KUCHING, Nov 29: State Reform Party Sarawak (STAR) president Lina Soo was delighted with the open invitation from Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia to debate on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Soo has also accepted the challenge to debate on the agreement that led to the country’s founding.
“Much obliged, it is with great pleasure and honour to accept the challenge thrown to your critics on MA63 at any place and time.
“Tan Sri, we applaud your gallantry and valour well nigh rare to find in any Malaysia politician today,” Soo said today.
She was referring to Pandikar Amin’s recent debate challenge posted on his Facebook page, using the profile name PaMin Padila Mulia.
In the post, it was quoted; “I shall be there. Pandikar never runs away from any worthy battle for the good of the nation.”
Soo proposed that the debate should be held in Kuala Lumpur, either on Jan 13, 20, or 27.
“It should be in English as the Malaysia Agreement is an international treaty in English drawn up by the British, signed and sealed in London,” she said.
She also added that Kuala Lumpur will be a better venue as many international media organisations are based there and this matter is of international public interest.
“The debate would be a platform and an opportunity to educate the general public not only on the Malaysia Agreement, but also other documents related to the formation of Malaysia. We need to look at the bigger picture and a platform to discuss or debate on MA63 in public is good, so I thank him for that.”
Soo was the former president of Sarawak Association for Peoples’ Aspiration (SAPA) which in 2014 was declared a threat to security and public order when they were the first in the country to initiate discussion and public forums on MA63 throughout Sarawak.
“Since then, times have changed and our Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister now assure us that discussion on MA63 is permitted. Despite that, the judicial review sought by SAPA is pending in the Federal Court,” she said.
It was reported recent that Pandikar Amin recently launched a book in which he rubbished claims that East and West Malaysia were meant to be equal territories when the federation was formed. He even went further to say that the rights of the state were never eroded in the first place, even with the constitutional amendments in 1976 to downgrade Sabah and Sarawak to the 12th and 13th Malaysian states which was supported by all the BN MPs from Sabah and Sarawak. — DayakDaily
