By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, May 6: To understand politics and its rhythm in Sarawak, it is necessary to re-examine the history of its political development, opined Yussibnosh Balo (GPS-Tellian).
Debating the TYT’s address in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly today, Yussibnosh said Sarawak’s political history should not be confused with that of Peninsular Malaysia.
“Unlike in Peninsular Malaysia, no one is considered to be capable of mastering Sarawak politics alone, as one of the participating factors is that all races are needed.”
Yussibnosh noted that Sarawak politics still failed to be understood in the country’s political context even until today.
“That’s why we can hear many arguments on Pakatan Harapan (PH)’s failures as many of their promises cannot be kept by them.
“Some of them make promises as if they have the power to make decisions in Parliament.”
Yussibnosh said the origins of Sarawak’s name could not be clearly explained by historians, but one argument is that it came from the phrase ‘surrender to you’.
“This name existed when Pengiran Muda Hashim handed over part of the territory of the Sultan of Brunei to James Brooke in 1841.
“This reminds me of Sept 16, 1963. Despite the Malaysia Agreement, we have been mistaken for the phrase ‘surrender to you’ when the definition of ‘Federation’ is only linked to the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957,” he said.
Yussibnosh also mentioned that after 1882, Sarawak expanded from Kidurung to Baram, and in the 1941 Constitution (which was proclaimed on March 31, 1941), the British had given Sarawak the opportunity to rule alone.
“In the constitution, it was stated that “the goal of self-government shall always be kept in mind, that the people of Sarawak shall be entrusted in due course with the governance of themselves and that continuous effort shall be made to hasten the reaching of the goal of educating them in obligations, the responsibilities and the privilege of citizenship”, said Yussibnosh. — DayakDaily
