By Voon Lee Shan, President, Parti Bumi Kenyalang
KOTA KINABALU: I note with interest the recent round-table discussion involving several prominent figures and presidents of local political parties in Sabah.
These leaders gathered to voice their concerns about Sabah’s future following the 17th Sabah State Election, expressing ambitions centred on safeguarding Sabah’s rights—summed up in the familiar message, “Sabah First.”
A key question arises: If these parties succeed in forming the next Sabah Government, can they truly deliver on this promise?
In my humble view, the political landscape may remain unchanged.
The new administration risks becoming another circus—leaders performing to justify their positions while the people, many unfamiliar with the complexities of federalism, may again be misled.
History shows that the public often becomes like sheep led to the slaughter by their shepherds.
There is genuine concern that any incoming Sabah Government may function as a puppet administration subject to federal control.
As in the past, Sabah leaders may find themselves pleading with the federal government for funds or for changes to policies detrimental to Sabah.
These efforts will remain challenging so long as financial resources and development policies for Sabah and Sarawak are centrally controlled and determined by the federal government.
It is well understood that the “federal government of Malaysia” operates, in effect, as the federal government of Malaya.
This is a reality difficult to dispute, and there is little incentive for Malaya to permit any change that might weaken its dominance over Sabah and Sarawak.
Without Sabah retaining control over its own revenue—rather than having it extracted by the federal government—the next Sabah Government will have limited ability to improve the state’s condition.
Slogans such as “Sabah First” and “Sabah for Sabahans” risk becoming mere rhetoric unless Sabah can stand independently within or outside the existing federation.
Sabahans should also be aware that, according to Lord Lansdowne, Chairman of the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC), Sabah and Sarawak possess an intrinsic right to exit the federation should they no longer be satisfied with the arrangement.
Furthermore, Tunku Abdul Rahman acknowledged in a book, Conversations
With TUNKU Abdul Rahman, mentioned
that rather than granting true independence, Sabah and Sarawak were effectively handed over to Malaya by the British—reinforcing arguments that Sabah and Sarawak function as colonies of Malaya.
Since there is an intrinsic right to exit from Malaysia, Parti Bumi Kenyalang begs Sabahans to support the party so the Parti Bumi Kenyalang can lend support to the Sabah Government to fight for better deals for Sabah.
History has shown that colonial powers often extract the natural resources, revenues, and manpower of their colonies for their own benefit, rather than for the wellbeing of the colonised.
