Kota Kinabalu: “The best and the only way to deal with the incessant calls for secession or separation is to take the bull by the horns and address them” said Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, in welcoming a statement by the Deputy Home Minister for Putrajaya to meet the "separatists". Jeffrey's name was singled out in the Deputy Home Minister's statement.
It is time for the Federal Government to address the unhappiness behind the calls for secession/separation/Sabah Sarawak rights...the issues are all the same but the calls become louder and more intense the longer these frustrations are ignored overtime explained Jeffrey who was detained under the ISA in 1990's for raising the rights of Sabah under the 20- Points pre-conditions for Malaysia.
At that time Jeffrey was questioning why the federal government was treating the PBS democratically elected government so badly. For that call Jeffrey was labelled "secessionist".
Today, this calls for "separation" are gaining momentum inside and outside Malaysia because the government have ignored the cries for justice for the last 50 years.
Infact, the situation have gotten worse as actions and decisions by Kuala Lumpur towards the Borneo States have tended to reinforce concerns that the intention of Kuala Lumpur all along was to take over Sabah/Sarawak, re-colonize and subjugate them and exploit their oil resources....actions like pressuring the States to surrender their oil, imposing the rotation of chief ministers, changing the demography of Sabah through the so called "Project IC/Mahathir"; the downgrading of the status of Sabah and Sarawak tobecome the 12th and 13th Malayan states; the jailing of activists and the direct rule of Kuala Lumpur through UMMO.
Discussing and querying the federal and Sabah governments on these unhappiness have not only met with negative responses but their loyalty to Malaysia questioned.
“Now those expressing unhappiness are simply called "secessionists/separatists" said unhappy Jeffrey.
So, it is time for the powers that be to come down from their high horses and listen. Yes, listen and address these frustrations before it is too late.
The Prime Minister must be serious on this.
Diffuse the situation, the rhetorics and to quickly establish a national mechanism to address these unhappiness.
Please don’t continue to ignore and sweep these problems under the carpet. The calls for the review of the Malaysia Agreement should respected and accepted in good faith.
Please don't say "apa mau review review..."as was the response I received when I raised the matter in the Sabah Legislative Assembly recently.
Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan
Chairman
Borneo Heritage Foundation (BHF)
08 September 2014
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