Nation Building In Malaysia - Did it Actually Take-Off?

 Nation Building In Malaysia - Did it Actually Take-Off?

I refer to a statement from Housing and Local Government Minister Dato Sri Dr. Sim Kui Hian dated 1st Oct 2021 and carried by the Borneo Post and also to a statement from Minister for Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah dated the 29th Oct 2021. Both statements referred  to are in relation the ongoing Timah Whisky controversy. 

Both statements alludes to the adverse effects on racial harmony in Malaysia caused by the numerous comments made by netizens on the issue. 

Many have dismissed the furore the controversy has raised, saying it was purposely stirred by some quarters to distract the general Malaysian public from the Pandora Papers and more specifically, the muslim population in Malaysia from the RUU355 issue. 

The leadership of PAS had promised their constituents that RUU355 would be among  their top priority once they are the federal government or part of the federal government. They are now part of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government, together with the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) but the RUU355 has not been tabled in parliament. In the meantime, the Melaka state election has been scheduled for the 20th Nov 2021 and PAS has announced that they will be contesting in the elections.

What I would like do here is to sincerely invite all Malaysians in general and Sarawakians in particular, to reflect on where our Malaysian society is heading in terms of nation building and what we can do to head-off the slide into national decay stage 4.

There is plenty of evidence to indicate that the Rukun Negara (National Principles), built on what has been referred to as the ‘ 7 Pillars of the Nation’ was crafted and agreed upon by our early leaders to be the building block of our nation. One such evidence is to be found in our education system. Malaysian students, from their earliest years in school were drilled in the Rukun Negara. The back page of exercise books had the Rukun Negara printed on it.

We could have easily find ourselves  in our own utopia had our leaders, both in the present and in the yesteryear internalised the ideals of the Rukun Negara and conduct themselves by it. Unfortunately for us the common man on the street, they did not.

The state in which we find ourselves today is saddening to say the least. Malaysians have become so polarized around race and most especially around religion that sometimes it seems that Malaysia is no longer the haven that Malaysians, of diverse racial and religious backgrounds, had hoped for. When a sitting Prime Minister saw it fit to attend a massive and chauvinistic gathering of one particular racial group in which other races were   derided and when an MP saw it fit to bring bigotry to our legislative body by running down Christianity in parliament and subsequently refusing to apologize for that most offensive act, it becomes difficult to continue to pretend that all is well in Malaysia.  

The recently started and still ongoing Timah whisky controversy, into which two of our state ministers have waded, seems to indicate that Malaysia is firmly on the road to becoming an apartheid state where the interest and well being of other races is subjugated to the interest and well being of just one particular race. 

Many of our leaders appears to have forgotten that respecting the sensitivities of others is a two way street. Appreciating that fact, internalizing it and practising it is what caused someone to earn the respect of another who is of a different racial and religious background.

Today just listening to patriotic songs on the radio can become  an excruciatingly painful experience.

When PM Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob launched his Keluarga Malaysia concept on the 8th Oct 2021, he said that the concept was founded upon the Rukun Negara. There was hope that this Keluarga Malaysia concept will prove to be the beginning of the reversal from the slide into total decay for Malaysia. Sadly the national Budget 2022 quickly put an end into the illusion of a better tomorrow. 

Budget 2022 allocated RM11.4 BILLION for empowering the Bumiputra, a term or acronym which dayaks in Sarawak understand not to include them. The children of Sarawak and  Sabah were allocated a combined sum of RM10 million to enable them to better understand culture and heritage. 

Of  the RM75.6 billion allocated for development expenditure, Sarawak was given a measly RM4.6 billion or just 6.08% of the total allocation. It must also be pointed out here that in 2020, Sarawak was the 4th largest contributor to the national GDP. And just to further emphasize the point, the size of Sarawak, at 124,449 km sq , is 94% of the size of Malaya. The injustice in the development budget allocated to Sarawak is as glaring as the mid-day sun. 

In short, the answer to the malady that we are wallowing in now is not to be found with the PN federal government or any other government led by the ultras from UMNO and from PAS or from any other Malaya based political parties that does not have the stomach to reign in the ultras within their ranks.

Believe it or not, this terrible state that Sarawak is in today is our own doing. Too many Sarawakians choose to elect leaders whose mouths are closed up almost immediately after they win in an election and becomes part of the government. 

