Sabah pact seeks new Malaysia Agreement

© Provided by MToday News Sdn BhdJeffrey-Kitingan_SABAHKOTA KINABALU: The Gabungan Sabah opposition pact has declared that it is seeking a new agreement between Putrajaya and Sabah because the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 was signed while the state was still a British colony.

Jeffrey Kitingan, one of Gabungan’s four deputy chairmen, said the coalition hoped for an agreement that would reflect Sabah’s status as an equal partner with the Federation of Malaya and Sarawak.

He made the remark in a speech delivered in Keningau during a ceremony organised by the coalition to mark Malaysia Day.

“We want to have equal rights with Malaya because we are its equal partner,” he said.

“We are not the same as Perlis. We are a country by itself. We have residencies. Our districts are as big as some of the states in Malaya, some even bigger.”

Gabungan Sabah, also known as United Sabah Alliance, consists of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star), Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah (Harapan) and Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS).

Kitingan, who is president of Star, accused Putrajaya of resorting to intimidation when dealing with activists struggling for Sabah rights and raising awareness among Sabahans.

He said some of them were arrested simply for expressing their opinions and exercising their right of free speech.

He was referring to two incidents in 2015 when 14 people were arrested in Lahad Datu and Tuaran for alleged links with secession group Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia (SSKM).

The were accused of gathering signatures for a petition asking for the state’s rights to be restored. A court subsequently discharged but did not acquit them.

Kitingan said it was pointless to have freedom of speech and freedom of expression provided for in the Federal Constitution if laws were enacted to circumvent such rights.

“Not only are we banned from talking about state rights, our religious freedom is also threatened,” he said. “We cannot use the word ‘Allah’ in our worship. Our Bibles were seized. How can we stand idly by and say nothing?

“All these need to be corrected because we don’t want to continue to be colonised.”