AUTONOMY NOT SECESSION? Doris Jones creating 'romantic notion' Sabah, Sarawak want independence - Salleh

The Malaysian Government needs to establish who is this Doris Jones who is allegedly leading the movement called Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia (SSKM). It seems Jones is her husband’s name and she is based in Northampton, UK.

Doris has been in the UK for some time but became politically active only since she met Ambiga from Bersih during a talk held in London.

She is said to have left Malaysia some time ago and is a UK Resident. Hence she left Malaysia for marriage and career reasons and not because she was being persecuted for being too outspoken as she is suggesting.

Doris is also closely associated with another UK movement called Friends of Pakatan Rakyat that is based in London and headed by PKR and DAP supporters.

The impression that Doris is creating is that Sabah and Sarawak are ‘fighting’ to secede from Malaysia and, of course, such a romantic notion has attracted the attention of the UK press such as the BBC, which recently gave her an interview. This is nowhere near the truth.

Sabah and Sarawak are not fighting for independence. At best, all we are asking for is some measure of autonomy not amounting to home rule but at least in the sprit of being able to determine our own destiny and manage those affairs that can be interpreted as state matters.

This misrepresentation of what is really happening in Sabah and Sarawak is very mischievous and must be answered by the Malaysian government. There is no armed conflict in Sabah and Sarawak and neither is there unrest such as Sabahans and Sarawakians up in arms asking for freedom from Malaysia.

This, however, seems to be the general impression being created. And this impression needs to be set straight. After saying all that, we cannot deny that there does exist some unhappiness, which can easily be resolved through dialogue with the federal government in Putrajaya. -http://sskeruak.blogspot.com/