VIEWPOINT
By DAH IKHWAN
At the closing ceremony of a seminar on coastal road in Kuching last week, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari expressed disappointment with the federal government for cancelling three major bridge projects in Sarawak. These bridges which include the Batang Lupar Bridge would constitute important links along the coastal region and usher in the long-awaited expressway network in the state.
The coastal road/expressway would be the final upgraded links following the completion of the ongoing Pan Borneo Highway in the next few years.
The coastal road is fully funded by the state government after the federal government reneged on its earlier commitment to fund the three bridges.
Abang Jo’s disappointment is felt by virtually all Sarawakians. In Parliament, Batang Sadong Datuk Nancy Shukri conveyed this feeling very well when she told the federal government not to assume that Sarawakians are stupid enough to believe that the bridge projects were cancelled due to lack of fund.
Lack of fund is not a credible reason, she argued, since the projects had been in the pipeline for ages and moreover funding issues should not take precedence over Sarawak’s rights as an important region in the country.
Apparently, DAP and PKR have found themselves caught “between the devil and the deep blue sea” in this battle. PKR has been relatively quiet, but DAP has been more vocal in defending the actions of the federal government.
However, to be fair to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, it is quite a relief to see that some actions have been taken by his government to address the state’s autonomy issues, notably the setting up of a special committee that he himself chairs.
This is a welcome development, but unfortunately the committee itself is lopsided in its representation as it is largely from the federal government with only a few representatives from Sarawak and Sabah.
The bill to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution was tabled in Parliament yesterday. The proposed amendment is supposed to restore the position of Sarawak and Sabah as equal partners with Malaya.
But the proposed bill is already mired in controversy and a measure of distrust. Sabah and Sarawak MPs from GPS want to see the bill tabled after the Cabinet Steering Committee has completed its report. They want to see more substantive and meaningful amendment to the article.
To me this is an early indication that the fight to fully restore the eroded provisions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and for autonomy is not a simple one.
People need to understand that this is not an issue that can be solved over a two to three-year period, and remember that in most countries that have faced similar situations it took them a long time to succeed. It involves sacrifices from its people and often with bloodshed. Let’s hope that Sarawak’s fight for autonomy will not come to that.
But sacrifices cannot be avoided, and remember that no one will hand over victory on a silver platter. The people must be prepared to sacrifice themselves or something valuable to them.
As for the Sarawak MP’s from DAP and PKR, when such issues cropped up in the past, all they could do was blame the previous state Barisan Nasional government.
It may be understandable to blame BN for their past misdeeds, but to continue blaming the culprits won’t solve any problem. It won’t bring any benefit to Sarawak or bring us anywhere. The situation is different now. The Sarawak government is now run by a different set of people who run Sarawak independent of Kuala Lumpur’s political involvement.
Any movement for autonomy can only succeed if fought by the affected people themselves without being subservient to anyone or party. Abang Jo’s PBB and the other component parties of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) took the right step when they left the Malayan-dominated BN.
For a period of 50 years Sarawak was subservient to the central government in Malaya, ever willing to give way to the wiles, greed and intrigues of Kuala Lumpur.
Unfortunately, Sarawak’s main player, the late Chief Minister Tun Rahman Yakub is no longer around to answer for it, or rather “fortunately”, he surrendered Sarawak petroleum resources in an imperfect way to allow us to fight back on another day. (For the record, the petroleum rights were signed away without the approval of the State Legislative Assembly.)
Only towards the end of the two years of Pehin Sri Adenan Satem’s chief ministership did Sarawak BN begin to summon enough courage and gumption to fight for the state’s rights. He was the one who started to dig into the MA63 issues which had been buried deep in some grave where historical and even historic things went to die.
Now, we are lucky to have his successor, Abang Jo, who has carried the fight further.
Circumstances have shown him the need for a more effective vehicle to fight, hence, the creation of GPS which is totally divorced from any political power in KL.
Sarawakians really do not have any choice otherwise they will remain under the yoke of Malaya for a long, long time to come. Umno, DAP, PKR, PPBM and other Malaya-based parties do not seem to fit easily into this Sarawak MA63 scenario.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
