KOTA KINABALU: The Kuching Declaration is better than the stand of Umno/Barisan Nasional (BN) and looks good on paper in various aspects, said STAR Sabah chief Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.
“In some aspects, it is not much different from Umno/BN, especially in the treatment of the status of Sabah and Sarawak,” he said in response to the Kuching Declaration signed by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in Kuching on Malaysia Day 2012.
“Giving credit where it is due, the Kuching Declaration is the first step in the right direction for PR and it will add pressure on Umno/BN to follow suit. It may augur well for the Borneo States if there is follow through by PR and or Umno/BN in the treatment of Sabah and Sarawak,” said Dr Jeffrey.
“For example, Umno/BN would now need to raise the oil revenue for Sabah and Sarawak from 5% to 20% and this additional income, if put to good and proper use, will definitely contribute to the well-being of Sabah, Sarawak and their people. And if Umno/BN does not increase the oil revenue to 20%, BN component parties in Sabah and Sarawak should re-assess their position and pull out from BN for the sake of Sabah and Sarawak and their future,” he said in a statement yesterday.
According to Dr Jeffrey, it is not correct to say that the equal partnership is based on the Federal Constitution which means keeping the status quo of Sabah and Sarawak being the 12th and 13th States.
“This is not what the founding fathers of Malaysia, be they be from Malaya, Sabah or Sarawak, envisaged or was as promised by Malaya. In the Malaysia Act that was passed by the Malaya Parliament in 1963 and Article 1 of the Federal Constitution that was amended with effect on 16 September 1963, Sabah and Sarawak were not to be the 12th and 13th States.
“Judging from the statements of the Prime Minister and PR, this looks easy since both sides are acknowledging that Sabah and Sarawak are equal partners with Malaya. This can easily be done at the next Parliament session next week and there is no need to wait until the next general elections,” he said.
Dr Jeffrey also said the ignorance, misunderstanding or insincerity of the Prime Minister is also clear from his statement that Sabah and Sarawak joined and gained their independence through Malaysia.
“Nothing is further from the truth as even our Sabah students in the universities will tell you that Sabah and Sarawak did not join Malaya or Malaysia and that Sabah and Sarawak formed Malaysia with Singapore and Malaya in 1963. This ignorance, misinformation and misunderstanding is widespread amongst BN parliamentarians”.
Dr Jeffrey also pointed out that increasing the oil royalties from 5% to 20% is not oil justice. In any event, it is wrong to refer to it as oil royalties when it is clear in Section 4 of the Petroleum Development Act, 1974, it is cash payment. The cash payment was supposed to be in return for ownership rights of the oil and that is also supposed to be mutually agreed upon by the State government concerned and Petronas. The cash payment is also clearly spelt out in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of the Sabah Oil Agreement, 1976.
To do justice for Sabah and Sarawak’s oil, he urged the PR leaders as well as the State leaders to study in-depth the PDA as well as the oil agreements that were signed in 1976.
Dr Jeffrey added there is a serious issue of the genuineness and seriousness of the fair representation and equal partnership of Sabah and Sarawak with Malaya as promoted by PR.
“If PR is serious or genuine, why is there no local political parties participation in Sarawak? What about the local parties in Sabah? As all three PR components are Malayan-based, who are their local partners in Sabah and Sarawak?” he asked.
He claimed the formula of no local political parties in PR for Sabah and Sarawak smells of a similar political annexation of and keeping control of Sabah and Sarawak with their rich resources as the 12th and 13th States.
Commenting on the fair representation, he said it must also take into consideration the constitutional safeguards guaranteed for Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore in 1963 with Malaya getting not more than 65% of the parliamentary seats and taking into consideration the size and potentialities of Sabah and Sarawak. This is one of the safeguards emplaced for Sabah and Sarawak.
Therefore, parties from Malaya should not be contesting and taking the seats in Sabah and Sarawak. Even if the Borneo States get their seats restored to 35%, Sabah and Sarawak would be defenceless and hopeless if these 35% seats are controlled by Malayan parties, he said.
As for native customary land rights, he said the issue is not restoration as these rights have always been in place. It is not a question of restoration but of respecting and implementing these rights.