Archive for category Sabah
Three tasks for the 47 BN Sabah and Sarawak MPs to be kingmakers, uphold the secular basis of the nation, defend the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and save Malaysia from a “global kleptocracy”
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Corruption, Najib Razak, Parliament, Sabah, Sarawak on Sunday, 30 October 2016
For over four decades, the Members of Parliament in Sabah and Sarawak had been taken for granted by the UMNO/Barisan Nasional Federal Government, regarded as useful “cannon fodder” to make up the numbers to ensure UMNO’s increasing hegemony in the Federal Government but not critically important, as the ruling coalition had always won with two-thirds majority in Parliament.
The political landscape and electoral equation began to change in the 12th General Election in 2008, when the UMNO/Barisan Nasional Federal coalition government lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time in Malaysian history.
But the 57 Parliamentary seats from Sabah and Sarawak became critically important only in the 13th General Election in 2013, when the 47 Barisan Nasional MPs saved the UMNO/BN coalition from going to the opposition ranks.
This was because the UMNO/BN coalition only won 86 parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia, which was not enough on its own to constitute the simple majority out of a Parliament of 222 seats to form the Federal Government in Putrajaya.
It was only with the 47 Parliamentary seats won by the UMNO/BN coalition in Sabah and Sarawak that Datuk Seri Najib Razak could continue as Prime Minister with 133 parliamentary seats, though as the first minority Prime Minister of Malaysia as UMNO/BN coalition only won minority popular support of 47% of the national voter turnout.
The 47 Barisan Nasional MPs from Sabah and Sarawak were therefore the kingmakers of the UMNO/Barisan Nasional Federal Government after the 13th General Election in 2013, but unfortunately, they have so far failed to exercise their proper influence, role and input on national policy direction and developments.
Without the support of the 47 Barisan Nasional MPs from Sabah and Sarawak, Najib’s Federal Government in Putrajaya will fail and fall. Read the rest of this entry »
Sabah’s RM3.3 billion Water Department corruption scandal latest shocking example explaining why in half a century, Sabah has become one of the poorest states in Malaysia despite its vast rich resources
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sabah on Sunday, 30 October 2016
Sabah’s RM3.3 billion Water Department corruption scandal, where 60 per cent of the RM3.3 billion earmarked in the Tenth Malaysia Plan to improve the supply of clean and treated water in the state, was siphoned off into private pockets of a corrupt few, is the latest mind-boggling example explaining why in half a century, Sabah has become one of the poorest states in Malaysia despite its vast rich resources.
In half a century, Sabah has been reduced into a land of sharp and shocking contrasts – the poorest state, with socio-economic conditions of the poor even worse than Kelantan but yet the most kleptocratic state with among the wealthiest politicians in the country!
I am reminded of my speech in Kota Kinabalu at the 37th DAP anniversary dinner on 4th July 2003 where I said that the 40th anniversary of the formation of Malaysia by Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore was an appropriate time for an assessment of the successes and failures of nationhood and political development in the previosu four decades in Sabah.
I had quoted the following comment by a national leader which I said could serve as a verdict of 40 years of nationhood and development in Sabah:
“The management of Sabah’s resources, civil service and political situation are among the factors contributing to the state’s lackluster economic performance. Sabah was once a wealthy state but it has reached a point of no return and is now in the same economic league as Kelantan.”
Corruption in Sabah Water Department sextupled the “Mr. 10%” epithet six times to “Mr. 60%” – a shocking reflection of increasing gravity of kleptocracy in Malaysia
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Najib Razak, Sabah on Saturday, 29 October 2016
The country was recently convulsed by reports of the rampant corruption in the Sabah Water Department, especially the revelation that 60 per cent of the RM3.3 billion earmarked by the federal government to improve water supply to residents, including those in remote areas, in the Sabah State, had been “siphoned off” by corruption.
As a result, corruption in the Sabah Water Department sextupled the “Mr. 10%” epithet for the corrupt, increasing six times to “Mr. 60” – a shocking reflection of the gravity of the kleptocracy in Malaysia!
In the past three months, Malaysia made an undesirable descent to a “global kleptocracy”, especially after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) action under the US Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative (KARI) on July 20 to forfeit US$1 billion 1MDB-linked assets in the United States, United Kingdom and Switzerland arising from over US$3 billion international embezzlement, misappropriation and money-laundering of 1MDB finds and actions by investigative and regulatory authorities in over half-a-dozen countries, including closure of banks and criminal prosecutions.
