KUCHING: Referring to Lanang MP Alice Lau in Parliament where Lau had asked what action the federal government could take against those calling for secession, State Reform Party (STAR) president Lina Soo said the DUN should invoke Annex A State List 10 of the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGCR) to set up an inquiry for state purpose.
According to Soo, “The IGCR is the precursor to the Malaysia Agreement (MA63), and which provides the constitutional framework and safeguards for Sarawak and Sabah in the formation of Malaysia and, it is a constitutional and legally binding document.”
“An inquiry is a systematic investigation on a matter of public interest, and DUN is empowered to commission an inquiry to ascertain the feelings of the Sarawak people — whether or not they are contented, or unhappy with the current state of federalism,” she explained.
Soo also mentioned that secession was the wrong word to use because it implied the creation of a state by the use or threat of force without the consent of the sovereign power, or the creation of a new state upon territory formerly forming part of, or being a colonial entity of an existing nation. Neither definition of secession can apply to Sarawak.
“Sarawak was an independent sovereign nation for 100 years from 1841-1941 recognised by Britain and United States before it was invaded by Japan in WWII, and then annexed by Britain as Crown colony in 1946.
“It was only in 1963 that the British surrendered the sovereignty of Sarawak over to Malaya renamed Malaysia, when it added the new territories of Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak to the existing states of the Federation of Malaya,” she said.
Soo also argued that you cannot secede when Sarawak was never a part of Malaya historically, culturally and politically, as Malaya is not the motherland of Sarawak.
“Separatism from a federation, which is a voluntary union of political entities with reserved powers, is different from secession from a unitary state.
“In referring to a letter published in an old edition of the Times newspaper where C.W. Dawson, a member of the Commonwealth Council, had reiterated that any state voluntarily entering a federation had an intrinsic right to secede at will,” she said.
Furthermore, in the context of the Federal Constitution, Sarawak is by default left out of the Federation in Article 160 where the definition of ‘the Federation’ is the Federation established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957.
“Sarawak was not a signatory to the 1957 Malaya Agreement, nor ever sign any agreement with the individual states of Malaya.
“So, to say that Sarawak wants secession is totally misleading as that will invite negative connotation and misinterpretation with seditious tendency to be capitalised by irresponsible people for their own political agenda,” she said.
On a point of academic interest, Soo said Singapore had already set the precedent in 1965 upon its departure from Malaysia.
“Despite Singapore’s failure to consult Sarawak as required under a multi-lateral international agreement, and since MA63 contains no provision for denunciation or withdrawal, Singapore’s Separation Agreement is deemed valid under the severance principle and Article 56(1)(a).
“However, the severance of Singapore from the Federation does not destroy MA63 nor dissolve the Federation.
“Consent is an important democratic principle where it has to be the will of the majority to decide their political, cultural and economic future in the established legal doctrine of self-determination,” she said.
Soo recalled former chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s words who had once said that the call for independence only comes from a minority. Inclined to agree, Soo said that the minority voice could become the majority voice only when there was popular support by the people.
Soo proposed that DUN raise a motion to conduct an inquiry for state purpose to discover the sentiments of the Sarawak people to ascertain if after almost 60 years of federalism, they had feelings of being dominated, subjugated and exploited within the federation.
“If the DUN and government in power now will not do it, then the people of Sarawak must vote in a DUN in PRN12, who can carry the political will and people’s voice to deliver a better Sarawak in the interest of future generations,” Soo said.