Today we see some of our elected representatives in the upper echelon of the government, after realizing that they are under close scrutiny, taking to social media to express their disagreement with their colleagues who brazenly continue to tear at the fabrics of our Malaysian society with their inflammatory statements and actions. Some have taken to quoting  verses from the holy scriptures of their religion to discourage their constituents from certain acts that has the potential of triggering the so-called sensitivities of their colleagues. 

Among the acts discouraged is drinking alcoholic drink.

These ‘ leaders ‘ have failed to realize that we elected them to be our voice in the legislative bodies that we elected them into and it is not their ‘ melepas batuk di tepi tangga ‘ that we need to rescue us.

I now called upon our leaders to both recognize this predicament that we are in and the need for them to be effective voices for us whom they represent. Accordingly, they must start to act and taIk in parliament and in Sarawak’s DUN the way we need them to - fearless and single-minded in voicing our needs. It is not enough for them to be just facilitators of development projects in their respective areas.

SUPP SARAN PIHAK MEMPUNYAI PENDIRIAN JELAS

SUPP SARAN PIHAK MEMPUNYAI PENDIRIAN JELAS 

(BAHASA)

SUPP menyarankan agar semua pihak menyatakan pendirian mereka dengan jelas jika usulan pindaan Artikel 160 tidak dapat diselesaikan sebelum PRU15 (Borneo Post Sabtu, 3 April 2021)

KUCHING (3 Apr): Sarawak United People Party (SUPP) menyarankan bahawa jika usulan pindaan Artikel 160 Perlembagaan Persekutuan tidak dapat diselesaikan sebelum pilihan raya umum berikutnya, semua pihak yang memutuskan untuk menyertai dalam perjuangan, demi kepentingan Sarawak, diharapkan akan menyatakan pendirian mereka dengan jelas melalui manifesto pilihan raya mereka.

Jawapan rakyat: Drama sebegini tidak diperlukan. Sebagai ‘Kingmakers’, GPS hanya perlu membuat tindakan tegas dan meminta PM Muhyiddin dan Kerajaan PN membuka kembali Parlimen untuk bersidang  dan segera menyelesaikan isu tersebut. Usahlah ditunggu sehingga pilihan raya kerana rakyat Sarawak sudah bosan mendengarnya sejak 1963.

Dalam satu kenyataan hari ini, Presiden Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian mengatakan bahawa mereka akan memikirkan semula sama ada mereka bersetuju atau tidak dengan cadangan Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) untuk mengkaji semula MA63 dan meminda Artikel 160 Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Jawapan rakyat: Tidak ada yang setuju atau tidak setuju. Perkara sebegini adalah tugas dan tanggungjawab yang harus digalas Kerajaan Negeri untuk melaksanakannya, sesuai dengan Artikel VIII MA63. Rakyat percaya  bahawa anda sebagai Kerajaan yang akan melindungi hak dan kepentingan Sarawak di bawah MA63. Lakukan sahaja.

“Ini untuk memastikan bahawa tafsiran Persekutuan Malaysia akan sesuai dengan Perjanjian Malaysia 1963 (MA63), bukan bermaksud persekutuan yang ditubuhkan di bawah Perjanjian Persekutuan Tanah Melayu 1957.

Jawapan rakyat: Bapa pengasas telahpun menandatangani Perjanjian MALAYSIA. Sudah jelas bahawa Perlembagaan Persekutuan harus bertindak sesuai dengan Perjanjian yang telah dibuat.

"Bagi mereka yang berhasrat untuk bertanding di Sarawak, parti-parti dan juga calon individu harus melakukan hal yang sama, selain itu, mereka harus berjanji kepada rakyat Sarawak, memberitahu rakyat mengenai apa yang akan mereka lakukan. Jika tidak, mereka berkemungkinan akan pecah amanah , "Katanya.

Jawapan rakyat: Perkara pertama, MA63 harus menjadi proses yang berterusan, bukan hanya pada waktu pilihan raya. Sejak SUPP berada di Kerajaan Negeri selama bertahun-tahun, inilah masanya untuk mereka bertindak sepertimana yang telah diperkatakan.

Beliau berkata, Pindaan yang akan dibuat terhadap Perlembagaan Persekutuan, kerajaan Perikatan Nasional (PN) pada masa ini tidak akan dapat dilaksanakan tanpa sokongan kolektif oleh majoriti anggota Parlimen.

