Lina Soo
KUCHING: State Reform Party (STAR) president Lina Soo has scoffed at the Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sarawak’s recommendation to have this year’s Malaysia Day celebration in Sarawak.
According to her, there is nothing to celebrate about Malaysia Day which falls on September 16, a day which commemorates the formation of Malaysia on the same day in 1963.
“Malaysia Day was the day Sarawak threw off the yoke of British colonialism on 16 September 1963, only to be dominated and re-shackled by Malaya’s exploitation of Sarawak’s territorial boundaries and natural resources, in the name of federalism during which Malaya changed its name to Malaysia,” she said in a statement today.
Soo alleged: “Because of Malaysia Day, Sarawak is still like a colony with a new imperialist master, and defined in the United Nations Non-Self-Governing Territories list as ‘change in status’ only, with no independent status.”
In effect, it was merely a transfer of colonial headquarters from London to Kuala Lumpur where fair skinned imperialists were replaced by a federal government nearer home 1,500 miles away, she claimed.
“If the reason Malaysia Day (celebration) should be in Sarawak this year just because it was held in Sabah last year, PH Sarawak should be reminded that Sarawakians have no wish to follow in the footsteps of Sabah which has given up Labuan, lost its immigration autonomous powers and lands to foreign companies, had its population re-constructed vis-a-vis Project IC, and federalised departments such as for electricity,” asserted Soo.
She continued to implore PH Sarawak not to lead Sarawak “down Sabah’s seemingly path of destruction”.
Instead, she said PH Sarawak should be lobbying for infrastructure funding and economic development, federal funds to repair schools in rural Sarawak, build more roads and bridges, and tackle bread and butter issues where the cost of living is getting more and more unbearable for ordinary folks.
“With the validity of MA63 (Malaysia Agreement 1963) in grave doubt where Sarawak as a British colony had no capacity to enter into a multilateral international agreement, with multiple breaches and abandoned by Singapore, Malaysia Day will continue to remain a ‘Black Day’ for mourning.
“I invite PH Sarawak to join Sarawakians in celebrating Sarawak Day on July 22 at Central Padang with a pledge of allegiance to Sarawak, and without spending one sen of taxpayers’ money.
“That will be multiple times more meaningful for Sarawak,” added Soo.
On Saturday, PH Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen said they would recommend to the Federal Cabinet to have this year’s Malaysia Day do in the city.
The Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs said the Federal Cabinet will come to a decision on the matter.