Putrajaya has been urged to appoint two more deputy prime ministers from Sabah and Sarawak to stem growing discontent there over alleged unfair treatment.
Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan, a vocal advocate for autonomy in East Malaysia, warned this was necessary to address unhappiness in Sabah and Sarawak, where some have even called for secession.
"Have one deputy prime minister for each region and the prime minister will be chosen by elected representative or through rotation," he told a forum entitled "Malaysian Agreement 1963" in Kuala Lumpur today.
Jeffrey (far right), who is Borneo Heritage Foundation chief, proposed that peninsula Malaysia retains its 11 states while Sarawak be divided into nine states and Sabah five.
He added there would be three deputy prime ministers, one to oversee peninsula Malaysia, one for Sabah and another for Sarawak.
"We need to restructure, we cannot leave as it is because it is now one-sided. We have to solve it, if it cannot be solved then we have to separate from Malaysia," he asserted.
Not calling for secession
However Jeffrey, who is also Bingkor state assemblyperson, stressed that he was not calling for secession but favoured restructuring.
Jeffrey said Sabah and Sarawak are the pillars of the Federation of Malaysia, contributing 46 percent of revenue for the country and therefore should be treated equally.
He pointed out Sabah's petroleum revenue was projected to be at a whopping RM26.4 billion while the national tax collected was RM37 billion.
However, Sabah was only entitled to five percent or RM1.4 billion.
"We are the richest state in terms of resources but we are also the poorest state in Malaysia according to the World Bank," he said.
The forum was jointly organised by the Sarawak Association for People's Aspiration and Borneo Heritage Foundation of Sabah.
Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan, a vocal advocate for autonomy in East Malaysia, warned this was necessary to address unhappiness in Sabah and Sarawak, where some have even called for secession.
"Have one deputy prime minister for each region and the prime minister will be chosen by elected representative or through rotation," he told a forum entitled "Malaysian Agreement 1963" in Kuala Lumpur today.Jeffrey (far right), who is Borneo Heritage Foundation chief, proposed that peninsula Malaysia retains its 11 states while Sarawak be divided into nine states and Sabah five.
He added there would be three deputy prime ministers, one to oversee peninsula Malaysia, one for Sabah and another for Sarawak.
"We need to restructure, we cannot leave as it is because it is now one-sided. We have to solve it, if it cannot be solved then we have to separate from Malaysia," he asserted.
Not calling for secession
However Jeffrey, who is also Bingkor state assemblyperson, stressed that he was not calling for secession but favoured restructuring.
Jeffrey said Sabah and Sarawak are the pillars of the Federation of Malaysia, contributing 46 percent of revenue for the country and therefore should be treated equally.
He pointed out Sabah's petroleum revenue was projected to be at a whopping RM26.4 billion while the national tax collected was RM37 billion.
However, Sabah was only entitled to five percent or RM1.4 billion.
"We are the richest state in terms of resources but we are also the poorest state in Malaysia according to the World Bank," he said.
The forum was jointly organised by the Sarawak Association for People's Aspiration and Borneo Heritage Foundation of Sabah.
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