Sabah under ‘New Malaysia’ is same-old-same-old


Sabah and Sarawak both opposed this travesty. Sarawak did not pass this ‘law’ in the Sarawak State Assembly while Sabah consented to it after that most mysterious plane crash that wiped out all the dissenters to the 5% oil royalty. The new Chief Minister, Harris Salleh, was offered the job on condition he did not oppose the 5% oil royalty and did not demand 20% or more. And that was how Sabah ended up with just 5% oil royalty. 

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Eight ‘pro-government’ activists were arrested in Sabah today for protesting against the Pakatan Harapan government. Under the ‘New’ Malaysia, just like in the ‘Old’ Malaysia, anti-government protests are not allowed, even if the protestors are pro-government people.

So, what has changed under the ‘New’ Malaysia of Pakatan Harapan? You still cannot protest openly. You still cannot ask that the MA63 (1963 Malaysian Agreement) be respected and not be violated. You still cannot demand that the medium of teaching in Sabah schools be English (as stipulated in the MA63). You still cannot demand for Sabah to have no official state religion or for Islam to be removed as the state’s official religion (as stipulated in the MA63).

More importantly, Sabah is not bound by the 1957 Federation Agreement regarding Islam, Malay privileges, Bahasa Malaysia, etc. Sabah is only bound by the 1963 Malaysian Agreement. But then, in 1974, Parliament passed the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA 1974) that allowed the federal government to steal Sabah’s oil and gas.

Harris Salleh sold out the Sabah people for the job of Chief Minister

The PDA 1974 was actually in violation of the 1957 Federation Agreement, which states that any law passed after Merdeka that violates the 1957 Federation Agreement is null and void. That was why all 13 states (yes, Sabah and Sarawak have now been reduced from ‘partners’ to merely states) were forced to sign Agreements with Petronas awarding the national oil company the sole right or monopoly to explore and exploit oil and gas in all the 13 states of Malaysia.

The PDA 1974 alone was not strong enough and could be challenged in court. So, they closed all loopholes by forcing the states to reluctantly sign the 1974 Agreement with Petronas.

But there was still one flaw in that Agreement. The 1974 Agreement just stated that Petronas would give back 5% to the state. To cover this ambiguity, in 1976, all the 13 states were made to sign Supplementary Agreements stating that this 5% would be called ROYALTY.

Pakatan Harapan talks about the 61 years of mismanagement of Malaysia. That would mean this includes the administration of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak Hussein, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi — not just the nine years administration of Najib Tun Razak.

Petronas was created to nationalise a very valuable state resource in violation of the 1957 Federation Agreement and the 1963 Malaysian Agreement

In 1974, Tun Razak passed the PDA 1974 and made all 13 states sign the 1974 Agreement with Petronas, while in 1976 Tun Hussein Onn made all the states sign the Supplementary Agreement with Petronas defining the 5% as ROYALTY.

Sabah and Sarawak both opposed this travesty. Sarawak did not pass this ‘law’ in the Sarawak State Assembly while Sabah consented to it after that most mysterious plane crash that wiped out all the dissenters to the 5% oil royalty. The new Chief Minister, Harris Salleh, was offered the job on condition he did not oppose the 5% oil royalty and did not demand 20% or more. And that was how Sabah ended up with just 5% oil royalty.

But that was the ‘Old’ Malaysia. In the ‘Old’ Malaysia Sabah could not object to the 5% oil royalty and demand instead 20% or more. In the ‘New’ Malaysia all the injustices of the past 61 years are going to be corrected. And this would also include the 1974 injustice of giving Sabah only 5% of what is 100% theirs.

Is Shafie Apdal going to grant the Sabah people the justice promised by Pakatan Harapan under the ‘New’ Malaysia?

So, let us see whether Pakatan Harapan walks the talk. Let us see whether the Warisan Sabah state government delivers justice to the Sabah people. Or is Shafie Apdal merely another Tun Datu Mustapha Harun and Harris Salleh who sold out the Sabah people in return for the job of Chief Minister?

Anyway, while on the subject of Sabah, I was told the Sabah Attorney General’s office in Kota Kinabalu is going to charge ex-Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman for treason. It seems Musa Aman is still very popular in Sabah and Pakatan Harapan is worried he would make a comeback and become a threat to Shafie (just like what Mahathir did). So, they want to get Musa for treason so that he can be put away for good.

Yes, welcome to the ‘New’ Malaysia of Pakatan Harapan. In the ‘Old’ Malaysia they crash your plane and wipe you out. In the ‘New’ Malaysia they charge you for treason and wipe you out. Either way you must never oppose the federal government and must never demand they return what they stole and is still stealing from your state. Or else they will wipe you out.

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In the ‘New’ Malaysia you cannot oppose the federal government just like in the ‘Old’ Malaysia

Deputy home minister Datuk Azis Jamman has chastised the eight activists who were arrested for staging a protest earlier this morning for taking their issues to the streets on Malaysia Day.

Calling it unnecessary, the MP also said one of the activists detained, Sabah Parti Amanah Negera Youth chief Mohd Khairudin Daud, should have known better than to stage a protest without a permit.

“Why must they protest today? As part of a government-friendly party, he should’ve known to use the proper channel to air his grievances. They are part of the system now.

“Write in to us and we will facilitate a roundtable discussion. That is the way to do it. They need to discard this opposition mentality of protesting and taking to the streets,” Azis told Malay Mail when contacted.

Amanah is part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition that governs Putrajaya and Sabah.

Azis also said that police action against the group showed that security enforcers did not take political sides when it comes to the law.

The plane crash that turned Sabah’s oil royalty from 20% to just 5%

Earlier today, eight participants of about 100-person crowd in the “Pandang Ke Sabah” rally, co-organised by several student groups were detained by police and allegedly manhandled while trying to disperse the crowd.

The detainees claimed to have been punched and many sustained injuries.

They were protesting for 10 demands including equal education rights, better public transport service and job opportunities for Sabahans.

Meanwhile, Sabah commissioner of police Datuk Omar Mammah denied that police had been violent with the protesters, and instead said that the group was being obstinate and refused to disperse when asked.

“I was not there but from what I was told, they were not dispersing despite being advised to repeatedly.

“They were marching with banners and under the law this is a protest, and they did not have a permit. My OCPD said that they were attracting a lot of attention. We had to stop it,” he said, using the initials for the district police chief.

When asked about claims of violence, Omar said that the police were trying to disperse the group but they were not following orders.

“What choice did we have? They refused to disperse. We were doing our job but I wouldn’t call it violence,” he said.

“Malaysia Day or not, we have to follow the law. It is a requirement that they get a permit,” said Omar when asked to comment on criticism that such an incident marred the significance of Malaysia Day.

The eight are expected to be released later today after having their statement taken.

 



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