KUCHING, Dec 6: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan reminded the people not to confuse the state government’s fight for the state’s rights under Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) with the Sarawak 4 Sarawakians (S4S) movement’s fight.
He said S4S’ fight was to liberate Sarawak from Malaysia, while the state’s government through the MA63 wants the state’s rights to be restored according to the constitution.
“These are two different things altogether and not to be confused as the same,” he told reporters after officiating at the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) Sebuyau branch’s triennial general meeting at the Hotel Grand Dormani Rajah Court in Pending here today.
Awang Tengah, who is also PBB acting deputy president, said the state government will pursue whatever rights, according to the MA63, which has been eroded over the years, intentionally or not, according to the constitution under the helm of Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg who is continuing the fight of the late Chief Minister Pehin Sri Adenan Satem.
“Our Chief Minister (Abang Johari) is sincere and serious about this. He even sent a team of lawyers led by Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Assistant Minister Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali on a fact-finding mission to London to make sure they get all the right facts and documents.
“Therefore, if it is constitutionally right then there should be no issue, unlike what S4S is fighting for,” he said, responding to reporters on a warning from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday at the opening of the UMNO Wanita, Youth and Puteri movements general assembly at the Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
Zahid was reported to have said the government was prepared to take stern action based on the law against those “playing with fire” by attempting to instigate the people using the slogan “Sabah for the Sabahans” and “Sarawak for the Sarawakians”.
Awang Tengah clarified that what Zahid said was not about the state government’s claiming for Sarawak’s rights according to the MA63, adding that even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently said that if anything had been taken inadvertently, it must be returned. — DayakDaily
