Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) supreme council member Mazliwati Abdul Malek Chua said she was perplexed by Pandikar’s comment as even after the formation of Malaysia, the federal government, instead of helping Sabah and Sarawak mature politically, had taken advantage of the Bornean states.
“Anyone can see the stark disparity in development between Malaya and the Bornean states.
“Sabahans and Sarawakians merely asked the government to be fair but instead found themselves being told off by one of their own, a Sabahan in Pandikar Amin, that we are inferior subjects,” she told FMT.
Mazliwati said Pandikar had even insinuated that it was not important to claim the 40% net revenue collected by the federal government in Sabah as Sabahans had supposedly received more than they deserved.
“How much more disillusioned can some of these Barisan Nasional people be?” she asked.
Mazliwati said the federal government’s reluctance to implement the rights of Sabah as stated in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) was infuriating, especially when Sabah owed it nothing in return.
Prior to 1963, she said, Sabah and the Federation of Malaya were completely different regions and their histories had never intertwined.
She said Sabah had been the British Empire protectorate since 1888 with the right of self-governance, and had remained so until 1946 before becoming a British crown colony.
“Even during World War II, it was the Australian imperial forces supported by American forces that liberated Sabah from the Japanese occupying forces. No mention of Malayan army coming here to help us.
“We are closer to the Australians than the Malayans because their men, their soldiers, died for us and our freedom,” Mazliwati told FMT.
She added that Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should not have resorted to threats because Sabahans and Sarawakians were not asking to secede from Malaysia when they spoke of “Sabah for Sabahans” or “Sarawak for Sarawakians”.
Instead, she said, Warisan was urging the people to look at the current state of Sabah and to speak up for their own rights.
“I urge the government to stop deviating and diverting issues and instead implement the rights of the people as stated under MA63. That is all we ask for.”
MA63: Pandikar challenges Sabah opposition to prove sincerity