Mohd Asfia (seated, centre) together with members of the Consultative Committee prior to the start of the press conference.
KUCHING: Sarawak’s right on matters such as immigration is ‘absolutely non-negotiable’ during the meeting of the Steering Committee on Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) on Dec 17.
Sarawak Consultative Committee on MA63 chairman Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar said other ‘non-negotiable’ rights include the state’s territorial integrity over land mass, continental shelf, seabed and subsoil.
“We seek to maximise and expand the common areas of agreement and minimise and narrow the margin of differences within the framework of Malaysia. We shall explore areas where we all can agree and areas where we agree to disagree.
“There are issues, for instance, on immigration which we consider as non-negotiable. The territory of Sarawak, its territorial integrity – land mass, continental shelf, seabed and subsoil – are absolutely non-negotiable,” he said.
Addressing a news conference at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Complex in Petra Jaya here yesterday, Mohd Asfia said to concede on immigration is to open up the floodgates that would “unleash a torrent of immigrants from across the border and those far outside Sarawak to sweep away the Sarawak population”.
“Sarawak would cease to exist. This is absolutely, completely and totally unacceptable,” he added.
On the Dec 17 Steering Committee meeting, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, he said Abang Johari will hand-pick the delegation to represent Sarawak.
When asked if he would be part of the delegation, Mohd Asfia – also DUN Speaker – said he “may not be” as it was the chief minister’s prerogative to select the delegates.
According to him, the Consultative Committee serves as a vehicle to assist the chief minister and to advise the august House on fighting for the state’s rights as enshrined in MA63.
As far as the Consultative Committee is concerned, Mohd Asfia said: “We must make a strong stand; speaking with one united voice for Sarawak. Failure to do so, we may end up as the voice of the voiceless.”
He asserted that they must be history-guided and driven, legally logical and constitutionally correct.
“We shall survey and scrutinise the parameters of MA63; fathom its ramifications and implications. The MA63 is sacrosanct because it is not only an agreement, but is also an international treaty.
“The signatories to that international treaty are the government of the sovereign nation of Great Britain, the government of the sovereign nation of Federation of Malaya, representatives of Singapore and the representatives of the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak,” he said, pointing out that MA63 is registered with the United Nations and is therefore within the meaning and definition of an international treaty.
Mohd Asfia added that it was also imperative to review the financial provisions of Article 112D and Article 112D(3) pursuant to the recommendation in para 24(9) of the IGC (Inter-Governmental Committee) Report.
“The restoration of Sarawak’s eroded rights would be meaningless without a review of the financial provisions, as it would be like having an automobile but without battery and gasoline,” he asserted.