Sabah’s Water-Gate Corruption Scandal in October, which started with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) seizure of more than RM114 million in cash and accounts, 19.3 kg of gold jewellery worth about RM3.64 million, some 97 designer ladies handbags worth RM500,000, nine luxury vehicles and some 127 land titles from the Director and Deputy Director of Sabah Water Department, have certified and confirmed the “arrival” of Malaysia as “a land of kleptocracy” in the minds of both the Malaysian and international community.
The “earth-breaking” ceremony for the Impian Sabah Keningau Water Project earlier this evening in Bunga Raya district only 20 km from Keningau (fifth largest township in Sabah) set me thinking as to what could have been achieved for rural Sabah in the past half a century, if the state had good governance instead of “locusts” for the past five decades. Read the rest of this entry »
Support for the appointment of Malanjum as the next Chief Justice, creating history as the first from Sabah/Sarawak to head the Malaysian judiciary in half a century
I support the proposal by the Sarawak PKR chairman Baru Bian for the appointment of Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak for over a decade since July 2006, as the next Chief Justice.
This will create history as Malanjum will be the first Malaysian from Sabah/Sarawak to head the Malaysian judiciary in half a century.
The present Chief Justice, Tun Arifin Zakaria will end his tenure in March next year after it was extended from October 1 this year.
Malanjum holds the distinction as the longest-serving judge, whether of High Court, Court of Appeal or Federal Court in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Has Barisan Nasional consensus degenerated from the original meaning of agreement by all 13 BN component parties into a perverted and corrupt version of what is unilaterally and arbitrarily decided by UMNO even in the face of objection by the other 12 BN component parties?
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Islam, MCA, Parliament, Sabah, Sarawak on Wednesday, 12 October 2016
An UMNO-owned mainstream media reported today that PAS President, Datuk Seri A Abdul Hadi Awang’s hudud-enabling private member’s bill would be tabled and debated in Parliament next week.
In the circumstances, the continued silence of the Presidents of MCA, Gerakan, MIC and Sabah and Sarawak component parties of Barisan Nasional on whether they have agreed on a Barisan Nasional consensus for Hadi’s private member’s bill to be given priority over official business in the budget meeting of Parliament to be debated and voted upon is no more tenable.
The time has come for all the Barisan Nasional component parties to break their silence on Hadi’s private member’s bill.
Early this month, the UMNO and Barisan Nasional secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said that BN has arrived at a consensus regarding Hadi’s private member’s bill. Read the rest of this entry »
A question for Malaysians to ponder while commemorating 53rd Malaysia Day – Is Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy dead or alive?
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Corruption, Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak on Thursday, 15 September 2016
I dedicate a question for Malaysians to ponder while commemorating the 53rd Malaysia Day – is Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Policy dead or alive?
If Najib’s 1Malaysia Policy is still alive, why are UMNO leaders spearheading a national campaign of hate and lies drumming up racial and religious politics, the latest example being the Minister for Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who alleged that Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s new political party is a proxy for DAP to divide the Malay community – just like PKR and Parti Amanah Negara?
DAP shared the same platform as the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman and veteran UMNO leader, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah when the latter led Parti Semangat 46 in the 1990 General Election to bring about electoral and institutional changes in the country.
Were Tunku and Razaleigh traitors of the Malay community or pioneers of Malaysian nationalism and patriotism?
Is Najib and UMNO’s survival justification enough to abandon the 1Malaysia Policy to promote racial and religious hatred and animosities based on lies and falsehoods? Read the rest of this entry »
Call for Anwar Ibrahim to be given the royal pardon and freed from Sungai Buloh prison on Malaysia Day as a first step to make Malaysia Day a National Day for all Malaysians and not just in Sabah and Sarawak
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Sabah, Sarawak on Wednesday, 14 September 2016
The time has come for the Malaysian Government to make Malaysia Day on September 16 a National Day in the genuine sense of the term for all Malaysians and not just in Sabah and Sarawak.
What is being done by the Federal Government to make Malaysia Day a National Day of solidarity for the reaffirmation of the unity, integrity and sovereignty of Malaysia at two levels – firstly, of the diverse races, religions, languages and cultures which have come together to make Malaysia their home and an “Instant Asia” and secondly, the union of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak into a new nation in South-east Asia in 1963 by smoothing out the knots and kinks of nationhood in the past five decades – in particular the legitimate grievances felt by Sarawakians and Sabahans about their neglect and underdevelopment in the past half century?
