Declassified CIA papers help people know history, says ex-CM

KOTA KINABALU: The declassified CIA document that reveals how the Bornean states lost their oil and gas resources to the federal government is just one of the many disturbing documents that have surfaced lately, said Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).

Its president, Yong Teck Lee, said with so many secrets suddenly coming out into the open, Sabahans should start thinking again about the history of the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, despite what the school books and official media have been telling Malaysians all these years.

In this day and age, he said, people no longer relied only on the official version of history as the internet has given access to new information and knowledge.

“As more and more secrets of the formation of Malaysia are revealed with the declassification of official documents, people can get a better understanding of the events of the 1960s.

“This includes the happenings behind the political curtain during the pre-Malaysia era and the real reasons for the formation of Malaysia,” he told FMT.

Much of the information, he said, had already been made public by the United Kingdom since the country has a rule to declassify documents after 50 years.

These documents, he said, are invaluable to Sabah’s struggle to understand its own history and what has led to its current predicament.

“As we all know, history explains why we are where we are. What we do today will determine where we will be in the future,” Yong said.

He added that the declassified CIA document would make Sabahans understand their real history without the facts being fabricated by the authorities.

Moreover, he said, the CIA document lends credence to the claims of Sabahans who demand full autonomy and control of their natural resources, including oil and gas.

He added that it is his hope that one day the still classified official report into the June 6 air crash that killed Sabah’s most prominent leaders in 1976 will be released.

“With more and more secrets of the past emerging, the more justified our struggle will be,” he said.

On Wednesday, Sarawak activist Zulfaqar Sa’adi claimed the CIA document entitled “Implications of dispute over Sarawak continental shelf”, written in the weeks leading up to the extension of the Continental Shelf 1966 to Borneo, revealed the real story of how Sabah and Sarawak lost their oil and gas rights.

Zulfaqar had said it was possible the federal government had engineered the situation at the time, including the secession of Singapore, to ensure it could exploit the rich natural resources of the Bornean territories. -FMT