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The following is the unaltered full text of Assemblyman Ba Kelalan Baru Bian’s Malaysia Day Message.
As another Malaysian Day approaches, I am at my ‘cottage’ in the Pa ‘Brunut Highlands, Lawas, where I can see Gunung Murud and Batu Lawi soaring majestically in the distance on a clear day. The view that I am blessed with here is exactly what my parents and grandparents enjoyed during their time on this earth. There are not many places in Sarawak where time has stood still like in our highlands, and where beauty and majesty endure.
I can’t help but think that for Sarawak, in many aspects of much-needed progress and development, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Ironically, in certain areas, we even seem to be regressing.
These thoughts come to me as I reflect on how Sarawak has fared in the past 57 years after the Malaysian Accord was signed, making us a founding partner of the Federation of Malaysia. Pledges were made, giving our leaders great hope for the progress and advancement of Sarawak and its people. We were to be equal partners with Sabah (then North Borneo), Singapore and Malaya in the new Federation of Malaysia, and special emphasis should be given to Sarawak so that we could catch up with the steady growth of development in Malaya. .
However, 57 years later, we are ‘negotiating’ with the Malaysian peninsula about our rights and the promises that were made to us during the discussions that led to the signing of the Malaysia Agreement and also pursuant to the Malaysia Agreement.
My former law professor Shad Saleem Faruqi put it well in his latest article in his Reflecting on Law in the Star column of September 10, 2020:
“Unfortunately, however, 57 years later, all is not going well with the relationship of the (former) Borneo states with the Federal Government.
In many areas, the autonomy of Sabah and Sarawak has suffered a serious setback due to constitutional, political, cultural and religious developments on the peninsula.
Federal Government leaders now recognize that the Sabah and Sarawak concern is real and must be addressed.
The problems are not only related to fairness and efficiency in intergovernmental financial relations, but also extend to perceived interference with the cultural, ethnic and religious uniqueness of Sabah and Sarawak ”.
These are the words of a respected academic, not a politician. There is no denying that a large number of Sarawakians feel resentful. Many are convinced that Sarawak has been difficult. As Professor Shad noted, Sabah and Sarawak have contributed huge territories and massive resources to the federation. However, we have not received benefits or proportional benefits.
In fact, last year the Minister for Rural and Regional Development told us that the poorest district in all of Malaysia is Pakan in Sarawak. Even more humiliating is the fact that 13 of the 28 poorest districts are in Sarawak. This is not the Sarawak within Malaysia that our ancestors were promised.
The issues of race and religion that are exploited on the Malaysian peninsula do not sit well with us in Sarawak. The silence of most ministers and the Prime Minister when a member of parliament made disparaging comments about Christianity and the Bible is a worse slap in the face than the offensive remarks of the member of parliament. Even more overwhelming are the apologist ministers in Sarawak who want us to swallow the insults and be silent, all for their self-preservation because they are in partnership with UMNO and PAS. Let us not forget that the question of “Allah” remains unresolved to this day. The powers that be on the Malaysian peninsula refuse to acknowledge that Christians in Sarawak have the right to practice our faith as we have done for generations. This is not the Sarawak within Malaysia that our ancestors were promised.
The MA63 negotiations that the PH government had conducted with Sabah and Sarawak have now taken a back seat with the dissolution of the Cabinet Steering Committee. The PN government has announced that the bipartisan and independent Parliament Select Committee planned for the implementation of MA63 is not necessary and instead proposed the creation of a special council. In another humiliation for Sabah and Sarawak, the Final Report on MA63 was placed under the Official Secrets Act of 1972. Sarawakians must ask themselves what the federal government wants to hide from us and, more importantly, why MPs in Sarawak are taking this backward data. steps meekly? These are our rights that are being debated and we have the right to know the content of the report.
