He said the claims for the restoration of Sabah rights and autonomy do not mean cessation, or being anti-Malaya/Peninsula or promoting hatred for other Malaysians.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah opposition leader Jeffrey Kitingan wants the federal government to stop threatening those who have spoken up for Sabah’s rights in Malaysia.
He said it could not be denied that the two Borneo states had been overlooked in terms of development and their rights denied under the terms and conditions of the Malaysia Agreement and criticisms should not be construed as unpatriotic.
“The biggest threat to the security of the nation and the break-up of Malaysia is from the ruling government itself,” he said yesterday when urging the federal authorities to acknowledge its treatment of Sabah and Sarawak.
“The more the ruling government ignore and does not address the grievances of and the injustices inflicted on Sabahans and Sarawakians and implement the Malaysia Agreement, the 20/18 Points, the IGC Report and the recommendations of the Cobbold Commission, the louder will be the voice of the people in Sabah and Sarawak.
“The official slogan may be ‘Sabah Maju Jaya Dalam Malaysia’ but the stark reality on the ground and in the kampongs is ‘Sabah Termiskin Dalam Malaysia’,” the STAR Sabah chairman, who’s outspokenness on Sabah issues has landed him in trouble before, said.
Kitingan also contended that if the government wished to take action against perceived “threats to the security and well-being of the nation”, it should look into the statements and threats issued by personalities and groups in the name of Malay rights.
He said such jingoistic terms as Ketuanan Malayu as well as the religious bigots that incite religious hatred and racism are far more dangerous but have been ignored.
The failure of Minister of Defence Hishammuddin Tun Hussein to speak out on those issues, he said, could be construed as arrogance and an abuse of power to lord it over and control Sabahans to ensure Umno and Malaya’s dominance and colonisation over Sabah.
“There is nothing criminal or wrong in any Sabahan/Sarawakian to seek the restoration of the rights, privileges and autonomy of the Borneo States that were taken away or eroded since 1963,” he said.
“The Minister seems to have forgotten the facts of history that Sabah and Sarawak (with Singapore then) formed Malaysia in 1963 and were given various promises and assurances by the then Malayan leaders including the execution of the Malaysia Agreement to induce and entice the Borneo States to form Malaysia.
“Malaysia never existed before 1963 and Malaysia would not have existed even today without Sabah and Sarawak,” Kitingan pointed out.
Critics are not anti-Malaya
He said the claims for the restoration of Sabah rights and autonomy do not mean cessation, or being anti-Malaya/Peninsula or promoting hatred for other Malaysians.
“Claiming for Sabah rights is nothing more than the equivalent claim for Malay rights in the Peninsula. Claiming for these rights also does not mean ‘Sabah for Sabahans’ or ‘Sarawak for Sarawakians’.
“It is not even a shadow of a threat to the security and well-being of the nation although it may seem to be a political threat to the political powers that be.
“A political threat just like the political threat posed by Pakatan Rakyat to the ruling regime does not mean a threat to the nation or security of the nation.
“Such a political situation is but part and parcel of a democracy. However, the ruling regime does not see it that away and used every possible government machinery to bully, harass and intimidate the opposition,” he said.
The Bingkor assemblyman also advised the Minister concerned to take a lesson from the Prime Minister and realise the realities of the political power wielded by the Borneo States and its people including the local BN leaders.
“The people in the Borneo States have awakened from their slumber and now realise that their roles as kingmakers in determining the federal government in Putrajaya and along with it the God-given opportunity to voice and claim the restoration of the rights and autonomy of the Borneo States.
“Sack the ministers and deputy ministers from Sabah and Sarawak today and immediately the ruling BN regime will find itself in the opposition with the Minister himself as the “shadow” minister in the opposition cabinet,” he said.
Kitingan continued that the claims for restoration of Sabah rights and autonomy are beyond harassment and threats by the ministers and the government machinery.
He further noted that the people of Sabah including Sabah Umno/BN leaders and supporters are already joining the bandwagon to seek the restoration of the Sabah rights.
“Even the claims for the return of the oil rights and oil revenue, taken 95% by Petronas and the federal government with RM58 billion taken in 2012, can no longer be ignored.
“Promises of development, 1 or 2 ‘Tangki Biru 1-Malaysia’, a few pieces of zinc and timber, a few million here and there, a few hundred million of projects here and there, will no longer satisfy the people in Sabah and Sarawak. It will be more evident come the 14th general election,” he said.
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