Tag: Jeffrey Kitingan

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Pakatan Will Give Sabah It’s Autonomy With Mahathir As The Top Dog

Top Dog will give Sabah more autonomy like he did as PM of 22 years
Kurniawan bin Hendrikus (not his real name) who now lives in Kampung Gayaratau off the Ranau-Tamparuli road fears for the future if Pakatan wins Sabah.

“I worked in Semporna and Tawau in the 1990s and used to fear walking alone at night as these towns virtually belonged to ‘Malaysians’ from the Southern Philippines,” he recalled. “Now, the same man who treated Sabah like rubbish is heading the Opposition to try oust the Barisan Nasional.”

Sabah has been plagued by illegal immigrants for over three decades, causing socio-political and economic problems for the state.  Although the numbers vary from thousands to millions depending on who you ask, all agree that the influx of immigrants especially from the Southern Philippines happened during Mahathir’s premiership, a move said to dilute the influence of the majority-Christian Kadazan-Dusun-Murut (KDM) communities.

Mahathir must be brought to account for “Projek IC”, the massive operation that flooded Sabah with illegal immigrants in exchange for Malaysian citizenship in the move dubbed ‘Project IC’ said Madius Tangau, the MP for Tuaran.

Madius who is also the President of the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) added that the Sabahans want the PM then (Mahathir) who has admitted to giving out the fake ICs to be held responsible.

Mahathir blamed Anwar Ibrahim, who was his deputy at the time of the ‘Project IC’ taking place, for being directly involved in ‘Project IC’ and for acting without his (Mahathir’s) knowledge, the same blame game he uses in the Scorpene drama where he blamed Najib Razak, who was then the Defence Minister, for paying RM3.7 billion without the knowledge of the Minister of Finance, who also happened to be him (Mahathir).

Mahathir blames Anwar for Project IC
A day after blaming Anwar, the latter returned the ball to Mahathir’s court saying it was Mahathir who was behind ‘Project IC.’  Anwar pointed out that there was even a taskforce set up by Mahathir to oversee the awarding of Malaysian citizenship to immigrants in Sabah.

Mahathir had a taskforce set up to oversee the awarding of citizenship to immigrants, said Anwar
Pakatan’s hint that Mahathir would be able to restore Sabah’s rights had Sabah’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) scoff at them for “daydreaming.”

Its President Teo Chee Kang reminded Pakatan that it was under Mahathir’s rule that the state suffered greatly, and lost some of its autonomy.

“I read in the papers that several Pakatan leaders from Sabah recently flew all the way to Kuala Lumpur to see Mahathir on Sabah rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.  I find it ironic.  I would like to remind them that it was during Mahathir’s administration in 1983 that our state powers to regulate the distribution of gas and electricity were taken back by the federal government.  In the 22 years of Mahathir’s rule we lost numerous state rights to the federal government,” he added.

Dr Jeffrey Kitingan who is Sabah’s STAR Chairman said it was Mahathir who introduced ‘Project IC’ and told him (Jeffrey) not to ‘teach’ the people what they didn’t know (Sabah rights).

‘Project IC’ was also called ‘Project M.’  ‘M’ is for ‘Mahathir.’

Sabah also lost a lot under Mahathir’s rule.  In 1983, Mahathir made plans for Labuan to be handed over to the Federal Government.  Labuan is an important hub for the oil and gas industry.  In order to make oil revenues from Labuan totally the Federal government’s, Mahathir conceived the plan for Labuan to become a Federal Territory during a Barisan Nasional meeting in 1983.

Harris Salleh, who was the BERJAYA Chief Minister of Sabah then agreed to hand over the island over to the Federal government without any deliberation.  No referendum was made for the proposal.