Malaysia Day last year was hijacked and desecrated by the UMNO-inspired “Red Shirts” rally when it should be an occasion for all Malaysians to strengthen national integration and counter the divisive and centrifugal forces seeking the division and disintegration of the nation.
Not only Malaysia Day, but Sabah and Sabah were virtually forgotten on Sept. 16 last year when national and international attention were riveted on the Red Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur.
More is expected of the Federal Government to give greater substance to the import and significance of Malaysia Day not only to the people of Sabah and Sarawak but also to the people in Peninsular Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib should remove the latest and most serious national “moment of disunity” by speaking at the UNGA next month to clear Malaysia’s name from serious allegation of Malaysia as a global kleptocracy
Six years ago, nobody in Malaysia would have heard of Batu Sumpah Keningau. In fact, six years ago, very few in Sabah would speak about Batu Sumpah.
For over four decades, after the erection and the unveiling of Batu Sumpah Keningau on
August 31, 1964, the oath stone in Keningau and its significance were largely ignored and even forgotten by both the people and government of Sabah.
In March 2010, together with three DAP MPs, including Teo Nie Ching (representing Serdang) and Lim Lip Eng (Segambut) and the then sole Sabah Assemblyman, Jimmy Wong, I visited Batu Sumpah at the Keningau District Office. I revisited the Batu Sumpah in Keningau in 2012.
Since then, as a result of DAP campaign to highlight the nation-building, historic and heritage importance of Batu Sumpah Keningau, and an ongoing campaign programme to erect replicas of Batu Sumpah Keningau in various parts of Sabah, Batu Sumpah Keningau is no more alien to Malaysians and Sabahans, especially with DAP MPs and Sabah State Assemblymen repeatedly articulating “Batu Sumpah Keningau” issues in both Parliament and the Sabah State Assembly. Read the rest of this entry »
Call for Joint Royal Commission co-chaired by a Sabahan and a Sarawakian to inquire into full implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) especially with regard to autonomy powers for Sabah and Sarawak
The month of Tadau Ka’amatan or Harvest Festival this year had not been as carefree as in recent past, with a dark shadow casting over both Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia.
This shadow is highlighted by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of national unity, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, when in a most uncharacteristic warning going against his very portfolio of national unity, he cautioned Putrajaya that Sabahans and Sarawakians may demand to split from peninsular Malaysia if the proposed amendments to Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 are passed in Parliament.
What is most sad is that the Ministerial motion to give priority to PAS President Datuk Seri Hadi Awang’s private member’s bill motion in Parliament on Thursday was proposed without the consent of the other non-UMNO parties in the 14-party Barisan Nasional coalition, the seconder of the Ministerial motion is a Sabahan Deputy Minister.
The time has come for a Joint Royal Commission co-chaired by a Sabahan and a Sarawakian to inquire into the full implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) especially with regard to autonomy powers for Sabah and Sarawak. Read the rest of this entry »
Why DAP, PKR failed miserably in Sarawak
Adrian Lim
Malaysiakini
10th May 2016
COMMENT With humble and sincere intentions, I have to point out what Sarawakians and Sabahans generally feel about West Malaysians.
If Sun Wu Kong (the Monkey God) had a ‘Journey to the West’, PKR and DAP should now have a ‘Journey to the East’.
In future, obey these rules, and you will not fail so miserably in the east.
1. NEVER go into others’ house, telling them their house is under-developed, lesser democratic, less rich, no highway, no water, no electricity.
Sarawakians are humans, and humans have dignity. The first impression would be: “Why are you West Malaysians so arrogant”? Read the rest of this entry »
“The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting” – Milan Kundera’s quote befits Keningau Batu Sumpah Movement
From Tweets
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First achievement of DAP Batu Sumpah movement http://goo.gl/ELlVqW Oath stone in Keningau to be gazetted as national heritage site (MMO)
I first visited Keningau Oath Stone in March 2010 with KK MP Jimmy Wong (then Sri Tanjong Assemblyman) and DAP MPs Teo Nie Ching/Lim Lip Eng.
