KUCHING, Sept 30: Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S) is disappointed with Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Hannah Yeoh for asking Sarawakians to do away with their ‘Sarawak for Sarawakians’ sentiment because it would further fragment Malaysians as a whole and hinder efforts of Malaysia Baru to move forward.
S4S spokesperson Eric Leong said since the formation of Malaysia, Sarawak has been contributing to the building of Malaysia by letting Petronas tap its oil and gas resources.
“Even after all these contributions, we have not been fairly treated. We are not even allowed to defend our own identity as Sarawkians,” he lamented.
Leong noted that Yeoh, as a representative of the federal government, did not come to Sarawak yesterday with goodies but with busloads of criticisms only.
“She despises and criticises the dignity of the people of Sarawak and asked the people of Sarawak to give up everything and to dedicate everything to Malaya.
“There is nothing left for Sarawakians,” said Leong.
Among other things, Yeoh said at the ‘Day of Patriotism’ event organised by Movement for Change Sarawak, that Malaysia had been fragmented by racial and religious discrimination and that the Sarawak for Sarawakians sentiment further discriminated Malaysians regionally.
“To her, it is wrong to fight for Sarawak’s rights. Are we wrong to fight for our rights? Are we fragmenting the Malaysian society?
“The women in the world are fighting for more rights. Are the women in the world wrong? By fighting for women’s rights, are the women causing discrimination against men?” argued Leong.
On unity and equality, Peninsular Malaysia should learn from Sarawak, instead of them telling Sarawakians what to do as Sarawak has shown to be a more integrated society than Peninsular Malaysia.
Leong said Sarawak needed to improve its education and infrastructure development, which are under the purview of the federal government.
“After taking 95 per cent of our oil and gas, they should build our schools and infrastructure. Yet, they have not been doing much for us.
“They are now expecting Sarawak to build Sarawak with the meagre five per cent oil and gas royalty that we receive from them. Is that what they call fair?” — DayakDaily