In August 1983, Tun Datu Mustapha who was USNO’s President made a call to Labuan’s USNO division to reject the proposal and demonstrate against it.  In February 1984, Mahathir proposed for the expulsion of USNO from the Barisan Nasional.  On 21 February 1984, the Labuan USNO division voted to dissolve itself in support of the handing over of Labuan to the Federal Government.  On 27 February 1984, UMNO Supreme Council voted for the expulsion of USNO from the Barisan Nasional.  The expulsion of USNO from the BN took effect on 15 April 1984, one day before Labuan became a Federal Territory.

“We are not giving away our territory because the Federal Government is in the position to develop the island,” Harris said in his defence.

As a result of his subservience to Mahathir, Federal allocation to Sabah increased tremendously during the years when BERJAYA was in power.  Despite this, in 1986 the poverty level in the state remained at 33 percent, which was higher than the national average of 18.

The spike in Federal allocation to Sabah as a result of Harris Salleh’s subservience
The transfers to Sabah from the Federal government dropped in 1986 when PBS under Joseph Pairin Kitingan won the state.

It was during the Mahathir-Harris master-and-servant relationship that Sabah also almost lost its right to determine its own Immigration policy.

Pairin, in reminding Harris on why he was ousted in 1985 as Chief Minister, reiterated that it was under the latter’s Berjaya Government that the state’s rights were slowly eroded until very little was left.

“The Berjaya Government was on the verge of surrendering Sabah’s immigration powers before it was ousted from power,” said Pairin in a bombshell revelation.

Pairin’s revelation that Harris almost gave Sabah’s immigration rights away to Mahathir before BERJAYA’s rule ended
Even Lim Kit Siang who is Mahathir’s now best-friend-forever wrote that Mahathir must explain the attempt to undermine Sabah’s rights to its own immigration policies.

He wrote: “As the then Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir – who is still very active and alert in the public domain, even plotting to scalp another Prime Minister – should throw light on another long-kept secret in Malaysia on the circumstances and history of attempts in his first four years as Prime Minister in the eighties to abolish Sabah’s state immigration powers as revealed by Joseph Pairin.”

Mahathir the Destroyer (pic courtesy of Wakeup Malaya)

This goes to show that other than Mahathir neither Lim Kit Siang nor Anwar Ibrahim or their respective parties (PRIBUMI, PKR, DAP) can be trusted to look after Sabah’s rights.  But what about Shafie Apdal, once UMNO’s rising star from Sabah?

Shafie’s WARISAN, is seen by many in Sabah as being a proxy of Mahathir’s PRIBUMI.  Many also question Shafie’s honesty in wanting to help Sabahans.

“People ask what he did to develop Sabah when he was in the federal Cabinet. Did he do anything to fight for Sabah autonomy? Even the other opposition leaders are asking these questions,” said Unimas don Dr Arnold Puyok to The Star.

Three village chiefs, Sosor Bin Aling from Kg Mempulut , Simon Sinsuran from Kg Dalit Stesen and Lidy Bin Lunggiri from Kg Pohon Batu said in the 1980s when Mahathir was in power, roads were never repaired and electricity did not reach them.

“Along the way, we were still using kerosene. Road conditions were extremely severe and there was hardly clean water to use. The primary schools were still as in the days of the British. However, the current Prime Minister had given them access to electricity and water supply is currently under installation, ” they said.

They said compared to the last 22 years with the last eight years, Najib Razak as the Prime Minister had helped them to get basic amenities like roads, schools and a clinic.

“We therefore fully support the government led by Najib. He is one of the best leaders compared to Mahathir. Logs were felled at the time of Mahathir and our area was also handed over to the major companies and we did not get any results,” they lamented.

Simon thanked Najib as he approved the construction of SMK Dalit which served about 30 villages.

After building SMK Dalit, their children no longer need to go to Keningau to study at secondary schools.

He hoped Najib would upgrade the clinic at the Dalit station.

Similarly, in Kabulu, they asked for a clinic for the good of the people in the area.