I am first MP to raise issue of Keningau Batu Sumpah in Parliament in March 2010, and called for Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Sabah/Swak in Msia & Batu Sumpah’s Three Pledges.
This led to DAP Batu Sumpah Awareness Campaign – replica of Batu Sumpah in every Sabah village! Kudos to DAP Sabah SA Edwin Bosi and Peter Saili.
Although Keningau Batu Sumpah has come in from the cold – after 53 yrs – more important is fulfilment of Three Pledges of Batu Sumpah. Read the rest of this entry »
Senate should veto the National Security Council Bill as it is a quadruple power grab at the expense of Yang di Pertuan Agong, the Cabinet and the autonomy powers Sarawak and Sabah and refer it back to Dewan Rakyat after full national consultative process
Posted by Kit in Constitution, Najib Razak, Parliament, Sabah, Sarawak on Saturday, 5 December 2015
The Senate should veto the National Security Council Bill which was rammed through the Dewan Rakyat in indecent haste in a late-night sitting last night, which was sprung as a total surprise on the nation as Members of Parliament on both sides of the House and the civil society did not have any clue beforehand that the government was preparing to enact such a monstrous legislation which is no less than a quadruple power grab at the expense of the Yang di Pertuan Agong, the Cabinet and the autonomy powers of Sarawak and Sabah.
The National Security Council Bill was surreptitiously presented for first reading on Tuesday on Dec. 1, and even without any briefing for Barisan Nasional MPs especially from Sarawak and Sabah, the second and third readings of this monstrous Bill was rushed through Parliament yesterday, with BN MPs particularly from Sarawak and Sabah voting for it blindly like robots although they did not fully understand its far-reaching implications, including undermining the very autonomy powers of Sarawak and Sabah which have become the burning issues in these two states.
In fact, I do not believe that the 37 Ministers of the Cabinet could have discussed, debated or understood the National Security Council Bill before it was presented to Parliament for a shot-gun passage, for no self-respecting Cabinet would have agreed to such power-grab by the Prime Minister, who is in fact setting himself up as a dictator who need not pay heed to what is already a very supine and servile Cabinet! Read the rest of this entry »
Ronald Kiandee wrong when he said Parliament only observed minute’s silence for deaths of heads of states or MPs but Parliament must move on to send clear message that Bernard’s killers must be found to pay for their crime
Posted by Kit in Crime, Parliament, Sabah, Sarawak on Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Deputy Speaker Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee was wrong when he said that it was only customary for the Dewan Rakyat to observe a minute of silence for the deaths of heads of states or MPs when he rejected the request by the DAP MP for Sandakan, Steven Wong, today that Parliament observe a minute of silence for Sarawakian Bernard Then who was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf terrorists.
Bernard was kidnapped in Sandakan on May 15 and was held as a hostage by Abu Sayyaf terrorists for six months in Jolo, Sulu.
The present Parliament elected on May 5, 2013 had on three occasions observed a minute of silence in memory and respect of those who were neither heads of states or Parliamentarians, viz: Read the rest of this entry »
Bernard’s beheading open slap in Najib’s face as well as expression of utter contempt for the Asia-Pacific leaders gathering in Manila for APEC Summit
Posted by Kit in Crime, Najib Razak, Parliament, Sabah on Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Malaysians mourn and grieve with the family of Bernard Then over the heinous and dastardly killing of their loved one by Abu Sayyaf terrorists who beheaded him after holding him hostage for six months following his kidnap at a restaurant in Sandakan on May 15.
The beheading of the Sarawakian on the day the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak arrives in the Philippines capital for a two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit is not only an open slap in the face of the Malaysian Prime Minister, but a show of utter contempt for the Asia-Pacific leaders gathered in Manila for the APEC Summit.
With the backdrop of the senseless massacre by Islamic State (IS) suicide bombers and gunmen in Paris last Friday, leaving 129 dead and 350 injured, Bernard’s execution is a reminder that South East Asia, in particular Sabah, remains a very dangerous place and terrorism a grave threat to modern societies and human civilisations.
Najib should place Bernard’s barbarous and uncivilised execution on the agenda of APEC Summit for what human progress and APEC co-operation could APEC leaders be talking about in Manila when they could not even ensure Bernard’s safety and life. Read the rest of this entry »
Some of the unthinkable scenarios which Malaysians must think about and even face in the extraordinary political circumstances Malaysia is in today
Posted by Kit in Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir, Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak on Friday, 13 November 2015
I have been suspended for six months for pointing out in Parliament that the Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia did not have the power to bar the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) under the Deputy Chairman Dr. Tan Seng Giaw (Kepong) with the proper PAC quorum from continuing its investigations in August into the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal.
