‘THERE ARE NO MALAYS IN SABAH OR SARAWAK AS DEFINED UNDER THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION’ – NGO URGES MAHATHIR TO HELP THEM CHART A NEW WAY FORWARD FOR EAST MALAYSIA

SakSaMa hopes that Opposition Prime Minister-designate Mahathir Mohamad will work with the Gen Y movement on the way forward in North Borneo and Sarawak.

SakSaMa — Gabungan Rakyat SakSaMa (Sarawak, Sabah, Malaya) — sees decolonisation, “Malay” MyKads in Sabah and the Sabah claim as the three major issues in Borneo in the run-up to GE14.

We are taking our cue from Pakatan Harapan (PH) announcing in Kuching recently that it will soon complete Part 3 of its Sarawak Manifesto.

The Sarawak Manifesto Part 3 and PH’s Sabah Manifesto, also work in progress, is an opportune moment for the Opposition to “catch the bull by the horns” on Borneo’s plight in Malaysia.

For starters, the decolonisation of Sabah and Sarawak is an idea whose time has come.

It’s pointless continuing to harp on Malaysia not turning out to be an equal partnership of North Borneo, Sarawak and Malaya. It’s time to look beyond the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) to deal with the unhappiness of the people in Borneo with Putrajaya.

MA63, going forward, may be a case of too little, too late.

Briefly, the decolonisation of Sabah and Sarawak begun in 1962/63 must be completed. The British never gave independence, not even self-government, to Sabah and Sarawak before they left.

The result was the Philippines pressing its claim to the southern part of the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (EssZone) i.e. the original Sabah, and by extension the northern EssZone. Decolonisation will end the so-called Sabah claim.

Mahathir must get PH to incorporate decolonisation in its Manifesto for Borneo. The Federal Government can pursue the matter with the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council.

For Sabah in particular, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) Report on Illegal Immigrants has run into an impasse. Both the Technical and Management Reports on the RCI are being kept under wraps.

Mahathir’s name figured prominently in the alleged issuance of “Malay” MyKads to some 600,000 illegal immigrants in Sabah. He offered no apologies and in fact expressed no regrets in violating the Constitution.

PH must acknowledge that these “Malay” MyKads were non-existent in law, as if they never existed.

They are fraudulent, null and void, invalid, illegal.

There are no Malays in Sabah under the Definition of Malay in Article 160 in the Federal Constitution. Even the Sarawak Malay (Orang Laut) and Brunei Malay (Barunai) are not covered by Article 160.

The Definition of Malay in Article 160 is confined to Singapore and Malaya.

It’s not enough to be a Muslim, speak Malay, and practise Malay culture, customs and traditions, to be classified as a Malay in Singapore and Malaya.

Besides the above criteria, a Malay under Article 160 must have been born or domiciled in Singapore or Malaya by Merdeka, 31 Aug, 1957, the cutoff date.

Their descendants are also Malay.

After Singapore’s independence from Malaysia in 1965, the Republic amended the Definition of Malay to include non-Muslims.

Phillip Among

Chairman

Gabungan Rakyat SakSaMa (Sarawak, Sabah, Malaya)

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

– MAILBAG