With also the toll-free Pan Borneo Highway which is already under construction set to improve communications and livelihood of Sabahans (as well as Sarawakians), it is only right for Sabahans to know that progress will only happen by having an administration that truly cares for its people and delivers promises.

Not the ones who use arm-bending solutions or those who now turn a blind eye on the said solutions just because they want to try ride on the dictator’s self-imagined ‘popularity.’

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Sabah 20-Point Agreement: Language

Colonial passport for the colonised people of North Borneo
For the previous installment on religion, please click HERE.

 

Dr Jeffrey Kitingan also raised the point on language on pages 11-12 of his book, ‘The 20 Points – Basis for Federal – State Relations for Sabah, 1987′.  Language was the second point of the 20-Point Memorandum put forth before Malaysia was formed.

His points were, that:

  1. Malay should be the national language of the Federation;
  2. English should continue to be used for a period of ten years after Malaysia Day;
  3. English should be the official language of North Borneo, for all purposes, State or Federal, without limitation of law.

Dr Jeffrey wrote that it was Tun Mustapha’s administration that had changed the status of English by passing a bill and introducing a new clause 11A into the State Constitution, making Bahasa Malaysia the officia language of the State Cabinet and the State Legislative Assembly.

At the same time, he claimed, the National Language (Application) Enactment, 1973 was passed purporting to approve the extension of an Act of Parliament terminating or restricting the use of English for other official purposes in Sabah.

He also said that the National Language Act, 1963/67 was only amended in 1983 to allow it to be extended to Sabah by a State enactment, but no such enactment had been passed.  Therefore, the National Language Act, 1963/67 is still not in force in Sabah.

He claims that the amendments hae brought about the following consequences:

  1. Many civil servants who were schooled in English are employed as temporary or contract officers because of their inability to pass the Bahasa Malaysia examination.
  2. The change in the medium of instruction in schools have affected the standard of teaching due to lack of qualified Bahasa Malaysia teachers.
  3. The teaching of other native languages has been relegated to the background.

Now, let us see what the Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee (MSCC), the Cobbold Commission, the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) as well as the Federation of Malaysia Agreement had to say about the points raised above.

Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee (MSCC) Memorandum

On Page 122 of the MSCC Memorandum, the Committee accepted that the Federation should have a national language and placed no objection to the adoption of the National Language of the Federation of Malaya, Singapore and Brunei (the Malay language) as it is the lingua franca of the region.

However, the MSCC had asked the Parliament to make provision for the English language to remain to be used for a period of TEN YEARS after the formation of the new Federation in 1963.  This is in light of the same period given to the states in the Federation of Malaya in the Federation of Malaya Constitution that is TEN YEARS after 1957.

The Cobbold Commission

According to the Report of the Commission of Enquiry, North Borneo and Sarawak (the Cobbold Commission) dated 21 June 1962 on page 54, the objection to the use of Bahasa Melayu as the language of the Federation and its application to North Borneo and Sarawak are matters that the people of the two states should resolve themselves when fully-elected representative bodies have been constituted.

The Chairman and members from Malaya do not think that their opinion of Bahasa Melayu being the language closest to those spoken in the region and therefore should be the lingua franca should not offend the non-Malays and any derogation from the Federal provision is necessary.

On the issue of official languages the Cobbold Commission found that there is majority support for both Bahasa Melayu and English to be used as the official languages in both the Borneo states without any time limit.  This was the view of the Chairman of the Commission and its British members.

The members from Malaya however thought that with MALAYSIA in total consideration such provision cannot be accepted as it breaches the existing provisions in the Federation of Malaya Constitution.  Therefore the Malayan members recommend that a provision be made without affecting the position of Bahasa Melayu as the official language of the Federation where English shall continue to be an official language in the states of North Borneo and Sarawak along with Bahasa Melayu for a period of ten years after the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia.

This shall continue until such time the Federal government in consultation with the State governments provides otherwise.  The same was recommended for application to the indigenous languages used in debates and discussions in the respective state assemblies.

