KUCHING, Sept 26: The Sarawak government should heed the request of Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S) for a Referendum Ordinance because it represented a demand by the people of Sarawak, said former Batu Lintang assemblyman Voon Lee Shan.
Voon, who is also a lawyer, said a motion on this matter should be allowed to be passed in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) in order to facilitate a similar motion to be tabled in Parliament by a Sarawakian lawmaker.
He was commenting on S4S’ statement by its spokesman Erick Chin yesterday. Chin urged the state government to enact a Referendum Ordinance to enable Sarawakians to make their stand on issues that matter to the state.
Chin believed that the Pakatan Harapan-led federal government had no interest in helping Sarawak and that it was only interested in reaping the state’s rich resources.
Voon emphasised that all MPs from Sarawak needed to support the motion in Parliament to ensure that the federal government gives its nod to the referendum to determine whether or not the people of Sarawak still wanted to be in Malaysia.
“It is the right thing for the state government to do this because it will help to identify MPs who are for or against the wishes of the people,” Voon said when contacted by DayakDaily today.
He opined it would be political suicide if MPs from Sarawak do not support the motion in Parliament. Similarly, state lawmakers would suffer the same fate if they abstain from voting on or oppose the Bill if it is tabled in the state legislature.
“People may argue that the ordinance may not be practicable, unenforceable or whatsoever, but let us not worry about it. After all, all ordinances passed in the state assembly would be presumed good law and valid by the court unless it could be proved unconstitutional.
“Citizens need to know it is a universal human right that every person has a right of choice and Parliament should allow the referendum for people to make a choice,” argued Voon. — DayakDaily
