WHO IS UMNO, WHO IS TAIB MAHMUD? THE NEWLY AWAKENED ‘ANIMALS’ ARE SABAHANS & SARAWAKIANS THEMSELVES – AND THEY WON’T BE ANYONE’S ‘FIXED DEPOSIT’ EVER AGAIN: KICKED OUT OF POWER, BN LEADERS NOW CLUTCH AT ‘SABAH & SARAWAK RIGHTS MORE IMPORTANT THAN POLITICS’ LIFELINE TO STAY ALIVE

THESE days Anifah Aman has more time for family and friends.

The former foreign minister no longer jets all over the world as the Malaysian envoy, and he talks less about world affairs.

All this just means that he can now devote himself to affairs at home, in particular the matter of Sabah’s rights as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

Anifah said party politics is on the backseat as he had quit Umno in September last year.

“Enough of politics for now. Maybe in a few years or when the time is right. I will tell you when the time is right,” he said to explain his silence since his departure from the party.

Fresh from a meeting with social media friends, Anifah was smartly casual in a green polo shirt, jeans and sandals, his greying hair neatly combed back.

The 65-year-old politician said his three children, a dozen grandchildren and friends took up most of his time nowadays.

“Please, we politicians don’t really like to make our private lives public,” he said when asked how he spent his time with his family.

While he did not want to be drawn into a conversation about his future, he was willing to speak about his work to secure for Sabah its rights as listed in the MA63, and what he expected from the new Pakatan Harapan government.

Sabahans and Sarawakians have lamented the gradual erosion of rights and privileges of the two territories in Borneo, who were initially treated as equal partners to Malaya and Singapore in the formation of Malaysia.

However, a constitutional amendment in the 1970s had downgraded Sabah and Sarawak’s status to merely two states among the 13 states of Malaysia.

“My only concern right now is the future of our children. The time is now right for us to fight for the return of Sabah rights,” said Anifah.

Anifah also expressed concern over the direction the Parti Warisan Sabah government is headed in demanding the return of the state’s rights, saying it is a shame that his group’s accomplishments in the MA63 has been ignored..

Anifah is the founder of  MySabah, a civil movement comprising individuals from across the political spectrum to review the agreement.
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This includes reaching out to leaders of formerly rival parties like Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku president Jeffrey Kitingan, Sabah Progressive Party president Yong Teck Lee and former PKR Tuaran chief Ansari Abdullah.

The underfunded group has written a white paper on the 40% special grant entitlement for Sabah that serves as a reference for the state’s demands.

Anifah co-chaired the National Steering Committee on the devolution of powers with former de facto law minister Nancy Shukri. They reported directly to then prime minister Najib Razak.

Anifah said he had been this close to reaching a deal on some parts on the devolution of powers but Barisan Nasional was toppled on May 9.

“Our hope was that the new state government will pick up from where we had left off.

“It does not matter if they had altered our papers as all the details are there for them to use to discuss with the new Pakatan Harapan government,” he said.

One of the key issues raised in the MySabah paper was Sabah’s right to 40% grant entitlement which Putrajaya had ceased to pay accordingly since 1973.

“It does not matter how much Putrajaya wants the money which is derived from collection and resources in Sabah.

“They must give us what is due,” he said.

Anifah said he was willing to work with any party to ensure that the state’s rights are returned as envisaged in the MA63.

Instead, he said, the new federal and state governments are starting again from scratch.

“Why not shorten the process and just refer to our earlier reports?” he said, adding that most of the previous committee’s paperwork is with the Sabah attorney-general.

After the May 9 polls, Putrajaya formed a new steering committee chaired by  Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad . The committee will look into the rights of Sabah and Sarawak to autonomy in matters ranging from finance to land.

Federal ministers on the committee are de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo, Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, Works Minister Baru Bian, International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking, and Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

The other members are Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg, Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas and chief secretary to the government Ismail Bakar.