The Chairman and the British members however opined that there should be no time limit applied to the indigenous languages, until and unless the State governments decide otherwise.

The Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC)

The IGC on Page 26 of its report recommended that Bahasa Melayu be made the official language of the Federation of Malaysia but Article 152 of the Constitution should be modified for its application to the Borneo states as follows:

  1. For a period of TEN YEARS after Malaysia Day and until the State Assemblies provide otherwise, English becomes an official language not just for the State Assemblies but also in other official purposes of both State and Federal, including correspondences with Ministries and Federal departments.
  2. For a period of TEN YEARS after Malaysia Day and until the Parliament of Malaysia provides otherwise, English shall be allowed to be used by representatives from the Borneo states in both Houses of Parliament.
  3. For a period of TEN YEARS after Malaysia Day and until both State Assemblies provide otherwise, all proceedings in the Supreme Court for cases involving cases from the Borneo states and all proceedings in the High Courts of both Borneo States shall be conducted in English.
  4. Until the State Assemblies provide otherwise all proceedings in the subordinate Courts in the Borneo states other than the taking of evidence, shall be in English.

Of course at the end of it all parties agreed upon something hence the Federation of Malaysia Agreement, 1963 was signed.  So what does the Agreement say?

Federation of Malaysia Agreement, 1963

Taking into account the recommendations and points made in the MSCC, the Cobbold Commission and the IGC, the Federation of Malaysia Agreement, 1963 on pages 42 and 43 made provisions that no Act of Parliament terminating or restricting the use of English for the purposes stated below shall come until TEN YEARS after Malaysia Day:

  1. the use of the English language by the representatives from the Borneo states in either house of Parliament,
  2. the use of the English language for proceedings in the High and Subordinate Courts of Borneo until the State Assemblies provide for otherwise, or for proceedings in the Federal Court that involves cases from the Borneo states,
  3. the use of the English language in the Borneo states in the Legislative Assemblies or for other official purpose including the purpose of the Federal Government,
  4. the use of native languages in the native courts and in the case of Sarawak, the use of native languages in the State Assembly until otherwise provided for by an Enactment of the legislature.

During the Tun Mustapha Administration the status of the English language was altered in a bill by inserting a new clause called Clause 11A into the Sabah State Constitution, 1989 (pages 17-18), making Bahasa Malaysia as the official language of the Sabah Cabinet and of the State Legislative Assembly.

The content of this Clause is as follows:

“Without prejudice to clause (8) of Article 24, the official language of the State Cabinet and the Legislative Assembly shall be in Bahasa Malaysia:

Provided that:-

a) notwithstanding the provisions of this Article, the English language may be used for such period and for such purposes as may for the time be provided by or in accordance with Article 152 of the Federal Constitution; and

b) an official English version shall be provided of anything which is required to be printed or reduced into writing and may be published in the Gazzette.”

However, Jeffrey disputes the passing of the National Language (Application) Enactment, 1973 that allegedly allows the application of an Act of Parliament to terminate or restrict the use of the English language for other official purposes in Sabah.  This preceded the National Language Act 1963/67 that was only amended in 1983 to allow it to be applied to Sabah through a state enactment.  Nonetheless, there was no state enactment on the matter that was passed as of 1991.  As such, as of 1991 the National Language Act, 1963/67 was still not enforced in Sabah.

Based on the Federation of Malaysia Agreement (Malaysia Agreement), 1963, it is clear that the position of the English language as an official language can be altered TEN YEARS after Malaysia Day.  It was put into force through a law that was enacted by the State Legislative Assembly of Sabah in 1973.  Having said that, no specific enactment was passed as of 1991 to enforce the National Language (Amendments and Extension) Act, 1983 in Sabah.

