‘Peninsula parties could amend Constitution if they rule S’wak’

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Voon (seated fifth left) with other central committee members at the press conference.

SIBU: Parties based in Peninsular Malaysia could easily amend the Sarawak Constitution should they be allowed to take over the Sarawak government, warned Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) president Voon Lee Shan.

He said if given control, the Peninsula-based parties could pass relevant laws to allow Peninsular Malaysians to stand for elections here, to do business, and to control Sarawak’s economy further.

According to him, many Sarawakians saw the presence of political parties from the peninsula in Sarawak as an attempt to assume control over Sarawak’s sovereignty – with the help of locals as their agents.

“They can also take our immigration rights away by amending the laws. This will further cause the erosion of our rights and sovereignty. At the same time, to fight for autonomy and restoration of Sarawak’s position as a founding member of the Federation of Malaysia as propagated by the current GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) state government, even if autonomy is granted, will also not be able to give much security and comfort to us,” he said in a statement issued after PBK’s election yesterday for its 2019 to 2022 central committee.

“We have patiently waited for the past 56 years for our rights to be given back to us and the Federation of Malaya through the federal cabinet was quiet or slow to grant autonomy or to give back our rights. We would also say that there is no guarantee that the federal government will not take back what would be given back to us.”

The former Batu Lintang assemblyman said the party believes Sarawak has a right to leave the federation.

“We can do it if the people of Sarawak are behind us. If Tunku Abdul Rahman for the Federation of Malaya and Mahatma Ghandi for India could, when backed by their people, get their countries out of colonialism from Britain through negotiations and by peaceful means, there is no reason Sarawak may not be able to exit from the Federation of Malaysia through negotiations and by peaceful means too,” he said.

“David Marshall and Lee Kuan Yew also negotiated for independence from Britain for Singapore and the British government never stopped them. We are of the view that to be part of the Federation of Malaysia was a big mistake. Our past leaders were unaware of imperialism strategies of the Federation of Malaya by expanding its control over our people and resources by not only passing laws in the federal Parliament that affect our local people here, but, also by spreading the wings of its political parties here.”

He called on Sarawakians to back PBK so that the party can take over the Sarawak government.

“By capturing the state government, we would then be able to make the necessary representations to the federal government to exit and or to take legal steps to ensure our dream for an independent Sarawak could be realised.

“The Federal Constitution does not say that Sarawak or Sabah for that matter could not exit from the Federation of Malaysia. Lord Lansdowne, the chairman of the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) had in response to a call for an exit clause in the MA63 Treaty and in the Federal Constitution said it was not necessary for this because, ‘any state voluntarily entering a federation had an intrinsic right to secede at will’,” added Voon.