Implement Malaysia Agreement Not Just Review - Jeffrey

Kota Kinabalu:    “The call for a review of the safeguards for Sabah and Sarawak and their status as equal partners to Malaya by TengkuRazaleigh or more affectionally known as Ku Li needs to be brought up in Parliament and must be fully supported by all the MPs from Sabah and Sarawak, if it is to succeed ” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief in commenting on Ku Li’s call to review the status of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia.

While it is refreshing and unprecedented to hear the call from a Peninsula politician, and a senior Umno MP at that, the issue of the treatment and status of the Borneo States is nothing new. Sabahans particularly since the 1980 shave been clamouring strongly for a review and implementation of the Malaysia Agreement and the restoration of the equal status, rights and autonomy of Sabah.

Ku Li said, the review is 40 years late but it is better late than never.   If the injustices inflicted on the Borneo States and the grievances of the people are not addressed, the problem will not go away but fester and may grow out of hand.  By then, it will be too late to save the break-up of the federation.

The down-grading and treatment of Sabah and Sarawak as the 12th and 13th States and colonies of Malaya masquerading as Malaysia and the government of Malaya masquerading as the federal government of Malaysia must stop and put to an end.   The parallel government in Sabah through the federal secretary office must also be abolished and removed and the government of Sabah be fully autonomous and everything concerning Sabah must be channel via the Sabah government.

The founding fathers of Malaysia, be they from Malaya, Singapore, Sarawak or Sabah, even from Britain, never envisaged that Sabah and Sarawak would be the 12th and 13th States and colonies of Malaya as the initial proposed was rejected by the Borneo territories.

The wanton amendment of the Federal Constitution on 28 July 1976 down-grading Sabah and Sarawak to be the 12th and 13th States and colonies of Malaya clearly shows the contempt and “colonial-masters” mindset of the Malayan leaders towards Sabah and Sarawak.   Such an amendment is not only despicable but treason and traitor-like in the eyes of Sabahans.

The analogy of the USA used by Tun Haniff is most unfortunate and misleading.  In layman terms, it is comparing apple to orange.   It is the same analogy and thinking of Umno/BN leaders who can’t seem to understand and comprehend the difference between the formation of the USA and Malaysia.  Perhaps, it is part of their Umno/BN indoctrination and brain-washing by the federal powers/Malayan leaders.

To put the record straight, the USA was formed in the 1776 by the 13 founding States.  Subsequently, the other 37 States joined the USA and the nation grew larger with these additional States.  The name of the nation never changed, it always has been the good old United States of America and the Constitution of USA was only amended several times since 1776.

On the other hand, the Federation of Malaya was formed and gained independence from the British on 31 August 1957.Sarawak gained her independence on 22 July 1963 and Sabah on 31 August 1963.  Then, on 16 September 1963, the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak formed a new nation through a merger  known as Malaysia.  

Malaysia never existed before 1963 and Malaysia is not the Federation of Malaya.  But today Malaya has converted itself as Malaysia.  Where is the Federation of Malaya today if it is not masquerading as the Federation of Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak as the 12th and 13th States of Malaya?

The Borneo States are not supposed to be the 12th and 13th States be it Malaysia or Malaya but as equal partners of equal status with safeguards that were agreed upon.   

“We are not seeking or demanding additional rights or taking away any rights from any other State but only seeking what has been agreed upon in the formation of Malaysia and rightly ours” emphasized Dr. Jeffrey.

There should have been a new Constitution of Malaysia but the Constitution of Malaya was adopted to be the Federal Constitution of Malaysia with the excuse that there was no time.  Since 1963, the Federal Constitution has been amended nearly 600 times not only in eroding the rights and status of  Sabah  and Sarawak but also eroding the rights and privileges including immunity of the royal Malay rulers.

Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore never joined Malaya and never joined Malaysia.  This part of history has always been twisted and manipulated to the extent of being re-written in our history books and wrongly taught to our young.  To keep harping on Malay nationalism in fighting for the independence of Malaysia is nothing but sheer lies and imposing on Sabahans and Sarawakians to celebrate the independence of Malaysia on 31 August 1957 is sheer distortion of history.

With due respect to TunHaniff, Sabah and Sarawak never joined Malaysia.  Without Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia would not exist today.  What would exist without Sabah and Sarawak would be the Federation of Malaya with the 11 original States (plus perhaps the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya).   On the other hand, in the USA, without the other newer 37 States, the USA would still exist today with the original 13 founding States.

The problem on the formation of Malaysia will not be solved without correcting and rectifying the distortions and manipulations on the true facts of history.  

While the suggestion to form a parliamentary caucus or Malaysia Review Committee by Ku Li is lauded, the real solution lies in an amendment of the Federal Constitution and a truly sincere implementation of the Malaysia Agreement with the re-activation of the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) or an equivalent.   The British government needs to be involved as well as they have failed in their trusteeship responsibilities towards Sabah and Sarawak and failed to see that the implementation of the promises, assurances and recommendations of the IGC were properly carried out.