Jeffrey Kitingan’s assumptions and allegation pertaining the illegality of the National Language Act, 1963/67 and State Enactment No.7, National Language (Application) Enactment, 1973 which preceded the National Language (Amendments and Extension) Act, 1983 by ten years was more of playing a regional sentiment especially in the context of teaching and learning of the indigenous languages in Sabah.

Questioning the use of Bahasa Malaysia as the official language after 27 years of Sabah being part of the Federation of Malaysia clearly displays the arrogance on Jeffrey’s part, and his refusal to accept the fact that the Bahasa Malaysia is the reflection of the spirit of the people of Malaysia that forms a bridge for all races towards national integration.

In the next installment, we shall talk about the third point – CONSTITUTION.

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Sabah 20-Point Agreement: Religion

Colonial passport for the colonised people of North Borneo

For the previous installment on the background, please click here.

In his book on Page 101, Dr Jeffrey Kitingan wrote that although there is no objection to Islam being the religion of the Federation there should not be a STATE RELIGION in North Borneo.  Therefore, anything pertaining to Islam in the MALAYAN CONSTITUTION cannot be applied to NORTH BORNEO.

His grouse on this matter came about as a result of the late Tun Datu Mustapha expelling Christian priests from Sabah and accused both Tun Datu Mustapha and Datuk Harris Salleh of acting in such manner to strengthen their political position with the Federal government, therefore Islam should not be the religion of the state of Sabah.

The above controversial statement goes against the agreements reached as recorded by the Cobbold Commission, the Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee (MSCC) , and the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) in 1962.

According to the memorandum of the MSCC that was chaired by Donald A Stephens (later Chief Minister of Sabah, Tun Fuad Stephens) with representatives from Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo, the MSCC found that the acceptance of Islam as the religion of the Federation does not endanger religious freedom as evident on Page 120 of the MSCC memorandum dated 3 February 1962:

MSCC Memorandum dated 3 February 1962 PP 120
MSCC Memorandum dated 3 February 1962 PP 120

The MSCC had scrutinised the position of Islam in respect of states other than the Malay States and found no objection was made against the then-present arrangement for Pulau Pinang and Melaka to also be adopted by North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore.

Each of the states above would have its own constitution to address the requirement with Yang DiPertuan Agong as the Head of Islam in those states.  The respective State’s Assembly will enact laws to govern Islamic affairs and form a Board to advise the Yang DiPertuan Agong on matters pertaining to Islam.

On pages 120 and 121 of the memorandum mentioned it is stated so:

 

MSCC Memorandum dated 3 February 1962 PP 120-121
MSCC Memorandum dated 3 February 1962 PP 120-121

In the Report of the Commission of Enquiry (Cobbold Commission), North Borneo and Sarawak, dated 21st June 1962 found that there was everywhere agreement that as the Muslims are minorities in North Borneo and Sarawak, there should be no restrictions on complete freedom of other religions in those states.

Cobbold Commission Report dated 21 June 1962 PP 39
Cobbold Commission Report dated 21 June 1962 PP 39

In relation to that, the Inter-Governmental Committee, headed by Lord Landsdowne produced a report in 1962 and made the following recommendations on religion on Pages 5 and 6 which have been passed by the Sabah (and Sarawak) state assembly as follows:

IGC Report 1962 on Religion PP 5-6
IGC Report 1962 on Religion PP 5-6

The IGC, which has representation from the Federation of Malaya representing the states in the Federation, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak, recommended that Article 3 needed no amendment.  However, the provision of financial aid to Muslim establishments should only come with the concurrence of the states of North Borneo and Sarawak.  This has since been provided for via Section 3 of the Sabah Islamic Laws Administration Enactment, 1992 where the Yang DiPertuan Agong is the Head of Islam in Sabah, and a Council (Majlis Agama Islam Sabah) was formed to manage and administer the Islamic affairs in Sabah. This has also been provided in the Sabah State Constitution (Articles 5B(1) and 5B(2)).

