Vernon Kedit
KUCHING: Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak publicity chief Vernon Kedit disagrees with Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah for saying: ‘Most of Sarawak’s rights enshrined under Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) were taken away when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the prime minister’.
“Perhaps, the minister is forgetful or perhaps he chooses to forget – worse still, perhaps he is not so conversant with history and historical facts,” said Vernon.
“Allow me to respectfully remind the good minister the following facts.
“The most significant erosion of Sarawak’s rights was the amendment to Article 1(2), which was among 48 amendments to the Federal Constitution under a Bill tabled by then-prime minister Datuk Hussein Onn on July 12, 1976, and was passed on July 13, 1976.
“This essentially downgraded the Territory of Sarawak to the status of ‘negeri’ (state). The PBB MPs who voted for this amendment to strip Sarawak of its equal status with the Federation of Malaya and Sabah were Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud (Samarahan), Dr Sulaiman Daud (Santubong), Datuk Patinggi Abdul Rahman Ya’kub (Payang), Penghulu Abit Angkin (Kapit), Racha Umong (Limbang-Lawas), Hadadak D Pasuak (Simunjan), and Liben Kato @ Wairy Leben Kato (Betong). Dr Mahathir was not the prime minister at the time,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Vernon went on to point out that the Petroleum Resources and Petroleum Development Act 1974 was also passed in Parliament.
“This mega-erosion of Sarawak’s right to control its own natural resources was fully supported by PBB parliamentarians. Sarawak surrendered 95 per cent of its oil income to the federal government, keeping for ourselves only a meagre 5 per cent.
“The prime minister then was Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, the father of the present Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Dr Mahathir was not the prime minister at the time,” he said.
Vernon added that the Territorial Sea Act 2012 was passed in Parliament with the full support of PBB parliamentarians, which limited Sarawak’s maritime authority to three nautical miles (5.5km) from the coastline.
“The implication is that with the reduced breadth limits of its territorial waters, the state’s rights to fisheries, marine and mineral resources, tourism sites in marine areas and so forth are now confined to only three nautical miles from its coastline.
“This was a physical erosion of Sarawak’s right in that our territorial border was severely curtailed. In 2012, Najib was the prime minister. Dr Mahathir had already retired by the time.
“And most recently, need I remind the good minister Abdul Karim of his own tourism tax fiasco currently happening where his own party’s parliamentarians stood by, watched and voted for monies collected through tourism in Sarawak to go directly to the federal coffers? The retired 92-year-old Dr Mahathir was certainly nowhere near Parliament or Putrajaya.”
Vernon felt it was clear that ‘Sarawak’s rights cannot be taken away, much less eroded without the consent of Sarawakians themselves’.
He alleged: “It is Barisan Nasional (BN) Sarawak, led by PBB, in Parliament, that is responsible for the erosion of our rights.
“It is PBB and all its parliamentarians, past and present, and the chief ministers who were at the helm when these erosion occurred with their full consent who should really apologise to Sarawakians for being in league with Umno in leading BN Sarawak to erode Sarawak’s rights.
“Historical facts cannot be spun or denied and the Malaysian Parliament’s Hansard is clear for all to peruse.”
Dr Mahathir is expected to deliver a talk at Taman BDC in front of Everrise Supermarket, scheduled to commence at 6.30pm today.