My suspension, and the two questions that are being asked all over the country as to from whom and to whom the RM2.6 billion “donation” in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal banking accounts have gone to, are just symptomatic that Malaysia is very “sick” where a proper parliamentary system and the principles of accountability, transparency and good governance cannot function normally and effectively.
Malaysia is in very abnormal political times – in the interregnum between the fall of an UMNO-led government coalition which had been in power for 58 years but have led the country into a rut after losing its moral compass and sense of responsibility as a government and its replacement by a new coalition committed to defend the democratic freedoms and human rights enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution.
This is the time for Malaysians to think unthinkable scenarios and face up to extraordinary challenges in entirely new political circumstances taking place in Malaysa today.
Before the 2008 elections elections, it was unthinkable that the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government in Malaysia could be replaced, but after the 12th general elections in 2008, nobody doubts this question as it was no more “whether” but “when” the UMNO/BN Federal Government in Putrajaya would be replaced.
Similarly, Malaysians must think of what appears to be unthinkable scenarios and be prepared to face the new political challenges presented by them, including the following: Read the rest of this entry »
Has the time come for Sabah or Sarawak to produce a Prime Minister?
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, nation building, Sabah, Sarawak on Wednesday, 11 November 2015
The choice of Tenom and Keningau today to launch in Sabah the “Solidarity with Lim Kit Siang and Mana RM2.6 billion?” campaign is most significant.
The campaign is part of a movement to instill in Malaysians a consciousness of their democratic rights and national inheritance so that they can stand up as one people to defend not only their rights but those of future generations.
In Myanmar, voters lined up as early as 3 am on Sunday (November 8) to vote, an indication of how eager the people of Myanmar are to seize a chance for freedom after five decades of military rule.
The latest results showed that Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has won a landslide victory, winning 78 out of 88 seats for the lower house of parliament for which the election commission has final results. The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) party has won five.
The road for the return of democracy in Myanmar will a long and uneasy one, as much trouble, trial and tribulation lie ahead.
The democratic and electoral process and experience in Myanmar, despite their numerous weaknesses and defects, hold an important lesson for us in Sabah and Malaysia – that it is finally the people themselves who must stand up to claim and protect their democratic rights and national heritage to defeat the designs of those who want to deny them their basic human rights and legacy. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib will have to resign as Prime Minister if the 47 Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament (22 from Sabah and 25 from Sarawak) vote down the 2016 Budget in Parliament on Monday on 16th November 2015
Posted by Kit in Financial Scandals, Najib Razak, Pakatan Harapan, Parliament, Sabah, Sarawak on Tuesday, 10 November 2015
Will the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak be toppled on Monday, 16th November 2015 when the 2016 Budget is put to a vote in Parliament?
Pakatan Harapan Members of Parliament from DAP, PKR and Parti Amanah Negara total 72, but there are only 71 votes as I have been suspended from Parliament for six months (i.e. until the end of April).
To have an absolute simple majority of 112 Members of Parliament to defeat the UMNO/BN government in Parliament, at least 42 UMNO/BN Members of Parliament have to cross the floor to support the 71 Pakatan Harapan Members of Parliment, as PAS has announced that it will not support any effort to reject Najib’s 2016 Budget.
It is a very tall order indeed to expect some 40 UMNO/BN Members of Parliament to join Pakatan Harapan Members of Parliament to reject Najib’s 2016 Budget.
There are 47 Barisan Nasional Members of Parliament in Sabah and Sarawak – 22 from Sabah and 25 from Sarawak.
If all the 47 BN Members of Parliament from Sabah and Sarawak reject Najib’s 2016 Budget next Monday, that will be Najib’s last day as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia. Read the rest of this entry »
Call for an overall review of Federal-State relations in Malaysia to effect greater decentralisation and confer greater autonomy from Putrajaya to all state governments, not just Sarawak and Sabah
Posted by Kit in Malaysian Dream, Sabah, Sarawak on Tuesday, 22 September 2015
September 16, Malaysia Day, was marred by the Red Shirts Malay rally organised by UMNO, although it did not officially showed its hand at the time and which, among other things, desecrated the meaing and importance of Malaysia Day as the foremost national public holiday in the country.
