Sarawak and Sabah not PM’s priority as M’sia weighed by massive debt and struggling economy, asserts PBK chief

KUCHING, Feb 28: With a national debt of over RM1 trillion, a country riddled with corruption and an ailing economy, there is little hope for Sarawak and Sabah to get more development funds from the federal government and issues related to Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) may not even be resolved within the next five years. 

Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan asserted this view when commenting on the first 100 days of the unity government led by Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim. 

With the country in deep trouble, Voon opined that Sarawak and Sabah may need to realise that the possibility of help coming from the federal government, especially to develop both regions in Borneo, will be something remote even if Anwar wishes to do so. 

“His priority will be to save the nation first from bankruptcy. 

“Furthermore, Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg boasting some time ago that Sarawak has money and can use its own money to develop Sarawak may perhaps lend confidence to the Prime Minister that Sarawak is not in dire need of help from the federal government,” he said in a statement today. 

Voon hoped Anwar will put the revenue collected from Sarawak and Sabah’s oil and gas and other resources to good use to clear the “political diseases” allegedly created by Peninsular Malaysia. 

Until this mess is cleared, he opined, the future of Malaysians, especially Sarawakians and Sabahans will be bleak.

On MA63, Voon insisted that the issues surrounding MA63, which have been there for decades, could only be solved if Malaysia is dissolved or either Peninsular Malaysia or Sarawak and Sabah exit from the federation, claiming that many legal experts have the opinion that MA63 is not a valid treaty or agreement under international law.

“Even if valid, fundamental breaches of the Treaty had led to the collapse of the Treaty. This means, the formation of Malaysia was tainted and there is a growing unhappiness among peoples of Sabah and Sarawak about the formation of Malaysia. 

“It will be seen that the issues surrounding MA63 will remain not solved and will continue to haunt prime ministers to come,” he claimed.

Voon noted that it is no easy task for the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to clear the mess created by past administrations with the toughest job remaining to clear national debt and put the economy back on track.

“The national debts (accumulated) and ailing economy are the products of corruption and bribery. Corruption can cause a nation to collapse and the Prime Minister’s stand to weed out corruption is applauded and should be supported.

“In democracy, being minorities, Sarawakians and Sabahans should know that the majority rules because democracy is a ‘numbers game’. Sarawakians and Sabahans have chosen this democracy and now they have to bear with it, at least for the moment,” he added. — DayakDaily