KUCHING: The rights of Sarawak have not been justly fulfilled and issues related to these rights must be addressed.
This was the sentiment shared by all three speakers at a public dialogue on the Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO) 1958, Malaysia Act 1963 (MA63) and Federal Constitution and Relations held yesterday.
The invited speakers were Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Sharifah Assistant Minister Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, Santubong MP Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, and Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) deputy chairman Robert Lau Hui Yew.
The session was organised by the Women Wing of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (Wanita GPS) and held at Kuching City South Council (MBKS) yesterday.
In the eye-opening words of Lau, “Our own history has been hidden from us – it is not taught. Sarawakians are only starting to question their rights fifty years after MA63 was legislated.”
To reinforce his point, he held up a book entitled “Sejarah Malaysia dan Singapura” which was published in 1975, saying, “If you read all 332 pages of this book, there is not a single word on the Malaysia Act 1963 (MA63).
“If we do not know our history and our background, there is no hope for our next generation. We should not be blind like we were in the past.”
During his speech, Lau also expressed his hope that moving forward Sarawakians will be aware of their rights and defend them, regardless of the political parties they support.
Wan Junaidi commented that Sarawak has strength with its laws such as OMO 1958, but Sarawakians should be mindful that what has been done over the last 50 years will take a long time to amend.
“Issues pertaining to Sarawak’s rights will be discussed with the federal government. We will focus on MA63 issues, but at the same time other topics will be brought up,” he said.
According to him, these other issues include the five per cent tax imposed on oil and gas.
As to the negotiations with the federal government, Sharifah Hasidah emphasised that it is important for Sarawak under Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to be independent of Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“We will continue negotiating until we get what we want. We have every right to take back what was taken from us,” she said.
According to Sharifah Hasidah, an interim report is expected to be ready by the end of July, which will be discussed in an MA63 steering committee meeting with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
