S4S submits Petition to Adenan on Referendum Act
The Petition calls for a Referendum Act with the purpose of safeguarding the special rights and recognition negotiated for Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
KUCHING: Sarawak 4 Sarawakians (S4S), a NGO, submitted a Petition to the Chief Minister’s Office on Monday, calling for a Referendum Act. The Petition carries 263,000 signatures.
The Petition is now in the hands of the Chief Minister Adenan Satem, added S4S Chief Peter John Jaban in an interview. “A copy has also been furnished to the United Nations so that the international community is aware of developments in the Borneo states as they unfold.”
The Petition calls for a Referendum Act with the purpose of safeguarding the special rights and recognition negotiated for Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, he added. “It’s about protecting these special rights and recognition, in going forward, from further erosion. We are calling for them to be reinstated.”
While the Sarawak Government has made a valiant start in the process to regain some measure of administrative autonomy, the S4S Chief stressed that this was just the beginning of the process. “We will continue to highlight this agenda until the spirit and intention of the Malaysia Agreement is realized.”
“Sarawak is ready to stand tall and demand her dues.”
He conceded that it has taken Sarawak a long time to speak out, “but now that we have, we will not be silenced”. He pledged that the people will speak out against a Federal Government that accepts or even promotes the marginalization of large groups of its citizens, either on regional or even on racial grounds. “This is not the Sarawak way and from now on, we will stand together to forge a better future for us all. This is the Sarawak spirit and we demand for it to be honoured.”
Delving into the details on the final document submitted to the Chief Minister’s Office, Jaban called it “a thing of beauty”.
As a Sarawakian, he said that he was filled with pride when he saw what had been accomplished. “So many spoke of their wish to see Sarawak take her place and the result is a demand that cannot be ignored,” said Jaban. “This may not be the first Petition handed to the Chief Minister, but I believe that it’s the biggest.”
“I can only hope that it gives him the impetus he needs to push these negotiations forward at a pace to satisfy the people of Sarawak, and not one set by Putrajaya.”
Jaban reminded that the Chief Minister had been given a huge mandate to lead for five years and expressed the belief of many that his stance on autonomy has been the basis for his victory. “S4S will continue to monitor, support and indeed drive progress along the way, as we see necessary.”
SFS spokeswoman Karen Shepherd chipped in that “this Petition is something that Sarawak is doing for herself and we must take pride in that”.
The United Nations are observers, she added. “It’s up to us to take our own power forward and this Petition is exactly that.”
“The people of Sarawak are petitioning their own elected representatives to stand up for the promises that have been made to them and that they have sworn to uphold.”
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If the people want action, they must demand it, she pointed out. “Sarawak is coming of age and this is independence in its greatest sense. We must use it well and wisely.”