MIRI, Sept 19: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) has chided Umno’s Datuk Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz for asking Sabah and Sarawak to give up their immigration rights in order to be recognised as equal partners in the Federation of Malaysia.
Its secretary-general, Datuk Sebastian Ting, said it would be “most unethical and unbecoming” of Nazri if he feigned ignorance of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“He is a lawyer. Either he is pretending not to know or pretending to be plain stupid or have no regards whatsoever to the feelings and expectations of Sarawakians and Sabahans,” said Ting, in a press statement today.
He urged all Sarawakians and Sabahans to stand united and fight people who had similar thoughts like Nazri’s.
“His bullying attitude has to end. We do not welcome such people to Sarawak,” he added.
Ting opined that most people in the peninsula did not know exactly how Malaysia came into being and about the MA63.
“It is the fault of the Ministry of Education. The history books continue to say that Sarawak and Sabah joined Malaysia. Sarawak and Sabah formed Malaysia, not joined Malaysia,” he said, adding that the immigration autonomy was clearly stated in the MA63.
Ting said the reason for the immigration safeguard was not difficult to guess. It came about because Sabah and Sarawak leaders wanted to protect people of the Borneon states from undesirable elements from the peninsula, especially extremists and religious bigots, who wanted to sow disunity and ignite ill feelings in East Malaysia.
“Should we now be forced to give up our immigration autonomy just because Nazri said so? He thought and must have continued to think that we are all stupid and cannot think for ourselves,” he said.
Ting said it was now most urgent for the Education Ministry to amend the school history books with the correct facts on the formation of Malaysia. In the long term, such a move would be good for the country in the promotion of peace and harmony.
In reminding Sarawakians to be united to reclaim the state’s rights, Ting said, “The Malayans and West Malayan parties do not and will not have the best interest for Sarawak and Sabah. They have their own agendas that are totally different from us.
“Let us remind ourselves that we are Sarawakians and Sarawak should and must always come first.” — DayakDaily