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Dr Jeffrey Kitingan was angered by Tun Datu Mustapha’s action to chase out Christian missionaries from Sabah in 11972.  Dr Jeffrey used this as the basis of raising the religion issue that was presented as part of the 20-point memorandum for the inclusion of Sabah into the Federation of Malaysia.

Having understood the reason for his raising the issue again, we must also understand the events that had taken place after Tun Datu Mustapha’s ousting of the Christian missionaries.

Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) won the state elections and formed the Sabah state government in 1985.  From that point up until 1991, the Sabah state government built 825 churches compared to only 216 suraus and mosques.

The state government’s refusal to entertain a request by the Sabah Islamic Council made on the 2nd August 1986 and again on the 12th August 1986 to amend the state’s Shariah Law (Administration) Enactment No.15/77 to accord to the Yang DiPertuan Agong the power to administer Islam in the state of Sabah as required by Article 3(3) of the Federal Constitution (as amended on the 12th August 1976) and Article 5B of the Sabah State Constitution (as amended on the 28th December 1985) clearly denied the Yang DiPertuan Agong His Majesty’s prerogative that was agreed by the Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Council, the findings of the Cobbold Commission as well as the Inter-Governmental Committee, and the wishes made by the Muslims of North Borneo in 1962.

The ousting of the Christian missionaries in 1972 was made because the nine missionaries who were foreigners abused the work permit given to them to work in Sabah, not to conduct evagelical missions.  They were Roman Catholics, Anglicans, the Basil Mission and from the Borneo Evangelical Mission.

As Immigration affairs is a Sabah prerogative as accorded in the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, the first act by the Sabah state government under Tun Datu Mustapha was to deny them an extension of their work permit.  They were then given a 14-day special pass to enable them to make arrangements to leave Sabah.  However, the missionaries refused to obey the 13-day order.

Consequently, they were removed from Sabah through a Removal Order issued by the Sabah Immigration Department made under Section 32 of the Immigration Ordinance 12/59.

The Federal government had no role whatsoever in the removal of these missionaries.  It was purely a state decision that was made based on a sound reason – the people of Sabah, regardless of race or religion had been living harmoniously.  However, these missionaries have been sowing the seeds of hatred among the Christians of Sabah towards the Muslims by telling them to fear the “Islamisation” of Christians through forced conversions, a claim the missionaries themselves could not substatiate.

There was a plea made by the Christians in Sabah to the then-Prime Minister for the missionaries to be allowed to remain in Sabah.  Tun Abdul Razak however recommended to the Christians of Sabah to instead allow priests from the Peninsular and Sarawak to replace the nine missionaries.

In his book, Jeffrey Kitingan had profusely spoken about alleged digressions from and breach of the Federation of Malaysia Agreement but avoided on the issue of the Sabah state government of 1985 breaching agreements made by the MSCC, findings of the Cobbold Commission, the IGC as well as the Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

On the contrary, the Federal government has been fulfilling its end of the agreement by allowing the freedom for other religions to be practiced by its followers as per the agreement.

At no point was there any intrusion made by the Federal government in the affairs of Sabah, and that the removal of the missionaries from Sabah for violating the conditions of the work permit was totally a state issue, made using the powers accorded to the state of Sabah, as agreed by all parties that had agreed on the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.

In the next installement, we shall talk about the second point – LANGUAGE.

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Sabah 20-Point Agreement: Prologue

Colonial passport for the colonised people of North Borneo

Of late, there has been many attempts at attacking the unity of the nation through the skewing of historical facts.  Unfortunately, many in the government, too, do not have institutional memory of what our forefathers had gone through to allow the formation of the Federation of Malaysia.

The same lack of absence of institutional memory has also contributed to inability by many in 2011 to rebut Mat Sabu’s claim that the policemen who died in Bukit Kepong were ‘running dogs’ of the British colonials, and that the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM) were true fighters for the independence of Malaya, while Ronnie Liu of the DAP sang the same tune in 2005.

