KUCHING, Sept 2: The aim to move the Sarawak Independence Referendum Ordinance in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) is what is motivating the S4S movement to run for political office.
Aspiring candidate for Batu Lintang Alex Leong shared that the Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S) referendum petition, which garnered some 270,000 signatures and was vetted by a team of lawyers, had been submitted to the Chief Minister’s Office and the United Nations representative office in Kuala Lumpur in 2016.
“Members of the public have been querying on the progress of the S4S petition. S4S had carried out its noble duty to collect the signatures and present (them) to the Sarawak government for action. (But) Nothing has been heard from the Chief Minister’s Office since.
“Since there is no response from the Sarawak government, S4S movement now has no option but to go to our DUN to move for an independence referendum ordinance directly,” he revealed in a statement today.
Leong explained that with support from two elected representatives—a proposer and a seconder—they would be able to table a private member’s bill for an independence referendum in the DUN.
“That is the reason behind the S4S decision to contest in the upcoming 12th State Election (which is due to be called in 2021).
“When the Sarawak government will not do what the rakyat demands, it is time for S4S to bring the struggle directly to our DUN to make the change,” he emphasised.
S4S candidates, he added, will be contesting under the political platform of Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) with the Rajah Brooke butterfly logo.
S4S movement members together with Aspirasi have been busy on the ground promoting the cause for a Sarawak Independence Referendum Ordinance to be moved in the DUN recently.
Leong highlighted public feedback indicated that Sarawakians have now woken up and were displeased with the trends of frog politics, money politics and politicians’ personal ambitions in pandering to federal interests over Sarawak interests.
“The interests of the people who voted them into power are compromised and abandoned, so the people must take back their power to elect representatives who will serve the rakyat,” he added.
Aspirasi president Lina Soo claimed that it has been 57 years since Sarawak was coerced into a merger with the Federation of Malaya on the promise of development.
“Today after 57 years, the Sarawak government is still talking about bringing development to Sarawak after 11 elections.
“Does this not mean that the promise of Malaysia has failed miserably, when Sarawak still needs to talk about begging for development whenever an election comes around?” she asked.
Soo stressed that it was time to go back to the people and allow them to exercise their right of self-determination enshrined under the United Nations Charter to determine if they were contented or dissatisfied under the existing political situation through a referendum.
“Sarawak’s politicians must listen to the peoples’ voice,” she asserted. — DayakDaily
