Sabah, Sarawak at historical crossroads come the 13th GE

Borneo can seize the reins of power in Putrajaya if it secures a united block of 50 seats in Parliament to lay claim to the Prime Minister's post in partnership with whichever coalition in Malaya is willing to eat humble pie and settle for the Deputy Prime Minister's post despite having more seats than the Borneo block. 

Joe Fernandez

The unprecedented political divide in Malaya with the emergence of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) taking half the 165 Malayan seats in Parliament and five states (now four) and Kuala Lumpur on Sat 8 Mar, 2008 opened up a historical window of opportunity for Sabah and Sarawak to free themselves from the 50-year-long vice-like grip of the Malaya-dominated Federal Government in Putrajaya.

In 2008, voters in Malaya voted against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) -- and not so much for PR -- and hence, it's said, the Opposition Alliance won by default. PR turned in a miserable performance in 2004 at the 12th General Election.

It can be said that PR jumped on the makkal sakthi -- people power -- bandwagon effect created by Hindraf's 25 Nov, 2007 Uprising when 100,000 Indians took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur. This was followed by the mid-Feb 2008 Rose Rally in Putrajaya. A series of local authority demolishing of Hindu temples was the proverbial last straw that broke the camel's back.

Although the Indians don't have even one seat, parliamentary or state, in Malaya, this marginalised and disenfranchised Nation in Malaysia decides in 67 parliamentary seats.

This time the new BN-PR status quo of 2008 is expected to remain in Malaya.

Malaya has too many seats in Parliament

Indeed, it will even be surprising if BN does not lose Perak once again as in 2008. Public anger against the ruling party is at a boiling point in the state. BN, using a ruthless carrot-and-stick approach including kidnapping the Speaker, the police raiding the state assembly and the Sultan reportedly being arm-twisted, wrested back Perak through defections of three vulnerable PR state assemblymen which sparked a constitutional crisis.

The forthcoming 13th General Election -- expected between April 28 and Oct 28 -- in Sabah and Sarawak could be the unfinished, and long delayed, Borneo chapter of the 2008 political tsunami which was then confined to Malaya.

The consensus in Borneo is that it's an opportune moment now for all local parties across both sides of the political divide in Sabah and Sarawak to come together and adopt a common position as follows on the 13th GE:

(1) say no to the parti parti Malaya taking any seats, whether parliamentary or state, in Sabah and Sarawak;

(2) Malaya, as provided by the constitutional documents on Malaysia, should not have more than one seat less two-third in the Malaysian Parliament, at the very maximum.

This is not reflected in the 165 seats currently held by Malaya in Parliament i.e. 18 more than it should have given the present 222-seat Parliament.

Taib Mahmud has finally run out of luck

To add insult to injury, the parti parti Malaya hold both parliamentary and state seats in Sabah and Sarawak and have plans to seize even more seats as both the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and PR try to outdo each other;

(3) Taib Mahmud, who has painted himself into a corner through gross abuse of power and conflict of interest, should step down for the sake of Sarawak. He can thereby avoid being blackmailed by either PR or BN and as well prevent the parti parti Malaya from striking further roots in this Nation.

In any case, Taib can no longer lead a charmed life as in the past three decades and more. He has run out of luck as Prime Minister Mohd Najib Abdul Razak no longer trusts him, fearing the highly vulnerable leader's defection to PR, and will pick the parliamentary candidates in Sarawak, as in Sabah, himself. Najib is also picking the state candidates in Sabah. There will be no state election in Sarawak this year;

(4) Sabah and Sarawak should not continue to be hoodwinked by Putrajaya's big talk on so-called development in Borneo.

The fact that Sabah and Sarawak are the poorest Nations in Malaysia speaks volumes.

In addition, not only Sabah and Sarawak but Malaysia as well compares unfavourably with Singapore which left Malaysia in 1965 after two years in the Federation and Brunei which stayed out at the 11th hour; and

(5) the eradication of the grinding poverty of Sabah and Sarawak hinges on these Nations getting back control over their politics, resources and revenue from the racism, prejudice and opportunism-ridden Putrajaya.

Sabah, Sarawak must regain control over its resources

Last year, Putrajaya plundered Sabah alone to the tune of RM 50 billion by conservative estimates. This does not take into account losses incurred by Sabah under the National Cabotage Policy, rakings by Malayan companies sitting on native land and gambling monies flowing to the Peninsula.

The objective of regaining control over politics, resources and revenue, in furtherance of its manifest destiny, will not be achieved if the parti parti Malaya continue to steal seats, parliamentary and state, in these Nations.

It would be tragic if Sabahans and Sarawakians don't capitalise on the political divide in Malaya since 2008 to secure their rightful place in the sun.

Borneons may quarrel among themselves but they need to unite in the face of a common external threat and enemy.

Unity is strength.

Putrajaya capitalising on disunity in Sabah, Sarawak

Malaya has indeed emerged over the last half century as the arch enemy of Borneo, the real crocodile in the region, as warned by President Sukarno in 1964 at the height of his Ganyang Malaysia (Hang Malaysia) movement driven by Indonesia's policy of konfrontasi (confrontation) towards the neo-colonialist Malaysia created by the British disingenuously after both Sabah and Sarawak became free nations.