That these recall announcements were made by a Sarawak deputy minister is a bitter pill for us. The West Malaysian ministers not only kicked us in the stomach, they got a complacent Sarawakian to give us the flying kick. We must not forget that the government of Sarawak BN over the years had allowed our rights to be eroded by the federal government. The PH government had resolved 17 of the 21 issues under MA63. Now these 17 matters to be delegated to Sabah and Sarawak are on hold. It seems that we return to the starting point. This is not the Sarawak within Malaysia that our ancestors were promised.
When it comes to our oil and gas resources, Sarawak has had to sue for our right to obtain income from sales taxes on petroleum products. Although Petronas has agreed to pay the sales tax to Sarawak, with its recently announced losses, will it be able to pay?
Over the years, our indigenous communities have been marginalized and left behind. Politically they have been discriminated against for the manipulation of the electoral system by the federal government to ensure that the minority race has disproportionate power and dominance. In addition to this, they have to fight the state for recognition of their native customary rights to the land. This is not the Sarawak within Malaysia that our ancestors were promised.
There are many other issues that arise from the unequal treatment of Sabah and Sarawak by Peninsula Malaysia, especially in matters on the federal list of the Federal Constitution. It is undeniable that good infrastructure provides the stimulus for economic growth and industrialization. An adequate network of road infrastructure is essential to take advantage of the economic potential of the different corners of our vast State. However, our infrastructure is at least a decade, if not two, behind that of the Malaysian peninsula. Our agricultural and tourism potential has not yet been even partially realized.
The ruined schools problem is, in my opinion, one of the worst failures of the federal government, which has led to the sorry state of our rural education today. Many of these schools have not been properly improved or maintained since they were built in the 1950s and 1960s. Lack of water and electricity is common, and poor internet and broadband connection in rural schools has been a problem lately. conversation, as a result of the viral YouTube video of a Sabahan schoolgirl who has to take her exams in the top of a tree in order to access the Internet. on your mobile phone.
Greed and corruption have proliferated among the political and business elite. We have a former prime minister who has shown no remorse for the crimes he has committed, but insists that he has done nothing wrong. The current government is one that was not elected by the people, but was formed by opportunistic and unscrupulous politicians who seized power through unethical means. It is clear to all that this crop of politicians in power has no moral fiber.
At this point in Sarawak’s history within Malaysia, what we see is an abject failure in this union between countries that are not only physically distant from each other, but are also different demographically, culturally, and in our languages and histories. Resentment over Malaya’s dominance over Sarawak is beginning to gain voice and action.
What is the way forward for us? What will my grandson’s story be like when he becomes a man? I think we have to work with the cards that were dealt to us. That means we must take steps to correct what we consider to be the mistakes that have been made over the years. We need to come together and come together to claim our rightful place in the corridors of power as equal partners, not as subordinate and silent second cousins.
To do that, political leaders must step back and reflect on what our ancestors wanted for Sarawak. Are we doing all we can to honor and achieve your visions and dreams? Or are we motivated by our own selfish desires for power and position?
The people of Sarawak are united in a fierce and loyal love for this land we call home. I know that the hearts of many are hurting and angry at the way things have turned out. We have been used for many years as a fixed deposit for Malaysian teachers without any interest payment. We see a trail of destruction and disintegration of this country and its people. But this is the only home we know and love and we still have immense pride in being Sarawakians. We need to stand up and be counted when Sarawak needs us most.
We need to do things differently now. Fifty-seven years of doing the same things over and over have not done much to improve the lives of our people, but have enriched a handful of powerful elites. We have reached the dry and tasteless end of the sugar cane that Tun Jugah spoke of.
If we don’t change now, the danger is that we will eventually lose more and more of our rights, our voice and our identity. In a few months we will have the opportunity to change the course of our history and indeed that of the Federation of Malaysia. When that day comes, let’s seize the moment. It is time to dwell on the Malaysia that our ancestors signed up for. It is time to quench our thirst with a sweet sugar cane.
Happy Malaysia Day. God bless Malaysia. God bless Sarawak and Sabah.
New Bian
ADUN N81 Ba ‘Kelalan
MP P214 Selangau
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