Sarawak leaders divided over state’s actions to defend its rights

IN March last year, the Sarawak government established the state’s own oil and gas exploration company, Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros), modelled after national oil company Petronas.

While many Sarawakians were trying to figure out what role the company would play alongside Petronas, which has absolute monopoly over the state’s carbon resources, alarm bells were reported to be ringing in the Twin Towers and Putrajaya on the Sarawak government’s intent.

Four months later, Sarawak amended its forgotten and grossly out-of-date Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO) to “strengthen the state’s regulatory control over the exploration and prospecting for petroleum and mining on land in the state”, as worded by Deputy Chief Minister Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, who tabled the amendment in the state assembly.

The amendment strips Petronas of its regulatory powers in the state and handed them to Petros.

At the beginning of the year, Sarawak imposed a 5% sales tax on all petroleum products exported from the state as a new source of revenue to fund its development agenda.

The tax will be levied on crude oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, chemical-based fertilisers and gas-to-liquid products. It is estimated it will collect RM3.9 billion.

Asked if all the moves were designed to roll back Putrajaya and Petronas’ powers over the management of the state’s oil and gas resources, Deputy Chief Minister James Masing replied: “Putrajaya tricked us once over the ownership of Sarawak oil and gas”.

“OMO gives us ownership of our oil and gas. Therefore, our claim to our oil and gas is not (political) posturing before the 2021 state election.

Masing said Sarawak had learnt a bitter lesson over the loss of control over its carbon resources in the past.

“It is a process of learning from experience. We will not be tricked a second time by Putrajaya.

“Nations go to war over such riches,” he said.

At the GPS launch, however, Masing was more blunt when he said Malaya had “our assets stolen in front of our eyes, and consequently we allowed ourselves to be trampled, abused, and stabbed in the back”.

He implored Sarawakians not to remain “dormant and keep quiet” in the face of what Malaya was doing.

The theme of the leaders of the four parties that make up GPS were similar – stand up and fight for Sarawak’s rights.

“It seems they are taking that kind of stand,” said PKR’s Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How.

“It is definitely not posturing for the election. We need the money for development. I support anything that is good for Sarawak.”

However, See, who sits in the technical committee of the special Cabinet committee on implementing the Malaysia Agreement 1963 does not believe in being confrontational with Malaya.

“(Having) an anti-federal sentiment, will it help you at the end of the day?

“Do you think you’re going to get more votes? This kind of sentiment is unhealthy,” he said.

See’s party colleagues showed more political bias in their views.

Francis Teron, a Bidayuh division leader, said the state’s so-called roll back of federal powers is merely posturing for the state election.

“Pretending to, or being rhetoric about wresting back Sarawak’s rights is the only weapon the GPS has against Pakatan Harapan.”

Teron claimed the “billions” in the state budget approved by the state assembly was dug from the state reserves.

“It proves one thing. (Prime Minister Dr) Mahathir had been right about greedy Sarawak politicians.

“They had been holding the people at ransom, politically, offering projects near elections as bait.”

Teron said the interests of Sarawakians are “far down the list of the current administration if we view their past conduct towards local issues”.

He pointed to native customary land rights, employment opportunity, issuance of land title, imbalance in development among the various ethnic groups.

“In short, I simply do not trust these people nor do I believe that they had turned saints overnight,” Teron said in reference to allegations that past Sarawak leaders in the then Barisan Nasional coalition like former chief ministers Abdul Rahman Yaakub and Abdul Taib Mahmud, were responsible for the loss of many Sarawak rights, particularly over oil and gas.

PKR Sarawak information chief Vernon Kedit shared Teron’s views and said the state government was merely “grandstanding” as they try to portray themselves as “protectors of Sarawak rights”.

Kedit said if they are protecting Sarawak rights as they claimed to, “they should handle the elephant in the room”, he said in reference to the never ending NCR land dispute.

“Dayaks deprived of their land rights. Talk about that one first, then we talk about the others.

“If that is not settled, you are not protecting Sarawakian rights.”

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT