Voters won’t fall for PM’s MA63 promises, says activist

 

Muhyiddin Yassin with Abang Johari Openg before meeting Sarawak and federal civil servants in Kuching last week. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: A political activist has dismissed the prime minister’s recent promise to restore Sabah and Sarawak’s rights as mere rhetoric.

Sabah-based Zainnal Ajamain said Muhyiddin Yassin’s words were reminiscent of the empty promises of past leaders and he did not believe Sabah and Sarawak voters would be fooled.

He said federal leaders had often talked about what they could do for the two states if they had a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

“The reality is that you do not need two-thirds to show you are committed to treating Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners,” he said.

Zainnal Ajamain.

“A lot can be done through executive power, whether it is in terms of greater recognition, granting more autonomy to the states or even allocating more funds in line with Sabah and Sarawak’s status as equal partners.”

Last week, Muhyiddin said the government was committed to restoring Sabah and Sarawak’s rights and status under the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 (MA63) but he added that this might be impossible if his coalition failed to get a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat to amend the constitution.

Zainnal said Muhyiddin would not have any problem winning the support of Sabahans and Sarawakians if he were to put the spirit of MA63 into action through executive measures.

“But I don’t think he will and this will not reflect well on Sarawak chief minister Abang Johari Openg, who has expressed support for Muhyiddin.”

Jeniri Amir.

Jeniri Amir, a fellow with the National Council of Professors, said the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition had a lot of work to do to beat Barisan Nasional (BN) in Sabah and Sarawak.

“BN did a lot for Sabah and Sarawak,” he said, noting that Najib Razak made more than 60 trips to Sarawak alone when he was prime minister. “Each time, he would announce goodies for the state.”

He said Muhyiddin would have to deliver on issues of autonomy, development and infrastructure to win support in the two states.

“Politically, there will be contentious issues because there are PPBM reps in Sarawak like Willie Mongin (Puncak Borneo MP) and Ali Biju (Saratok MP).

Oh Ei Sun.

“It would be best if PN just left Sarawak to Gabungan Parti Sarawak and work with it after the polls.”

Oh Ei Sun, a fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said any promise to restore Sabah and Sarawak rights would sound like a broken record because it would be a repeat of promises made before by many federal leaders. - FMT