I wrote at length to debunk Mat Sabu, whom I regard as DAP’s own ‘running dog.’  Since then I have embarked on my personal crusade to explain to the people through talks and forums about how the British came to Malaya, the treaties, who were colonised, which parts of Malaya that were not colonised, and what the CPM was fighting for.

On Malaysia Day 2016, I began posting about the making of the Federation of Malaysia.  I started off with the concept of Malaysia, followed by the consultations between the Government of Malaya, the British Government, the representatives from British North Borneo, and the British colony of Sarawak.  Then I wrote about the Reid Commission and reaction from our neighbours.  The last part covered the reasons we have Hari Kebangsaan and Hari Malaysia.

You may want to read the above links before I get into the heavy stuff.

Between now and Hari Malaysia, I shall write about the Sabah 20-Point Agreement.  In 1987, Dr Jeffrey Kitingan had commented on the Memorandum on the 20-Point Agreement for the Inclusion of Sabah into Malaysia.  This memorandum was presented by the leaders of British North Borneo to the Cobbold Commission as a prerequisite for the inclusion of Sabah into Malaysia.

However, the notion that this memorandum had been accepted in toto as the basis of British North Borneo’s inclusion into the Federation of Malaysia alongside the colony of Sarawak, the state of Singapore, and the states of the Federation of Malaya is inaccurate or baseless.

The contents of the Memorandum was not an agreement made by North Borneo, Sarawak, the British Government, and the Government of Malaya but were rather demands made by the leaders of North Borneo as a precursor to the consultations.

What became the basis for the inclusion of Sabah are the points that had been agreed upon by all parties, no more and no less.  After all, why had the leaders of North Borneo agreed for the colony to be included into the new Federation had there not been an agreement for that to happen in the first place?

The lack of understanding as well as misunderstanding of what had been agreed as well as the developments that had taken place since has presented the exploitative opportunity for certain elements to create resentment and anti-Federation sentiments  among the people of Sabah.

Therefore, I shall endeavour to explain and counter the points raised, not only to educate those in Sabah, but to also educate the rest of the people of Malaysia, as well as those in the Federal Government on the latter’s commitment towards not only Sabah, but also Sarawak and the specil privileges that have been accorded to them.

I shall make references to the following:

  • Report of the Commission of Enquiry, North Borneo and Sarawak, 21st June 1962;
  • Inter-Governmental Committee Report, 1962;
  • The Sabah State Constitution as at 10th July 1989;
  • The Federation of Malaysia Constitution as in 1989;
  • The Federation of Malaya Constitution as in 1962;
  • The Malaysia Solidarity Consultative Committee meeting, 3rd February 1962;
  • The Administration of Islamic Law Enactment of Sabah, No.15/77 dated 23rd December 1977;
  • Act 32 (National Language Act 1963/67) as in 1983;
  • The National Language (Application) Enactment of Sabah, 1973; and,
  • The Federation of Malaysia Agreement, 1963.

In the next part, I shall write about the first point of the memorandum – religion.

In the mean time, have patience and read Another Brick in the Wall’s take, as well as by The Right of Reply, on this issue, written a few years back.

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A Much Friendlier PM

Najib has the Pan Borneo Highway go without toll al the way to Sabah – photo courtesy of Sabahkini

Today, the PAS Secretary-General Datuk Takiyudin Hassan said that the Najib Razak-led government is more open towards the party.

“We have always wanted to attend federal programmes, but it was never allowed and we were never invited.  But now, they are more open to having PAS. Maybe that is the new approach,” he said.

Recently,  PAS President Haji Abdul Hadi Awang attended a federal government programme and was seen to be very close to Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek in a photograph that had set the tongue of his foes wagging.

Najib Razak is in Sabah again today, announcing more initiatives for the youth of Sabah at the launching of Gathering of Rising Entrepreneurs, Act Together (GREAT) 2017 at the Magellen Sutera Harbour Resort in Kota Kinabalu.

