KUCHING, Sept 15: Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) is urging Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) to stand aside during the next Sarawak Election if the latter could not bring Sarawak its independence.
PBK secretary general Priscilla Lau called on PSB not to split the votes, especially when PSB cannot give Sarawak what she claims it deserves: international right to independence.
“PSB claims to be a local Sarawakian party. They should be and must be very well aware of Sarawak’s international right to independence. After all, this right to independence is set law since 1960 when the decolonisation process begun,” said Lau in a statement today.
She said Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) is also not a new norm.
“It has been around since July 4, 1776 when 13 American colonies banded together and declared themselves independent from the Great Britain. Since then, throughout history countries all over the world have declared themselves independent unilaterally with the latest being Kosovo in 2008.
“Why would PSB deliberately, without substance, attack PBK’s stand for independence? Isn’t independence the birthright of every people of every nation?
“Is PSB, which is made up of many veterans and experienced politicians, really standing up for Sarawak and ensuring that Sarawakians are given back their rightful inheritance which starts from independence and then the full rights to run our nation and motherland of Sarawak, celebrating in our diversity?” Lau questioned.
She claimed that PBK is the only true Sarawak party with a clean start that is made up of the general man on the street and it is merely completing the long overdue task of gaining independence for Sarawak.
“PBK wants to take back Sarawak and govern it ourselves so that Sarawakians can rightly and justly enjoy our own inheritance. It’s been too long and too often that Sarawakians have been told what to do with our inheritance for other’s benefit whilst our people suffer in silence,” she said.
Lau stated that the international right to independence is enshrined in the United Nations Resolution 1514 on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples which allows colonies the privilege to decolonize and to become independent countries. The UN Resolution 1514 has a force of law recognised by the international community and Malaysia being a member nation has to respect this Resolution.
On Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), she said, the UN International Court of Justice in 2010 opined that Kosovo (a non independent state with independent Serbia) had an intrinsic right to independence as provided by the Decolonization Act 1960. Kosovo had on Feb 17, 2008 in its assembly unilaterally declared independence through a show of hands by 109 of its assemblymen.
“Therefore, guided by this international law, our Sarawak Legislature is a powerful body that can unilaterally declare Sarawak’s independence,” said Lau.
Lau also cited former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir statement that “Sabahans and Sarawakians will not ask for independence, even though there is no provision in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) that they cannot do so”.
“They never asked for independence but they asked to have autonomy over certain matters, so we are granting them that autonomy,” Lau said.
To her, Sarawak and Sabah therefore has the right under international law to seek their independence, like Singapore, a signatory of the MA63.
“In Malaysia, each day Sarawak loses its oil and gas resources with crude oil alone of about 850,000 barrels at an amount of about RM285 million per day under the Petroleum Development Act 1974. Yet the federal annual allocation of funds to Sarawak was only RM4 billion.
“PBK is aware of the international laws and the provisions of MA63 and is pursuing this quest of independence for Sarawak because Sarawak has an intrinsic right to independence,” said Lau. — DayakDaily
