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Sunday, July 13, 2014

Stop day dreaming about secession

A tongue-in-cheek look at why Sabah and Sarawak should remain loyal to Malaysia because BN cannot afford to lose its fixed deposits.
COMMENT
day_dreaming_300The call for secession by certain political parties, rights groups and NGOs in Sabah and Sarawak has lately grown louder, provoking shock and concern among some peninsular Malaysians.
These groups cite Putrajaya’s arrogance, deprivation of development funds for the two states, corruption, the fostering of unpopular and corrupt local politicians who misappropriate native lands and the insidious socio-political engineering in Sabah as valid reasons for secession.
They lament that the two states remain relatively undeveloped and that their natives hardly enjoy the benefits of being bumiputeras, which became starkly obvious with the recent Federal Court ruling on the “Allah” issue. That ruling had church leaders in Sarawak fuming with rage, pointing out that it effectively made criminals of bumiputera Christians, who have been calling god Allah for generations.
Although these complaints sound legitimate enough, Sabah and Sarawak in fact do not enjoy any secession rights, as pointed out by Kota Belud MP Rahman Dahlan. True enough, one of the 20 points of the Malaysia agreement clearly states that Sabah and Sarawak cannot secede. Rahman said it would be treasonous even to suggest it.
Moreover, the two states must abide by the sentiments of the two thirds who voted for BN, as the majority are clearly against any thought of secession.
Therefore, East Malaysians should stop entertaining such frivolous dreams and remain as loyal fixed deposits to BN. They must resign themselves to their fate, think of the endless possibilities that Prime Minister Najib is offering them, be a 1Malaysian and not question the government.
Political leaders in the two states should stop arm twisting the Federal government on the oil royalty. Demanding for 20% is way too extreme. Maybe a slight increment to 6% could be accommodated, with perhaps a 1% annual increment.
After all, the government has not forced Malaysians to fork out 20% for the GST, but capped it at 6%. Leaders of the two states must remain patient as our oil reserves are not going to run dry any time soon within the next four years.
There is also the fear that if the government gives in to Sabah and Sarawak, states like Kelantan and Terengganu will also demand 20%. At that rate, Petronas can go bankrupt by 2018. We should all stop treating Petronas like our personal cash kitty. It does not belong to us, but to BN for it to do as it pleases.
Besides, our government is building up an oil pension fund for the future, similar to Norway’s. This will benefit all Malaysians one day. That’s why it is important that the accounts of Petronas remain classified under the Prime Minister’s Department.
Do not take seriously Jeffrey Kitingan’s allegation that the Sabah oil wells may dry up in six years or that Petronas may go bust by 2018. This is all hearsay.
Even the awareness that 80% of the oil produced by Petronas is not sold directly to the world market but channelled through six option holders who obtain the supply at well below market prices is not an excuse to demand for higher oil royalty or to opt for secession.
Opposition lies
Stop believing in the opposition lies that Sabah and Sarawak are the poorest states in the Federation. They are not. Kelantan and Terengganu are a little poorer.
Stop blaming Putrajaya for the two state’s misfortunes or underdevelopment if their own hand picked leaders and chief ministers fail to stamp out corruption or lack a proper blueprint for development. Sabah and Sarawak cannot depend on orang utans, timber, hornbills and hydroelectric dams alone to generate income.
Sabah and Sarawak are lacking in natural resources, and this is why they lag behind so miserably.
Putrajaya has poured in countless billions of ringgit to develop the two states, but the development is so spread out over vast territories that it is hard to notice. Remember, the two states are not small like Melaka and Perlis.
As for the presence of thousands of illegal immigrants, it proves the utter failure of the two states to guard their borders vigilantly. Most of the immigrants enter Sabah with ease, carrying fake IC’s probably manufactured in Kalimantan or the Philippines through duplicate printing or simple photostat machines.
Countless investigations have failed to prove the existence of Project IC, even though Sabah opposition politicians incessantly try to implicate Putrajaya.
Sabahans should give the issue a rest, and authorities in the state should take their own initiative to deport these illegal immigrants now, instead of waiting in vain for Putrajaya’s assistance.
Already, Putrajaya has its hands full trying to cope with an illegal immigrant population believed to exceed two million in Peninsular Malaysia. Compared to the situation on the peninsula, Sabah’s problem is peanuts.
Luckily, most of them have not thought of having their own Project IC like in Sabah or hang around the soup kitchens in the city.
Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian is constantly making demands for billion ringgit assistance to fund projects to alleviate flooding, renovate dilapidated schools and improve water supply. Even Sarawak BN has not made such unreasonable demands, even though it is the ruling party.
And Sarawak PRS chief James Masing should stop sulking over the exclusion of Dayak-based parties in the recent cabinet expansion even though they contributed greatly to BN’s victory in the 2013 general election.
The cabinet is already too bloated to add in ministers from the East Malaysian States. PRS must be patient and wait its turn, which may come after the next election. Besides, East Malaysia is already well represented in Parliament by brilliant personalities such as Bung Mokhtar.
Sabah and Sarawak should also stop using petty issues like race and religion to justify their call for secession. Putrajaya has already issued a statement saying churches can continue using Allah in their worship. Which part of the statement do they not understand?
Sad misinterpretation
Issues like body snatching, hudud, raids on churches and weddings, Bible confiscation and unilateral conversions are restricted to the peninsula and won’t affect East Malaysian states. So, its leaders should stop being so jumpy and paranoid.
Even noble attempts by Muslim NGO Haluan to extend motivation programmes like Anak Angkat into the interior parts of the country have been sadly misinterpreted as attempts to proselytise the natives. Why be so touchy about proselytisation issues when the Federal Constitution clearly allows religious freedom?
East Malaysians should know better than to take Perkasa’s constant threats against the Christian minority as gospel. Perkasa’s mild threats like chopping off heads and its fixation on May 13 have been grossly misrepresented by the press. The members of that respectable organisation, like their chief Ibrahim Ali, are poetic geniuses who speak only in figures of speech.
It must be understood that Perkasa does not represent the government or speak on its behalf. Their leaders are not Umno members, but independents disguised as frogs. They only croak when they are hungry and desperate. Most times, they fight for good and sensible issues like Malay supremacy.
Under BN rule, Sabah and Sarawak have grown to become industrial giants with vast exports of timber, oil and electrical power and a big source of cheap immigrant labour. What more do Sabah and Sarawak want?
Lastly, Sabah and Sarawak should stop asking what the Federal government can do for them. Instead they should ask what they can do for the Federal government.

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