Don’t let UMNO dominate Sarawak

KUCHING: Sarawakians should learn from the bitter experience of Sabah, which no longer has control of the state due to Umno’s domination.

State Reform Party (Star) Sabah chairman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said that unlike Sabah, Sarawakians still have the right to determine who controls the state.

“The difference between Sabah and Sarawak now is you can still preserve control of your state,” he said in his keynote address at the ‘Forum: Malaysia Agreement 1963 – Past, Present & Future’ held here yesterday.

Jeffrey also expressed his admiration for former chief minister (now Yang di-Pertua Negeri) Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, whom he said had left a ‘very powerful message’ to Sarawakians prior to handing over his duties to his successor Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem.

“In his message, he stressed for the people to safeguard Sarawak’s interest in Malaysia and not allow Umno to come into the state. Now that is a very powerful message.

Jeffrey noted that Sabah had since moved from being one of the most progressive states in the country to the very bottom of the ranking.

“According to a study by the World Bank (WB) in Washington, Sabah is currently the poorest state in Malaysia and it is likely to stay that way for a considerable length of time given the current efforts in poverty eradication.

“This is an irony because Sabah is actually a very rich state. We have oil and gas just like Sarawak although presently Sarawak is producing more at the moment.”

Organised by the Sarawak Association for People’s Aspiration (Sapa) and Borneo Heritage Foundation of Sabah (BHF), the forum also saw Sabah Progressive Party president and former Sabah chief minister Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee, PBDS Baru deputy president Patrick Uren as well as human rights lawyer and activist Waythamoorthy Ponnusamy among the speakers.

Earlier at a press conference, Jeffrey, who is also BHF president, explained that the forum was organised with the aim of providing an atmosphere of open and sincere discussions.

“There should be no fear because if we were not allowed to discuss our views on the Malaysia Agreement, then we will never be able to resolve whatever disagreement we have,” he stressed, and proposed for Sarawak to work with Sabah in addressing the matter.

“Now we are out of tune, because Sarawak is controlled by the state’s political party, where even though they are in Barisan Nasional (BN), they can still make a stand on state matters compared to Sabah which is run by Umno and even the chief minister is appointed by Umno.”

Also present at the event was Sapa president Lina Soo.

Squrce from The borneo post