By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Dec 6: The Sabah Sarawak Rights Australia New Zealand (SSRANZ) has called on the people of Sabah and Sarawak to rally behind their State governments in resisting federal encroachments and reclaiming their rights and territories as part of the broader fight for national self-determination.
This call was among the key resolutions adopted during SSRANZ’s annual meeting on Dec 1, supported by various individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan, Saya Anak Sarawak founder Peter John Jaban, and former Mas Gading MP Patrick Anek Uren.
Re-elected president Robert Pei described this as a pivotal moment for both the Sabah and Sarawak governments in their ongoing struggle for autonomy, amid persistent federal delays and unfulfilled promises.
“This issue has reached a critical juncture after 60 years of federal failure to uphold the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and repeated breaches of its commitments.
“This is highlighted by the Sarawak government’s insistence that PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional Bhd) honours the agreement allowing Petros (Petroleum Sarawak Bhd), Sarawak’s petroleum corporation, to control gas distribution, while the Sabah government demands payment of its 40 per cent revenue entitlement,” he said in a statement today.
Pei, a Melbourne-based Sarawak lawyer, emphasised that resource control is an inalienable right essential for the development of both Sabah and Sarawak.
He also argued that the sovereign rights of Sabah and Sarawak were never ceded to Malaya during the treaty negotiations between the United Kingdom and Malaya that preceded Malaysia’s formation.
“One of the declared main objectives of Malaysia’s formation by the Malayan takeover of Sabah and Sarawak was to develop them. However, since 1963, these rights have been unlawfully stripped away to develop Malaya in violation of the Federal Constitution’s entrenched MA63 safeguards, the Basic Structure Doctrine, and international law,” he said.
He stressed that Sarawakians and Sabahans have a lawful and reasonable claim to self-determination and urged people across political divides to unite for this cause.
While SSRANZ’s primary goal remains advocating for Sarawak and Sabah independence, Pei underscored the immediate need to defend territorial rights as a step towards broader self-determination.
The meeting also reaffirmed SSRANZ’s position that MA63 is null and void from its inception. It urged the Sabah and Sarawak governments to reassess the treaty’s validity, citing the principle of self-determination under UN General Assembly Resolution 1514 and the 2019 International Court of Justice ruling on the Chagos Islands as precedents.
SSRANZ concluded that even if MA63 were deemed valid, the treaty has been effectively voided by the federal government’s repeated violations. Examples include the seizure of maritime resource rights, alteration of pre-Malaysia boundaries, control over continental shelves, and deviations from the agreed secular nature of the State.
“The Sarawak government has made a strong appeal for solidarity, and it is time for all proud Sarawakians to stand steadfast in defending our land,” Pei emphasised. — DayakDaily