After 50 miserable years including the “stealing” of  Sabah and Sarawak’s oil and gas resources, it is an opportune time for the federal/Malayan leaders to show sincerity and true leadership in restoring the equal status, rights and autonomy of the Borneo States.  At the same, Sabah and Sarawak leaders need to unite to seek and demand for the restoration of these rights for the future of the generations of Sabah and Sarawak to come.

Datuk Dr.Jeffrey Kitingan

Chairman, STAR Sabah

27 September 2013

Re-establish State Education Policy Under State Control - Jeffrey

Kota Kinabalu:  “The Sabah government should take the opportunity to review the State Education Policy and re-establish it under state control including providing better financial support of Chinese schools” said DatukDr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief.

The Bingkor assemblyman was asked to comment on the decision by the Sarawak government to build more technical schools under its control as well as the report of the philanthropist, Teo Han Tong, who had fulfilled a RM1 to RM1 donation pledge, and the support of the local Chinese community in funding the new RM1.4 million school building at the 84-year old SJK Kuok Ming school in Tawau.

“The decision of the Sarawak Chief Minister and his government in building more technical schools, inMukah, Kapit, Baram and Betong, in an effort to get more rural Sarawakian children to pursue technical education should be commended and lauded” added Dr. Jeffrey.

Similarly, the Sabah government should emulate their Sarawak counterparts and build moretechnical and vocational institutes and collegesandupgrade existingones to enhance the technical skills of Sabahans and at the same time to hasten the pace of creating technically skilled and techno-savvy Sabahan youths.

In the fast-paced modern world, job-seekers with better technical and technology skills not only stand a better chance of employment opportunities and career advancement but they will also contribute to and expedite the economic growth of Sabah.

Nowadays, even a store-keeper in a medium-sized industrial outfit will require computer knowledge and skills in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.

By re-establishing education under Sabah control, the Sabah government can better manage and plan for the development of local human capital.   The recent calls to empower the Sabah Education Director emphasizes the need for education to be under state control once again than letting it flounder under the weight and distance of remote control by Malayan policy-makers and federal bureaucracy compounded by the lack of knowledge of local extenuating circumstances.

As part of the review, the Sabah government should also re-assess the financial requirements and needs of Chinese schools and not just leave the matter to the support of the Chinese and business communities.

The government should fund the construction of school buildings, libraries and computer classes and not just make token contributions at the end of the year especially during election campaign periods to fish for votes of the Chinese community.

This funding is more critical and justifiable in Sabah where in many Chinese schools the enrolment of non-Chinese students is more than one-third and in some instances where some students have to be turned away for lack of vacancies.

The Chinese and business communities can still play their part and with the additional funding from the Sabah government, the Chinese schools can focus more on educational teaching and development. 

After 50 years of Malaysia, education and human capital development in Sabah appears to have regressed and not progressed as it should have.  Instead of building and moulding towering Sabahans like in the good old days of British rule, the stories now are of school dropouts, indiscipline, truancy, poor command of basic languages and mother-tongue, lack of skills and of course control from the federal leading to poor administration and poor quality and bad planning and implementation of school projects.

The time has come for the Sabah government to seriously review and re-assess the education policy and administration in Sabah with the re-establishment of Sabah’s own Ministry of Education and a vision towards building towering Sabahans that will drive the growth of Sabah into a developed nation status.

Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan

Chairman, STAR Sabah

24 September 2013

Tanduo Intrusion Not Claim for Sabah Rights but Failure to Provide Security - Jeffrey

Kota Kinabalu:    “The Defence Minister’s attempt and excuse to link the recent Tanduo intrusion with the growing internal state nationalism to seek the restoration of State rights in Sabah as well as in Sarawak is a weak and feeble attempt to deflect from the failure of the federal government and its leaders to fulfil the promises and failure to provide the security to Sabah since 1963” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief in a follow-up statement released today.

The promises of the then Malayan leaders to provide security against the twin threats from Philippines and Indonesia as well as development were the fundamental basis to persuade and induce Sabah and Sarawak to form Malaysia in 1963.

These promises were the core of the untold stories told by Tan Sri Ghani Gilong and Tan Sri Majid Khan at the recent forum “The Formation of Malaysia – The Untold Story” organized by the Sabah Society.

The Tanduo intrusion did not only reveal the failure of the federal government in providing the security to Sabah and Sabahans.  The intrusion also revealed that the federal government and the federal departments and leaders from Malaya were the culprits in creating the insecurity and contributed largely to the intrusion.

The militant intruders were beneficiaries of the arming and training of the Southern Philippines/Mindanao insurgency by covert Malaysian operations with training grounds in the jungles of Tanduo/LahadDatu.   Many of these militants and their supporters including the intruders were given dubious Malaysian ICs and were members of Umno to the extent some of those killed in the Tanduo intrusion were buried in Keningau, Kudat and elsewhere in Sabah because their ICs show that they were alleged to be born in those places.   Many of those currently under detention under SOSMA for their roles in the Tanduo intrusion are members of Umno with some even holding leadership posts.

