KUCHING, July 1: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) deputy president Peli Aron said that there is no worry at all of military attack by any foreign countries should Sarawak become an independent nation,.
He cited Brunei and Singapore as examples, even though they are small nations in this region and yet no country has ever attacked them.
Peli alleged if there is external aggression against Malaysia, it is likely Malaysia would be unable to defend itself as the country’s defence has been weak since Malaysia came into existence.
To back these claims, he pointed to past news reports about a submarine in the Malaysian navy that was not fit to dive and news reports that only four out of the 28 Russian fighter jets which Malaysia bought, could fly.
He also claimed that during the communist insurgency in Malaya, it was the armed forces from Australia, Britain, and New Zealand as well as the Sarawak Rangers that helped to keep the peace at that time.
Peli made these comments in a statement today in response to an online news report citing Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Kota Samarahan, Sarawak senior lecturer Prof Dr Nadrawina Isnin.
When asked to comment on calls for a referendum on Sarawak leaving Malaysia to be held, the senior academic said Sarawak could face internal and external security threats as well as financial difficulties if it exited Malaysia.
Peli claimed that she failed to take into consideration the role played by the United Nations Security Council in maintaining peace and order in the world.
He said that if a country is attacked by another country, the United Nations Security Council will surely send armed forces to prevent the attack.
“This was what happened when Kuwait was attacked by Iraq under Saddam Hussein in 1990 which led to a 35-strong-nations (contigent) led by the United States to liberate Kuwait under Operation Desert Storm. Kuwait was then liberated,” said Peli.
Peli said the role of the United Nations is also to see that persons who started war against another country or who committed crimes against humanity and genocide be brought to the International War Crimes Court of Justice or War Crimes Tribunal in Hague in the Netherlands.
He also claimed that in modern times, no one wants war and it is for this reason there are more than twenty countries in the world that have no organised army at all, including Iceland, Monaco Costa Rico, Mauritius, Panama (whose army was abolished in 1990), Haiti, Nauru, Samoa and Solomon Islands.
“Therefore, to say there would be internal aggression is misconceived and Dr Nadrawina has to examine her analysis carefully because Dr Nadrawina being a respected academician did not come with her data to back what she said.
“Such a sweeping statement is not expected from an academician as the public could be misled,” said Peli on her findings.
He also claimed that a recent survey by some groups of individuals consistently found at least 90 per cent of Sarawakians interviewed by them voiced out their dissatisfaction over staying in Malaysia and they wanted to see Sarawak become an independent nation. He did not elaborate on who these groups were nor how many people were interviewed.
Meanwhile, Peli believed that if Sarawak were to become independent, Sarawak has no problem in handling its economy and finance.
“This is because Sarawak had ruled itself since the British left and Sarawak had been well managed. We have about RM31 billion reserves in the banks. We have many world (class) outstanding Sarawakians who are outside the country wanting to come back to help Sarawak if the political climate is good to all,” he said .
He also expressed confidence that Sarawak’s revenues from oil and gas would be sufficient to feed every Sarawakian with a simple lunch and dinner and perhaps for supper too. — DayakDaily