Jawapan rakyat: Banyak perkara boleh dilakukan untuk Sarawak ketika SUPP dan BN memperoleh majoriti dua pertiga. Sekarang anda tidak mempunyai nombor kedudukan dan anda cuba menyimpan selebihnya sebagai simpanan pada masa akan datang. Walaupun begitu, anda masih boleh menyampaikan usul di Parlimen. Nombor tersebut akan ada atau tidak. Kita akan melihat jika dapat memisahkan para “ahli patriot dari burung kakak tua”

Dr Sim menegaskan bahawa untuk Sarawak khususnya, jaminan untuk janji pilihan raya adalah penting memandangkan terlalu banyak janji pilihan raya yang telah dilanggar oleh parti-parti politik dan calon mereka dalam beberapa tahun terakhir.

Jawapan rakyat: Memang - jika tidak, semua parti politik dan ahli politik akan menyembunyikan  sejarah mereka yang tidak menepati janji sebelum pilihan raya mereka.

Pakatan Harapan mempunyai pengalaman selama 22 bulan dalam Kerajaan.

SUPP dalam BN / GPS dan PN mempunyai pengalaman hampir 50 tahun.

Pada MA63, rakyat Sarawak masih ingat bahawa Negeri kita kehilangan atau haknya terhakis terutamanya semasa kerajaan BN / GPS dalam Kerajaan.

“Pakatan Harapan terkenal kerana memperlakukan janji mereka yang dibuat kepada Sarawak sebagai cek kosong tetapi tidak sah.

Jawapan rakyat: Jadi bagaimana jika PH 'terkenal kerana memperlakukan janji mereka yang dibuat ke Sarawak paling banyak adalah cek yang baik tetapi tidak sah'?

Bolehkah ini lebih buruk daripada SUPP dan BN / GPS kerana secara tidak sengaja menyerahkan hak milik Sumber Minyak & Gas kita kepada Petronas aka Kerajaan Persekutuan dan perairan laut wilayah kita dan mengurangkan status Sarawak dari 'salah satu rakan pengasas' menjadi 'hanya sebuah Negeri di Persekutuan Malaysia '?

"Banyak janji yang telah dibuat oleh mereka berkaitan dengan MA63, mereka bercakap besar dan bersuara keras mengenai hak dan sumber perlembagaan rakyat Sarawak dalam kempen pilihan raya, namun catatan menunjukkan bahawa mereka telah mengabaikan kepentingan Sarawak selama bertugas sebagai kerajaan  persekutuan," katanya.

Jawapan rakyat: Adakah ini usaha ibarat “hangat-hangat tahi ayam”?

Apabila SUPP dan BN / GPS mempunyai angka dan majoriti dua pertiga, mengapa masalah MA63 ini tidak diselesaikan dengan efektif ?

Adakah SUPP berteriak sekarang kerana perlu membuat beberapa suara, namun tidak relevan, jika tidak SUPP tidak signifikan yang telah menjadi sebahagian daripada GPS?

Di samping itu, Dr Sim menyatakan bahawa Kerajaan PH sebelumnya telah mengemukakan rang undang-undang pindaan perlembagaan pada April 2019 mengenai status Sabah dan Sarawak, tetapi itu adalah "muslihat politik", kerana MA63 tidak disentuh atau disebutkan.

“Untuk GPS, usulan pindaan oleh Kerajaan PH paling baik adalah muslihat politik, untuk menunjukkan bahawa PH telah memenuhi manifesto pemilihannya …… ​kita menginginkan sesuatu yang lebih substantif, kukuh dan berlandaskan semangat MA63.

Jawapan rakyat: Bukti telahpun dilihat dengan jelas. Sehingga usul telahpun diluluskan, kami masih akan menganggapnya sebagai SUPP / GPS 'dan' muslihat politik 'PN

"Oleh kerana PH tidak membetulkan kesalahan yang dibuat dalam pindaan perlembagaan 1976, anggota parlimen GPS menolak untuk menyokong rang undang-undang tersebut, Kerajaan Persekutuan PH tidak menerima cadangan balas GPS, sehingga situasi mereka telahpun buntu. Oleh kerana berlebihan luntuk mendapatkan mata politik untuk PH, ia menyebabkan semangat memperjuangan MA63 telah hilang, oleh itu rang undang-undang itu gagal, "katanya

Jawapan rakyat: Mereka telah melepaskan sesuatu yang amat beharga. Tidak ada gunanya menangis untuk sesuatu yang telah berlaku, tetapi oleh kerana SUPP dan BN / GPS bertanggungjawab untuk membenarkan pindaan Perlembagaan 1976, adalah wajar mereka menebus dosa-dosa masa lalu mereka dan bertaubat atas ketidakadilan 1976 yang dilakukan terhadap Sarawak.