Sarawak and Sabah cannot but feel slighted that on Malaysia Day, UMNO had chosen to devalue Malaysia Day by sponsoring a Red Shirts Malay rally in Kuala Lumpur which not only stole the national and international spotlight from the 52nd anniversary of Malaysia’s formation, the federation of Malaysia was at best a second-thought after the primacy of Ketuanan Melayu of UMNO leaders.
However, Malaysia Day this year was a bit different from Malaysia Day of the past five decades, primarily because it is beginning to sink in among the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and UMNO leaders and they owe their continued political rule of the country to the support and loyalty of the Members of Parliament in Sarawak and Sabah, as without the support of the 48 Barisan Nasional MPs in Sabah and Sarawak, Najib will not be Prime Minister of Malaysia today nor could UNMO continue as “Big Brother” in the Federal Government in Putrajaya.
With the approaching Sarawak State Government Elections in a matter of months and the 14th General Elections in the next 24 to 32 months, Sarawak and Sabah would expect a New Deal from Putrajaya to continue to be the fixed deposit states of the UMNO/BN coalition government in Putrajaya and this is the reason for all the talk about granting greater autonomy to Sarawak and Sabah in recent days. Read the rest of this entry »
Najib’s “well done” for the darkest hour in Malaysia in 46 years after the May 13 1969 racial riots highlights the widening gulf between ordinary Malaysians and the UMNO/BN leadership
Posted by Kit in Najib Razak, Sabah, Sarawak on Saturday, 19 September 2015
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s praise of “well done” for the darkest hour in Malaysia in 46 years after the May 13, 1969 racial riots – the Red Shirts Sept. 16 Rally – highlights the widening gulf between ordinary Malaysians regardless of whether Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans or Ibans and the small coterie of UMNO/BN leadership.
Apart from the 45,000 “Red Shirts” who were bused into Kuala Lumpur from all over Peninsular Malaysia in some 2,000 buses, Malaysians, regardless of race, religion, region, age, gender or politics are ashamed of the Red Shirts “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 16, which desecrated the 52nd Malaysia Day when the day should be an occasion for all Malaysians to strengthen national integration and counter the divisive and centrifugal forces seeking the division and disintegration of the nation.
Sept. 16 should be a day of solidarity for the reaffirmation of the unity, integrity and sovereignty of Malaysia at two levels – firstly, of the diverse races, religions, languages and cultures which have come together to make Malaysia their home and an “Instant Asia” and secondly, the union of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak into a new nation in South-east Asia in 1963 by smoothing out the knots and kinks of nationhood in the past five decades – in particular the legitimate grievances felt by Sarawakians and Sabahans about their neglect and underdevelopment in the past half century.
Instead, Sabah and Sabah were virtually forgotten on Sept. 16 as national and international attention riveted on the Red Shirt “Kebangkitan Maruah Melayu” in Kuala Lumpur, and the thoughts of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his Cabinet were on the Red Shirts rally although they were physically in Kota Kinabalu that day – when they should be focusing on the issues and challenges of devolution and decentralization of powers from Putrajaya to Sabah and Sarawak with more autonomy in various jurisdictions for the two states. Read the rest of this entry »
Sabah State Government should offer RM1 million for the best History of Sabah to be written by a Sabahan which should be one of the history books for Sabah students when there is Sabah autonomy for education
Earlier today, I had suggested that Sabah and Sarawak should appoint State Ministers of Education not only in anticipation of grant of education autonomy to the states by Putrajaya, but to discuss with Federal Government and the state stakeholders on the definition and scope of state autonomy on education.
I disagreed with the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak that state autonomy on education for Sabah and Sarawak should be confined to administrative matters, like his announcement on Malaysia Day that 90% of teaching posts in both states will be filled by Sabahans and Sarawakians within three years, which means the increase of the number of Sarawakian teachers from 32,168 now to 38,082 in the state, with a similar increase in Sabah.
The grant of autonomy in education from Putrajaya to Sabah and Sarawak cannot solely be in terms of increasing the number of teaching posts in the two states to be filled by Sabahans and Sarawakians respectively, but must also involve devolution in the functions, powers and the jurisdiction to the two states in the area of education. Read the rest of this entry »
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