo?
First, the sense of betrayal is growing stronger and stronger among most Sarawakians and Sabahans. The Malaysia project was meant to bring about decolonisation, which would lead to prosperity and dignity. However, many Borneans feel that they did not get decolonised after 1963. Rather it would seem that the colonial office was transferred from London to Kuala Lumpur – a claim initially made by Indonesian President Soekarno, who vehemently opposed Project Malaysia.
How can you blame Sabahans and Sarawakians for feeling this way? Sabah and Sarawak have the richest natural resources and yet, today, they are among Malaysia’s poorest. In Sabah, just about 200km from Kota Kinabalu, three villages in Pangi are connected to the next town,Tenom, by just a railway, not a road. Beyond the limited train service, the locals have to creatively transport themselves on “trolleys”. Is this “Sabah Maju Jaya Dalam Malaysia”?
The second trigger for renewed secession calls is Umno’s weakening hold of power in Malaya. This has emboldened the Bornean elite. At the same time, it also pushes Umno to play up ethno-religious issues, such as the “Allah” ban, in order to secure its vote base. This only enrages many Sabahans and Sarawakians, both Christians and Muslims.
Do you think the call for secession will gain traction in either Sabah or Sarawak? Should Putrajaya be taking these calls seriously?
The obstacle to Sabah and Sarawak nationalism – greater in Sabah than in Sarawak – is the Malaya-style ethno-religious politics imported since 1963. Sabahans and Sarawakians are generally proud of their harmonious and tolerant communal relations. But things changed fundamentally after the installation of Tun Mustapha Harun as Sabah chief minister in 1967 and Tun Abdul Rahman Yakub as Sarawak chief minister in 1970.
Umno laid down a new ground rule: the chief minister had to be a Muslim. While this built resentment against Kuala Lumpur among the non-Muslims, especially the Christian bumiputeras, it also tied the political interests of Muslims structurally. Being a Muslim is like holding a political lottery to the top job.
Umno created a captive market among Muslim Borneans through “Muslim supremacy”, hence keeping itself in power nationally and through its Muslim vassals at the state level. In Sabah, where Muslims were 37.9% of the population in 1963, Mustapha and later Tan Sri Harris Salleh actively converted non-Muslims to Islam. Later, under Project M, Muslim electoral strength was boosted with instant and en masse naturalisation of Filipinos, Indonesians and even Pakistani and Indian Muslims.
Just last year, the Sabah mufti called for Muslim bumiputeras to be categorised as Malays, indirectly admitting the political process of Malayisation: Non-Muslim bumiputeras → Muslim bumiputeras → Malays.
Sarawak is by and large spared from this Malayisation process because it hurts the Melanau ruling elites’ interests. If Malays became the majority, the Melanau would soon be out of the running for both the offices of chief minister and governor. But in Sarawak as in Sabah, entrenched “Muslim supremacy” creates incentives for some Muslims to vote for the Barisan Nasional (BN) no matter what. So, how can secession gain enough appeal to command a majority?
Putrajaya is not too worried about Bornean secessionism as long as the religious card still works. In the 2013 general election, Umno and Parti Pesaka Bumipetera Bersatu (PBB) – the only other Muslim-dominated BN component party – won 46% of seats, just 10 seats away from a simple parliamentary majority of 112. They did this with a mere 32% of total votes. If Putrajaya gets to increase seats in Sabah and Sarawak, you can bet that there will be even more Muslim-majority constituencies, keeping Umno solidly in power for two more terms.  Then any talk of secession would just be a pipe dream.
For Sabah and Sarawak nationalists to be a real force to be reckoned with, even before any talk of secession, they must be able to present an inclusive discourse. This discourse must cut across the Muslim-Christian divide. So far, the Bornean nationalists have been disproportionally Christian. That speaks volumes.
Do you think this growing sense of dissatisfaction with and distrust of Putrajaya is stronger in Sabah or Sarawak?
The question may not be the intensity of discontent per se, but its distribution. After all, we must not assume that Sabah or Sarawak, like any other state or nation, is a unitary actor. In Sarawak, there is general consensus across political parties to keep Umno out. The only exception may be a few Malay PBB leaders who want to end the Yakub-Taib Mahmud Melanau dynasty by setting up a Sarawak Umno. Former Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud’s success in keeping Umno out has also made many Sarawakians feel more distant from its threat.
In Sabah, Umno’s entry polarised the population. While many became more anti-Malaya, others found that their political and economic fortunes were tied to Umno.
Taib reportedly told his successor Adenan to keep Umno’s brand of politics out of Sarawak and to protect the state’s rights under the 1963 Malaysia Agreement. How able do you think Adenan will be in doing that?
Adenan will not do that. Neither will Taib actually want him to do that. Mustapha was once 
Prime
 Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman’s darling and was allowed to run Sabah like his own fiefdom. Taib was no different in Sarawak. But when Mustapha’s head grew too big, Kuala Lumpur propped up a new party, Berjaya, and brought him down in the elections.

