KUCHING, Oct 3: Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Hannah Yeoh should have fully understood what the ‘Sarawak for Sarawakians’ sentiment means to the people of Sarawak before advising them to do away with it.
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB) vice-president Andrew Puro said this sentiment was very close to the heart of many Sarawakians, as it represented their feelings to help reclaim their state’s rights as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
He opined that 1963 was supposed to symbolise ‘fruitful hope’ for Sarawak, but things have not worked out as expected. In 1974, the state ‘lost’ the rights to its natural resources, and two years later, the state ‘lost’ its equal partnership status and became merely as one of the 13 states in Malaysia,
“Now in 2018, Yeoh wants Sarawakians to do away with the historical sentiments and pride by taking away the Sarawak for Sarawakians’ spirit,” said Andrew.
Yeoh, who is Subang Jaya assemblywoman, has been roasted over her remarks made during a townhall session here on Saturday. She had called on Sarawakians to do away with the ‘Sarawak for Sarawakians’ sentiment as it was unhealthy for nation building and would further divide Malaysians.
Andrew believed that if Yeoh was well versed in how the formation of Malaysia came about, she would not have advised the way she did.
“She should push hard to ensure that Sarawak’s and Sabah’s autonomous rights are fully restored as equal partners of the federation,” Andrew suggested. — DayakDaily