Dr Sim mengatakan bahawa kenyataan terbuka Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dalam menyatakan "Sarawak bukan sebuah negeri; namun adalah sebuah 'wilayah", adalah langkah yang bermakna dan signifikan ke arah sasaran untuk mencapai status perlembagaan Sarawak sebagai salah satu daripada tiga wilayah di Malaysia seperti yang termaktub dalam MA63.

Jawapan rakyat: Perdana Menteri terdahulu telah mengunjungi Sarawak dan membuat kenyataan serupa dari kedudukan yang kuat. Namun kita masih menunggu 'keselamatan', yang berkaitan dengan MA63.

Ada pepatah bahawa ‘a drowning man will clutch at a straw’ dimana ianya bermaksud ‘keadaan yang amat terdesak. Kami berharap PM akan terus berada di sana ketika usul dibentangkan dan semoga SUPP / GPS akan terus bersama-sama dengan mereka ketika usul tersebut dibentangkan. Hanya masa akan menentukan. Haruskah Sarawak meraikan berdasarkan kenyataannya yang 'bermakna dan signifikan'?

"Bagi kebanyakan kita, situasi ini jelas seperti cahaya di hujung terowong ketika Perdana Menteri secara terbuka menyatakan istilah Sarawak adalah sebuah “wilayah”  tersebut pada hari Khamis lepas . Namun ianya hanya menandakan titik balik, permulaan baru perjalanan kita untuk menyelesaikan pelbagai masalah MA63 yang sudah lama tertangguh dengan kerajaan pusat.

Jawapan rakyat: Seperti yang dinyatakan sebelumnya, bukti yang telah jelas sudah dilihat. Pengisytiharan awam tidak mengubah apa-apa. Walaupun warga Sarawak mengharapkan hasil yang terbaik, Warga Sarawak juga bersedia menghadapi kekecewaan yang mungkin timbul.

Kekecewaan berdasarkan 'pengalaman lalu', iaitu, Sejarah adalah matapelajaran yang terbaik untuk dihayati dan sejarah mempunyai kebiasaan yang aneh untuk mengulanginya sendiri.

Warga Sarawak berharap, SUPP dan GPS / PN  dapat dibuktikan bersalah kerana telah menganiyai warga Sarawak.

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 (ENGLISH)

SUPP suggests all parties declare their stands plainly if proposed Article 160 amendment cannot be completed before GE15   ( Borneo Post Saturday, April 3rd, 2021 )

KUCHING (Apr 3): Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) suggested that if the proposed amendment of the Article 160 of the Federal Constitution cannot be completed prior to the next general election, all parties which decide to join the race should, for the sake of Sarawak’s interest, declare their stands plainly and distinctly via their electoral manifestos.

Our reply: There’s no need for all this drama. As ‘Kingmakers’, GPS should just call the shots and get PM Muhyiddin and the PN Government to convene Parliament and get this sorted out immediately. Please don’t wait till the elections as Sarawakians are tired of hearing this since 1963.

In a statement today, its president Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian said that this would confirm whether they agreed or disagreed with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)’s proposal to review the MA63 and amend the Article 160 of the Federal Constitution.

Our reply: There’s nothing to agree or disagree. This is the sacred duty of the State Government of the day to carry out, in accordance with Article VIII of MA63. We entrusted you as the Government to protect and safeguard Sarawak’s rights and interests under MA63. Just do it.

“This is to ensure that the interpretation of the Federation of Malaysia will eventually be in congruence with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), not to mean the federation established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957.

Our reply: Our founding fathers signed the MALAYSIA Agreement. It’s obvious that our Federal Constitution should reflect that.

“As for those intent to contest in Sarawak, the parties as well as the individual candidates should do the same, besides that, they have to pledge to fellow Sarawakians, tell our people what are they going to atone for any possible breach of trust later,” he said.

Our reply: First things first. MA63 should be an on-going and continuous process, not only during election time. Since SUPP has been in the State Government for many years, it’s time to put its money where its mouth is.