For Taib, all Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak needs to do is to get the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate more seriously the allegations of graft against him. And if even the 33-year reigning Taib didn’t challenge Putrajaya to protect his state, why should newbie Adenan risk his own political future?
One of the calls has been for Putrajaya to set up a cabinet-level committee to review the Malaysia Agreement, which has been overdue for 40 years. What’s preventing this review?
A review would mean decentralisation and greater autonomy. This would mean greater political independence for the Bornean elite and possibly also their masses. This in turn would mean the BN losing its fixed deposit, or at least having to pay more for support from the East. Why should Umno risk this political suicide? Until Sabahans and Sarawakians can unite across ethno-religious lines, it would be foolish for Umno to make any concessions.
Singapore left the federation of Malaysia in 1965. So, we know from history that it is possible for a state to leave. From a political and legal point of view, what needs to happen for either or both Borneo states to secede?
Singapore did not secede. It was expelled because its ruling party, the People’s Action Party, initiated a second coalition, the Malaysian Solidarity Convention. This coalition consisted of allies from both Malaya and Borneo to challenge the Alliance Party. In Project Malaysia, the right to divorce is only one way. You can be ditched, but you can’t ditch.
In our Federal Constitution, there is only a provision for the admission of new territories (Article 2) but no provision for secession of the existing states. The 20- and 18-point agreements signed away the rights of Sabah and Sarawak respectively to secede. Former Sabah state secretary Tan Sri Simon Sipaun has said several times in public that Sabah locked herself into a prison and threw away the key.
But eventually, what will decide the matter is not the law but politics. If the idea of secession gains ground, and crackdown becomes too costly, then any federal government will have to deal with the challenge politically. If the majority of people want to go, how do you keep them?
For now, however, secession is but a self-indulgent fantasy for many Bornean nationalists.
Do you think calls for secession are treasonous?
I am against secession but all for the right to secede, in the same way that I believe in the right to divorce as a necessary condition for happy marriages. First of all, without the right to divorce, people have to stay in the same marriage even though they are unhappy. Secondly, if divorce is not legally possible, one party may be induced to abuse or exploit the other party, knowing well the latter cannot leave.
It would be mad if people married just to divorce eventually. But the vow to stay together until “death do us part” must be voluntary, not a blank cheque for one party to point a gun at another to stop the other from leaving.
Any breakup is hard and requires difficult negotiations. But this is not an excuse for a tyrannous union. Much as any talk of divorce cannot be construed as adulterous, talk of secession must also not be construed as treacherous. In fact, any coercive means to suppress the idea of divorce or secession is antithetical to the very idea of a celebrated union. If you’re sure of happiness in the union, why would you need to force people to stay?
Do you think secession would end the exploitation of Sabah and Sarawak?

If it does, then all Malaysians are morally bound to agree to the divorce should Sabah and Sarawak want it.
The truth is, however, likely the opposite. Even if we assumed that Sabah and Sarawak could remain independent and not be annexed by Indonesia or the Philippines at some point, independence may not end the exploitation of Sabah and Sarawak. Sabah and Sarawak suffer “double internal colonisation”, first by the Malayan elite in Kuala Lumpur, then by their own elite in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. And these rajahs may just have greater power when they no longer have a colonial master to report to.
To free Sabah and Sarawak from land grabs, rent-seeking and elite capture, you need democratisation, which must include elected governments at the division level. Sabah and Sarawak are so geographically wide and diverse that their divisions are like Malayan states.
Independence without real democratisation can be a recipe for greater disaster. But if you have real democratisation, Sabah and Sarawak may not need independence at all, as they may truly benefit from the union with Malaya.

‘Slight majority’ of East Malaysians want to secede, warns academic

There are growing calls by ordinary East Malaysians for Sarawak and Sabah to leave Malaysia as they feel that the 50-year-old federation has not benefitted them, a Sarawakian academic said today.
"If you have a frank discussion with ordinary Sarawakians and Sabahans, there will be a slight majority to want Sabah and Sarawak to leave Malaysia.
"They feel that since day one, the federal government has not treated Sabah and Sarawak as separate entities as had been promised since 1963," said Professor James Chin of Monash University Malaysia.
The elites of East Malaysia, both in the ruling parties and the opposition, are loath to sever the economic ties they have built with the Peninsula, he said.
Speaking at a forum organised by the Bar Council today, Chin claimed that although this was the voice of the grassroots, the chances of Sabah and Sarawak seceding from Malaysia were unlikely as political leaders and business elites would not support such a move.
Although they were still dissatisfied with Putrajaya's treatment, the elites, especially those in Barisan Nasional, would likely only demand more parliamentary share for Sabah and Sarawak.
"Sabah and Sarawak have different demographics and history and the ruling government has created fault lines in Sabah and Sarawak that did not exist before," said Chin, a political scientist.
Secession is considered treason under Malaysian law.
Chin made this claim during the question-and-answer session at the forum on electoral reform in Petaling Jaya.
He said the political elites of East Malaysia want one third of all seats in Parliament allocated to East Malaysia, which currently has a 25% share of all parliamentary seats.
"This was made known during the parliamentary select committee on electoral reform in 2011, where East Malaysian elected representatives came out with a consensus on their demands.
"The political elites don't want to secede. It's only the grassroots in Sabah and Sarawak." – February 16, 2014.
~ The Malaysian Insider
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