KUCHING, Sept 17: Equal partnership within Malaysia means one-third revenue, one third parliamentary seats and one-third cabinet ministerial allocation for Sarawak, says State Reform Party (STAR) president Lina Soo.
“One of three partners means we want one-third of 222 parliamentary seats and one-third of the cabinet members and also one-third of the revenue.
“Yet the federal government is trying to steal more of our oil revenue by offering 20 per cent of profit, which is less than 5 per cent of oil production,” said Soo in a statement today.
She opined that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was not sincere when he promised to accord Sarawak and Sabah equal status as Peninsular Malaysia.
“What is there to study about an international treaty that has been written and signed 55 years ago by five nations? Of course, he is not sincere,” said Soo.
She also questioned the “ignorance” of Dr Mahathir over the backwardness and lack of development in Sarawak and Sabah.
“He ruled Malaysia longer than any other prime minister without knowing what he should do for Sarawak and Sabah?
“If he doesn’t know the needs and expectations of Sarawak and Sabah, was he ruling only for Malaya in his first 22-year rule?” she asked.
Soo added that Dr Mahathir was only making another political promise to fool Sarawak and Sabah.
“He is just making another political promise that doesn’t need to be fulfilled to fool the Sarawak and Sabah people. I am not taken in by more fake promises,” she said.
Citing Dr Mahathir’s remark that Pakatan Harapan (PH)’s election manifesto was only a guideline and not the Bible as an example, Soo believed promises made by the PH government were “mere talk”.
“Mere talk only from a government that admitted that political promises are not significant and is not the Bible,” said Soo, in response to Dr Mahathir’s open promise during the Malaysia Day celebration in Sabah last night (Sept 16) to return the equal status of Sarawak and Sabah.
Soo said making Sarawak and Sabah equal partners did not need time, money and more committees to study.
“Everything is already there in MA63 (the Malaysia Agreement 1963) and in the Federal Constitution for 55 years.
Soo opined that reverting to the Federal Constitution to restore the status of Sarawak as an equal partner in the federation only needed to be to be tabled in Parliament, which could done during the first session by the Pakatan government.
“Prove it we are equal partners by action, not setting up committees to discuss until the cows come home. Sarawakians will no longer continue to be distracted by mere empty talk and fake promises,” said Soo.
Meanwhile, Soo said Sarawak Baru, of which STAR is a partner, was fighting for sovereign rights over Sarawak’s territorial waters, oil and gas as well as land rights.
She said Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and PH had failed Sarawak.
“We are the only political force that is untainted,” claimed Soo. — DayakDaily
