KUCHING: Sarawak Independence Day is a day for Sarawakians to cherish.
“This is a day for us to hold our heads high and be counted as Sarawakians first,” said Batu Kitang assemblyman Lo Khere Chiang in his Sarawak Day message yesterday.
“We are in a unique state with rich resources; something we should be thankful for, as Sarawak is host to the highest variety of ethnic races and yet we show the world how closely knit we all are.
“We are able to live, work and make merry together, joining in the many different festivals.
“On our 57th anniversary, my hope is to see that the federal government will look into making sure that we have one-third representation of all the seats in parliament,” he added.
Lo pointed out that during the formation of Malaysia with Singapore, Sarawak, Sabah, Malaya, each state was given one-third of the MP seats.
However, after Singapore opted out in 1965, the seats that belonged to Singapore were all taken by Malaya.
“We sincerely believe that the new federal government will keep its word and return to us what is due to us.
“We can enjoy better infrastructure if the federal government makes good the deal to return what belongs to us.”
Lo also pointed out that Sarawak Independence Day was gazetted by the state government in 2016 as a public holiday to raise awareness about Sarawak’s past and contributions of its past leaders.
“Our first prime minister, the father of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman said that the days of imperialism would be when the Borneo territories became part of Malaysia. They would cease to be colonies and be partners of equal status, no more or no less than the other states.
“But saying is one thing, as Malaya since then has not treated us fairly.
“We got little from our own oil and gas, a mere five percent, while we lost autonomy in our education, health and even security matters.
“We used to have our own Sarawak Rangers to patrol our borders and their services had sadly long been dispensed of,” added the Batu Kitang assemblyman.
