By Nur Ashikin Louis
KUCHING, Jan 6: Social activist Dr Elli Luhat has called on the Sarawak government to make copies of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) available to the general public to provide better insights on the MA63 issues.
The 65-year-old practising scientist has a book personally handed to him by the late Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom when he represented Malaysia to perform a cultural performance at Buckingham Palace for a Commonwealth function sometime in November 1992.
He pointed out that the people of Sarawak need to read and learn the foundation of the MA63 document first before they can understand the State government’s demand for Sarawak’s rights.
“Let the public get access to the book, and perhaps, by reading all those facts in the book, they can, in a way, help the government to come up with solutions later on.
“However, presently, only certain people know about the book, and some pretend to know and do all the amendments for the people, which I don’t quite agree with because they have not seen the book. It’s not fair. This has to be a public discussion,” he told DayakDaily in an exclusive interview at his residence recently.
Elli stated that he was among the first activists advocating MA63 rights together with Sabah counterparts, namely Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and the late Zainnal Ajamain.
With the 234-page book in his possession, he revealed that he had approached politicians in Sarawak several years ago and offered to sell 1,000 copies of the book to each politician for distribution.
“I offered them 1,000 copies for every YB (elected representative).
“You (YBs) have the funds like (how) you give Minor Rural Project (MRP) grants worth RM10,000 or RM20,000 for people to buy this and that. Why don’t you use the funds to buy the book for community service and give these books to schools (instead)?” he questioned.
According to him, his past buyers included Minister of Works Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi and former Ngemah assemblyman Alexander Vincent.
Nevertheless, Elli shared that some public members were sceptical of him having the document in his possession, accusing him of downloading it from the Internet.
However, during the visit to his residence, DayakDaily had the opportunity to see the said book, which is light blue; a letter of appreciation dated 1992 from the Commonwealth Foundation to Elli; a framed photo of Elli with the late Queen believed to be taken in 1992, and a picture of news coverage of the event taking place.
“I started printing copies of the MA63 book about ten years ago, just about when people started talking about MA63 and Native Customary Right (NCR) land issues.
“Why not? Perhaps this would be important for people to decide how to solve problems,” he added.
On another note, those who wish to get a copy of the MA63 book can contact Elli on Facebook for RM200 per book. — DayakDaily