He said it is a fact that any amendment to be made on the Federal Constitution, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government at present would not be able to deliver without the collective support by majority of the members of Parliament.

Our reply: Many things could have been done for Sarawak when SUPP and BN had the two-thirds majority. Now you don’t have the numbers and you are trying to hold the rest to ransom. Nevertheless, just get the motion tabled in Parliament. The numbers will be there or not. We shall see and be able to separate the patriots from the parrots.

Dr Sim pointed out that for Sarawak especially, such assurance for election pledges is important in view of too many electoral promises had been breached by political parties and their candidates in recent years.

Our reply: Indeed – most, if not all political parties and politicians have a history of not keeping their pre-election promises.

Pakatan Harapan had 22-months experience in Government.

SUPP in BN/GPS and PN had almost 50 years of experience.

On MA63, Sarawakians still remember that our State lost or had its rights eroded mainly during the BN/GPS tenure in Government.

“Pakatan Harapan is infamous for treating their pledges made to Sarawak as most a handsome but void blank cheque.

Our reply: So what if PH were ‘infamous for treating their pledges made to Sarawak at most a handsome but void cheque’ ?

Can it be worse than SUPP and BN/GPS for infamously surrendering ownership of our Oil & Gas Resources to Petronas aka Federal Government and our territorial sea waters and reducing Sarawak’s status from ‘one of the founding partners’ to ‘merely a State in the Federation of Malaysia’ ?

“Many of their promises were MA63 related, they talked big and shouted loud about the constitutional rights and resources of Sarawakians in election campaign, yet the record shows that they have neglected Sarawak interests during their stint as the federal government,” he said.

Our reply: Is this an attempt by the kettle to call the pot black ?

When SUPP and BN/GPS had the numbers and two-thirds majority, why were these MA63 issues not PROACTIVELY been resolved ?

Is SUPP shouting now because it needs to make some noises, however irrelevant, if not insignificant SUPP has become in GPS ?

Dr Sim further noted that the previous PH government has tabled a constitutional amendment bill in April 2019 on the status of Sabah and Sarawak, but it was a “political ploy”, as MA63 was neither touched nor mentioned.

“To GPS, the proposed amendment by the PH government was at best a cosmetic change or political ploy, to show that PH has fulfilled its election manifesto……we want something more substantive, solid and founded on the spirit of MA63.

Our reply: The proof of the pie is in the eating. Until the motion sees the light of day and is passed, we will still consider it as SUPP/ GPS’ and PN’s ‘political ploy’

“Since PH did not correct the mistake made in the 1976 constitutional amendment, MPs of GPS refused to support the bill, PH Federal Government didn’t accept GPS’s counter-proposal, so the situation was deadlocked. The farce was more to score political points for PH, it discarded the spirit of MA63, therefore the bill failed,” he said.

Our reply: He who let the horses out should round up them up and return them to the stable.

No use crying over spilt milk, but since SUPP and BN/GPS were responsible for allowing the 1976 Constitutional amendment to go through, it is only proper that they atone for their past sins and repent for the 1976 injustice done to Sarawak.

Dr Sim said that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s open statement in declaring “Sarawak is not a state; it is a ‘wilayah’ (region)”, is a meaningful and significant step towards our target to achieve the constitutional status of Sarawak as one of the three regions of Malaysia as enshrined in MA63.

Our reply: Previous Prime Ministers had visited Sarawak and made similar statements from a position of strength. Yet we are still waiting for ‘salvation’, pertaining to MA63.

There’s a saying that ‘a drowning man will clutch at a straw’. We hope PM will still be there when the motion is tabled and hopefully SUPP/GPS will continue to swim or sink with him.

Only time will tell. That said, should Sarawak be celebrating based on his ‘meaningful and significant’ statement?

“To most of us, it looks like the light at the end of the tunnel when Prime Minister openly declared that Thursday. Yet it merely signifies a turning point, just a new beginning of our journey to settle various long-pending issues of MA63 with the federal government.

Our reply: As said earlier, the proof of the pie is in the eating. Public declarations don’t change anything. While we hope for the best outcome, we are also prepared for any disappointment that may come with it.

Disappointments based on ‘past experiences’, that is.

History is a good teacher and history has a strange habit of repeating itself.

We hope, for SUPP and GPS/PN’s sake to be proven wrong.