Najib said the Sabah government should also set up a centre for young entrepreneurs similar to that of Sarawak’s Borneo744 in Kuching.

“If there is a suitable site, I wish to propose the setting-up of a Blue Ocean Entrepreneurs town, making it the second of its kind after Sarawak,” he said.

“We must find ways to increase the participation of young people with education, skills, leadership skills and entrepreneurship,” he added.

In another development, Sabah’s Special Tasks Minister Datuk Teo Chee Kang said the state cabinet led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman had a fruitful breakfast meeting with Najib.  Teo said that the state cabinet had put forward its claims for a review of the special federal monetary grants, mandatory every five years under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution.

Among the things on Sabah’s wishlist given to Najib is for Sabah to be given back the power to make laws and regulate the production and distribution of gas and electricity be delegated back to Sabah, a state power which was taken away during U-Turn Mahathir’s time in 1983.

Wasn’t Mahathir a Sabah-friendly PM?

According to Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan in 2016, Mahathir was the worst PM for Sabah.

“He introduced ‘Project IC’ and told me not to ‘teach’ the people what they didn’t know (Sabah rights),” he said in his statement via Whatsapp to Borneo Post.

Jeffrey also pointed out in 2013 that it was vital that the federal government clean up the mess created by (former prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Sabah which had put Sabah and its citizens at perpetual risk.

“They made Sabah insecure by supporting Muslim rebellion in the Philippines and supplying them weapons, giving them refuge and training facilities in Sabah and, worst still, by deploying them as voters in Sabah through the ‘Project IC Mahathir’, despite knowing full well that the same group of people from the Philippines have unsettled claims over Sabah.”

Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Maximus Ongkili said Mahathir’s admission that he was a dictator during his 22-year reign as Malaysia’s prime minister “is a classic understatement of the century.”

Dr Maximus added this to his description of Mahathir: “He was a tyrant, bully and oppressor, especially towards Sabah political leaders.”

Living on borrowed time that God has given for him to repent, Mahathir still has his dreams unrealised.  The only person between him and achieving his dreams is Najib Razak.  Which is why the only thing that he has not done is to leave Islam to help DAP achieve its racist ideas.

Mahathir has licked all the gob he had spat out at the DAP since 1969.

Today, Mahathir again called upon the voters in Pekan to not vote for Najib Razak.

“The residents and voters of Pekan have the opportunity to save the nation by causing the defeat of Datuk Seri Najib,” he said.

I don’t know what it is that he wants to save the nation from when all that he had achieved single-handedly was to further divide the nation and opress its people.

This is nothing new to Sabah’s Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan.

“Once he makes up his mind he does not like a person, just like how he did not like me, he would go all out to dislodge that person.  He tried to do that with me,” Pairin said.

Mahathir once claimed that he had saved all his earnings (RM20,000 a month) as the Prime Minister and left the job with RM5 million in his savings.

In my opinion, his story that he had been saving is purely hogwash.

Najib is trying hard to give back as much as possible to the people of Sabah what Mahathir had taken away from them.  There was hardly any change in the state during Mahathir’s 22-year rule.

Perhaps this is, as PAS’s Takiyuddin had pointed out, the new approach by the Najib administration.  An approach where he listens and tries to help every quarter out.  Try asking for the same during Mahathir’s time.  His favourite song, “My Way” by Frank Sinatra says it all.

Dr Maximus also pointed out and referred to Mahathir’s claim that even though he was a dictator, no one went to the streets to demonstrate against him.

“Says who (that no one protested against Dr Mahathir)? Many of us who questioned his policies and actions ended up being detained under the ISA. (Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Zahid Hamidi and I myself ended up 59 days in detention by Mahathir’s orders,” he said.

It is time for Sabahans to allow Najib to help them, and bury Mahathir for good.