KUCHING, Sept 18: Aspirasi hopes the GPS government will be bold enough to heed the call by the 23 organisations and the party itself to kickstart the process to consult Sarawakians to ascertain if there is sufficient support on the ground for Sarawak independence.
Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) president Lina Soo urged this in lauding the initiative by 23 organisations and political parties calling on the Sarawak government to consult Sarawakians on the terms to open negotiations with the Federal government for a referendum on Sarawak independence.
“Whether Sarawakians are happy or not, GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) should not be afraid of the findings, but look upon this as an opportunity to recognise the aspiration of the rakyat in order to serve them better,” she said in a press statement today.
Failing that, Soo invites all the 21 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and two political parties, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), to get organised and make a collective effort to advance the initiative and independence agenda in recognition of the Sarawak peoples’ aspiration for self-determination.
She was responding to a news report on an open memorandum to the Sarawak government put out by Sarawak Association of Peoples’ Aspiration (SAPA) and Sabah Sarawak Rights Australia New Zealand (SSRANZ) published on DayakDaily yesterday.
Soo maintained that Sarawak independence must be achieved in a democratic, constitutional and peaceful process which is recognised by the United Nations and all its 193 sovereign nations.
“Only the independence referendum process legitimises the peoples’ aspiration for national independence to prove the will and consent of the rakyat,” she reiterated.
She emphasised that the call by the 23 organisations resonated perfectly with Aspirasi’s stand and the aspiration of Sarawakians on national independence for Sarawak.
“In fact, Aspirasi had already included the demand for an Independence Referendum as a priority election promise in the party’s manifesto for the upcoming PRN12 (12th State Election).
“This manifesto was launched and published on Sept 24, 2020 on the anniversary of the 179th founding of Sarawak,” she said.
Quoting Manifesto Aspirasi with the tagline ‘Making Every Sarawakian Rich’, Soo cited Article (1) which read: “Sarawak Independence Referendum (SIR) – We demand a referendum which is a democratic, universally recognised and peaceful process in the one-man-one-vote system. Sarawak has been one of three Nations in the Federation of Malaysia for 57 years. We shall go back to the people in a referendum to let us exercise our inalienable right to choose our political, social and economic future in self-determination as enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
“Sarawak independence is non-negotiable and Aspirasi shall seek independence in the legitimate and lawful mechanism through engagement, dialogue and diplomatic protocols,” she pressed.
Soo called on the people of Sarawak to support Sarawak right to self-determination which is an established international law, and to be wise in electing their representatives to the DUN (State Legislative Assembly) who will serve the people’ aspiration for independence.— DayakDaily
