KUCHING: The Square Tower downtown Kuching set the scene for a pantomime called 227 (in reference to July 22, 1963) today when Sarawak Malay Graduates Association (IGMS) staged a reenactment of historic events leading up to Sarawak becoming a sovereign state and forming its own government 51 years ago.
Despite the pomp and ceremony however, IGMS president Datu Dr Sanib Said was concerned that the significance behind the historic event was being misappropriated by outsiders to further their own political agenda, some of which included the return of British and Brooke rule.
“We are not trying to force a referendum on Malaysia. As part of the Federation of Malaysia, we love this state and country,” he told reporters this morning.
Datu Dr Sanib Said
According to him, Sarawakians should protect the integrity of the historic event.
“It’s not a point of pride to bring back Brooke rule. They took away our freedom, including turning the Malays into their personal slaves,” he said.
Sanib said that effort had been made towards urging the state government under the leadership of Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem and the federal government under Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to seek alternatives to restore native customary rights (NCR) land owned by the Malay community.
“This is because the British government or the Brookes confiscated a lot of Malay land, and now the Malay community live in a state of deprivation.
“The Malays have also been very loyal to the government since 51 years ago and we (Malays) are actually fixed deposits,” he said.