KUCHING: Layar assemblyman Gerald Rentap Jabu agreed with Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice president Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah’s statement that the federal government must not shortchange Sarawakians.
Using the analogy of a child and a parent, he said if a child did not get what he or she wanted from the parent, that would lead to some kind of disappointment.
That was how Sarawakians, particularly the younger generation, would feel if they did not get what they wanted from the federal government.
“Malaysia was born because of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA 63).
“The federal government must abide to what has been agreed upon in MA63 and give Sarawak what is due to us.
“The best thing is that Sarawak has autonomy in certain matters.
“We don’t want to lose the autonomy, but give us more power (in education and health matters) as only Sarawakians know better how to look after themselves,” he told New Sarawak Tribune last Tuesday.
Rentap added what had been unintentionally taken away from Sarawak must be given back to its people.
“I agree with Abdul Karim’s statement. And at the same time, I encourage the young people to have their voice,” he said.
The PBB Youth chief also said the young generations were knowledgeable and they could see what the government was doing.
“For instance, the 22-month old government. What has it done? It did nothing. All major projects in Sarawak were cancelled,” he said.
Rentap pointed out that on the other hand, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) continued to bring infrastructure developments and look after the wellbeing of the people of Sarawak.
On April 16, Abdul Karim told an online news portal that if equality was not properly addressed, younger Sarawakians and Sabahans might question why they should be in the grand coalition.
He said nothing could stop them from demanding for equality.
