By Karen Bong
KUCHING, April 5: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Youth secretary-general Milton Foo today used the ‘Emperor’s new clothes’ folk tale as the metaphor to describe the Bill to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution.
He urged Sarawakians not to be swindled or hoodwinked by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) weavers who claimed to make ‘a suit of new clothes’ in returning Sabah and Sarawak’s status as accorded in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), but it turned out the ‘invisible garment’ is nothing at all.
“After the Bill was tabled for the first reading in Parliament yesterday, Sarawakians were taken aback by the proposed amendment, which had nothing in its definition to state the restoration of equal partnerships between Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya,” he told a press conference at SUPP headquarters here today.
The Danish folklore is about two weavers who promise an emperor a new suit of clothes that they say is invisible to those who are unfit for their positions, stupid or incompetent — while in reality, they make no clothes at all, making everyone believe the clothes are invisible to them.
When the emperor parades before his subjects in his new ‘clothes’, no one dares to say that they do not see any suit of clothes on him for fear that they will be perceived as stupid. Finally, a child cries out, ‘But he isn’t wearing anything at all!’
The statements from PH lawmakers, especially from Sarawak, are no different from the King’s new clothes, opined Foo.
“They tell Sarawakians that this is the ‘new clothes’ that we have to accept. This exactly reflects the true face of PH Sarawak that is pretending to weave the invisible fabric that claims to restore Sarawak to its original status in MA63,” he added.
Foo emphasised that this is the time for more brave Sarawakians to stand up and point out that this was no new clothes as the proposed amendment did not change the status of Sarawak and Sabah at all.
“This is deceiving amendment in disguise. This also proves that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS)’s stand on the matter is correct, that we cannot blindly follow or support the Bill when the content is not known,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tan Kai, a political secretary to the Chief Minister, pointed out that the PH government’s careless acts and insincerity on the matter would only infuriate Sarawakians.
“The proposed amendment Bill was being rushed through, and this shows that the PH government just wanted to skimp the people of Sarawak and Sabah,” he shared in a statement today.
“The proposed amendment made no sense at all as there were no words to state the restoration of equal partnership of Sabah and Sarawak … so we remained as a ‘state’,” he explained.
Tan, thus, urged Sarawakians to be united and stand firm in fighting for Sarawak’s rights while reminding all that the destiny of Sarawak is in their hands. — DayakDaily
