PBK slams political pundit, stressing secession may be achieved without bloodshed

Voon (left) and Arnold.

KUCHING, June 8: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) has criticised a political pundit for the latter’s argument that one of the consequences for Sarawak and Sabah if they were to secede from Malaysia would be “bloodshed and civil war”.

PBK president Voon Lee Shan reminded Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities deputy dean Dr Arnold Puyok that there were many cases of colonies gaining independence through peaceful and legal means.

“If it was correct that the press statement came from Dr Arnold Puyok, as appeared in the New Sarawak Tribune, I wish him as an academician, to read more widely about how colonies could gain independence by peaceful and legal means.

“Being an academician, Dr Arnold should not try to instill fear in Sabahans and Sarawakians when it is their right to seek freedom and independence,” said Voon in a statement today.

Voon stressed that the right to seek independence by peaceful and legal means was adopted in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514 on 14 Dec 1960 to allow colonies to decolonise, and no colonial master has a right to deny this right from colonies.

“There cannot be bloodshed if done by peaceful and legal means. There are many countries that gained independence without any bloodshed. These included India, Malaya and Singapore.

“The most recent one was Barbados which gained full independence on Tuesday 30 Nov, 2021 from the United Kingdom without any bloodshed in a ceremony attended by Prince Charles of the United Kingdom,” said Voon, who is a lawyer by profession.

He pointed out that under this United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1514 — “All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”

“I hope members of the public including Dr. Arnold Puyok should be informed of this.

“Be it known to Sarawakians, PBK is pursing independence for Sarawak by legal and peaceful means. We have a few strategies to follow in our quest of independence for Sarawak.”

On Arnold’s argument that Sarawak and Sabah must possess the two criteria of leadership and governance to emulate other developed nations, Voon found it insulting as the former’s statement implied the lack of capable leadership and good governance.

“It is an insult to the intelligence of Sabahans and Sarawakians if we say we don’t have capable people in Sabah and Sarawak to run a government of independent nations.

“Sabah and Sarawak have many capable people who now are in overseas and many expressed their hope to me to come back if Sabah and Sarawak are independent.”

“The need to restructure the federation of Malaysia does not arise, unless Malaya agrees Sabah and Sarawak to control parliament and that Malaya gives 95 per cent of whatever Malaya earns to Sabah and Sarawak and Sabah and Sarawak are not to help out any debt created by Malaya,” said Voon.

Arnold was quoted by the New Sarawak Tribune yesterday that the way forward for Sarawak and Sabah is to continue striving to restructure the existing federal system and not to secede from the Federation of Malaysia.

He believed that secession had caused civil wars and bloodshed in other parts of the world and that Sarawak and Sabah must have the criteria of capable leadership and good governance to emulate developed nations such as Singapore. — DayakDaily