Sabah obtained its independence on 31 Aug, 1963 and Sarawak the same year on 22 July.

Malaysia only came into being on 16 Sept, 1963, dragging in Sabah and Sarawak without referendum, to facilitate Chinese-majority Singapore's independence through merger with almost Chinese-majority Malaya. The Orang Asal population of Sabah and Sarawak were ostensibly needed by the Malay-speaking communities in Malaya, and the tiny Orang Asal (Orang Asli) population there, to provide greater balance against the Chinese population.

If Borneons don't unite, Malaya will take advantage of their disunity to continue creating proxies, stooges and rogue elements from among them to continuing serving their nefarious ends, for want of a better term.

Once Borneons have disposed of Malaya from their politics, they can "go back to quarrelling among themselves".

Sabah and Sarawak should not worry about which coalition in Malaya grabs Putrajaya.

They need to foster in themselves a sense of professional detachment when dealing with Malaya. The abuses there, if any, are none of their concern.

United Sabah, Sarawak can lay claim to PM’s post

Instead, they should be willing to work in pragmatic partnership, within or outside Government, with whichever coalition in Malaya can lay claim to Putrajaya.

This ideal is being actively promoted by the State Reform Party (Star) led by Jeffrey Kitingan. The Star chairman, the de facto Orang Asal chief, prefers Borneo to throw its backing for strategic reasons behind whichever Malayan coalition emerges as the weaker one in Parliament.

Sabah and Sarawak will indeed be in a spot if BN stakes claim to Putrajaya and PR refuses to concede defeat and instead takes to the streets. Conversely, PR could win a bigger share of parliamentary seats vis-a-vis BN, but the latter may claim having the single biggest block of seats since the former isn't a registered coalition but three parties contesting under their respective symbols. Again, it's unlikely that PR will cave in that easily into semantics.

Borneo can seize the reins of power in Putrajaya if it secures a united block of 50 seats in Parliament to lay claim to the Prime Minister's post in partnership with whichever coalition in Malaya is willing to eat humble pie and settle for the Deputy Prime Minister's post despite having more seats than the Borneo block. Even, then the Malayan partner is not expected to have more than 70 seats at the very most.

Agenda Borneo vs Agenda parti parti Malaya in Borneo

A Malaysian Prime Minister from Borneo will be able to set aside the written Constitution of Malaya which is being passed off as the written Constitution of Malaysia and give the unwritten Constitution of Malaysia -- part of the Agenda Borneo -- its rightful place. That would underline Sabah and Sarawak as Nations in Malaysia and not the 12th and 13th states in a Federation of Malaya masquerading as the Federation of Malaysia.

The local parties who refuse to co-operate on Agenda Borneo -- everything against the Agenda parti parti Malaya in Borneo -- are no doubt traitors, indeed treasonous elements, who are willing to betray their own people.

No doubt they want to continue being proxies, stooges and rogue elements of Malaya, like Judas Iscariot in return for the proverbial 30 pieces of silver, in order to facilitate Putrajaya's internal colonisation policies in Sabah and Sarawak. It's only a matter of time before they realise the folly of their ways and hang themselves in shame and disgrace.

It's a tragedy that there are people among the people of Borneo who take no pride in themselves and their people, and who have no guts to stand on their own two feet but prefer to shamelessly latch on to outsiders, willing to be sycophants for self-serving reasons. Their children and grandchildren will urinate on their graves. The outsiders, as evident from the grinding poverty of Sabah and Sarawak, are the worst form of parasites, leeches and bloodsuckers to ever walk the Earth.

People of Borneo deserve better after 50 years of Malaysia

There's the traditional falling out among thieves taking place in Malaya as they eye Borneo.

PR has pledged that it will "steal less oil and gas" -- that's what it means -- from Sabah and Sarawak, i.e. only 80 per cent, compared with BN's 95 per cent in the inner waters and 100 per cent in the outer waters where most of the wells are situated.

Already, BN apologists in Sabah and Sarawak are claiming that national oil corporation Petronas would go bust if PR makes good its pledge.

The last thing on the minds of Sabahans and Sarawakians is any fate that may be in store for Petronas.

Their only concern is to take the right path as they stand at a historical crossroads come the 13th GE.

Indeed the window of opportunity opened up for Borneo by 2008 may never be repeated for another half century if Sabah and Sarawak were to root for either BN or PR or both.

The people of Sabah and Sarawak deserve better after 50 years of suffering under a bad British idea called Malaysia.

Joe Fernandez is a mature law student, among others, who loves to write. He feels compelled, as a semi-retired journalist, to put pen to paper -- or rather the fingers to the computer keyboard -- whenever something doesn't quite jell with his weltanschauung (worldview). He shuttles between points in the Golden Heart of Borneo formed by the Sabah west coast, Labuan, Brunei, northern Sarawak and the watershed region in Borneo where three nations meet.