Saying the federal government’s policy of determining one’s citizenship and religious identity through the National Registration Department had caused chaos to the demographics of Sabah, its president Rev Jerry Dusing added in a statement:
“Firstly, the spirit of the provision for ‘Citizenship’ under the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGC) and MA63 is that the federal government’s policies must not discriminate the inhabitants of Sabah.
“Secondly, the choice of religious belief and identification of our people should be the sole discretion of the individual himself as per MA63.”
The Borneo Post quoted Dusing as saying Sabahans were united in their stand against any “deceptive attempt” that challenged their guaranteed religious freedom under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
“Under this Agreement, secularism is guaranteed. Sabah and Malaysia are secular nations.”
He also said the recent amendment to the Income Tax Act 1967 on donations for non-Muslim religious bodies had caused confusion.
The Borneo Post quoted him as saying: “We urge the prime minister to explain the rationale behind the amendment, define clearly the intended targeted bodies and clarify why it involves only non-Muslim religious bodies.
“As Sabahans are intensively seeking the truth of MA63 and embracing our rights and inheritance as a sovereign nation under the same, we look to the future with hope for our people and our land.
“We do not ask for more than what we have been promised. All we ask is for the truth to be established and justice restored in accordance with MA63.”