The revelations at the RCI also showed that the federal leaders and government departments were complicit in the issuance of ICs to unqualified foreigners, many obtained fraudulently by declaring to be born in Sabah when they were not.   Bare denials and selective memory and selective loss of memory by the federal leaders did not absolve these leaders and the federal government of their criminal acts and treason to Malaysia in general and Sabah in particular.   

These leaders may have denied the existence of “Project IC” or “Ops Durian Buruk” by playing with words, but,more importantly, they did not deny the existence of the issuance of dubious ICs to unqualified foreigners and put the blame only low rank civil servants who were merely doing their jobs and carrying out orders from their superiors.

The Tanduo intrusion was solely and squarely a Sulu claim by the Kiram descendants over Sabah as part of their ancestral inheritance together with alleged claims for non-payment of “allowances” for supporting and voting for Umno/BN and the displacement from lands that were promised and allotted to them and then “taken back” partly by the listing of Felda Global Ventures. 

Nothing about the Tanduo intrusion is about the claim of genuine Sabahans over Sabah rights and autonomy that were promises arising from Sabah and Sarawak agreeing to form Malaysia in 1963 and Sabah being an equal partner in the federation of Malaysia.   This historical fact is even now acknowledged by the Prime Minister himself and the Chief Minister of Sabah.

Is the Minister extending his threat over Sabah rights to include the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister?

Datuk Dr.Jeffrey Kitingan

Chairman, STAR Sabah

24September 2013

Don’t Threaten Sabahans Over Sabah Rights - Jeffrey

Kota Kinabalu:   “The Minister’s statement to threaten and intimidate Sabahans shows sheer arrogance of the highest order and a clear-cut abuse of power to lord over and control Sabahans to ensure Umno/Malaya’s dominance and colonization over Sabah” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief in response to the Minister’s statement to weed out protagonists over their claims for Sabah rights.

There is nothing criminal or wrong in any Sabahan/Sarawakian to seek the restoration of the rights, privileges and autonomy of the Borneo States that were taken away or eroded since 1963.

The Minister seems to have forgotten the facts of history that Sabah and Sarawak (with Singapore then) formed Malaysia in 1963 and were given various promises and assurances by the then Malayan leaders including the execution of the Malaysia Agreement to induce and entice the Borneo States to form Malaysia.  

Malaysia never existed before 1963 and Malaysia would not have existed even today without Sabah and Sarawak. 

Claims for the restoration of Sabah rights and autonomy do not mean cessation, being anti-Malaya/Peninsula or promoting hatred for other Malaysians.  Claiming for Sabah rights is nothing more than the equivalent claim for Malayrights in the Peninsula.Claiming for these rights also does not mean “Sabah for Sabahans” or “Sarawak for Sarawakians”.  

It is not even a shadow of a threat to the security and well-being of the nation although it may seem to be a political threat to the political powers that be.  A political threat just like the political threat posed by Pakatan Rakyat to the ruling regime does not mean a threat to the nation or security of the nation.   Such a political situation is but part and parcel of a democracy.  However, the ruling regime does not see it that away and use every possible government machinery to bully, harass and intimidate the opposition.

The Minister should take a lesson from the Prime Minister and realize the realities of the political power wielded by the Borneo States and its people including the local BN leaders.   

The people in the Borneo States have awakened from their slumber and now realize that their roles as kingmakers in determining the federal government in Putrajaya and along with it the God-given opportunity to voice and claim the restoration of the rights and autonomy of the Borneo States.

Sack the ministers and deputy ministers from Sabah and Sarawak today and immediately the ruling BN regime will find itself in the opposition with the Minister himself as the “shadow” minister in the opposition cabinet.

The claims for restoration of Sabah rights and autonomy are beyond pure harassment and threats by the ministers and the government machinery.   The people of Sabah including Sabah Umno/BN leaders and supporters are already joining the band-wagon to seek the restoration of the Sabah rights.

Even the claims for the return of the oil rights and oil revenue, taken 95% by Petronas and the federal government with RM58 billion taken in 2012, can no longer be ignored.   Promises of development, 1 or 2 “Tangki Biru 1-Malaysia”, a few pieces of zinc and timber, a few million here and there, a few hundred million of projects here and there, will no longer satisfy the people in Sabah and Sarawak.   It will be more evident come the 14th general election.

The official slogan may be “Sabah Maju Jaya Dalam Malaysia” but the stark reality on the ground and in the kampungs is “Sabah Termiskin Dalam Malaysia”.

If the Minister wish to take action against the threats to the security and well-being of the nation, he should look into the statements and threats issued in the name of Malay rights, Ketuanan Melayu but which are totally unrelated, as well as the religious bigots that incite racial and religious hatred and are divisive to Malaysians.

The biggest threat to the security of the nation and the break-up of Malaysia is from the ruling government itself.   The more the ruling government ignore and does not address the grievances of and the injustices inflicted on Sabahans and Sarawakians and implement the Malaysia Agreement, the 20/18 Points, the IGC Report and the recommendations of the Cobbold Commission, the louder will be the voice of the people in Sabah and Sarawak.

Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan

Chairman, STAR Sabah

23 September 2013