KUCHING: Well, by all means, if my quest to fight for my beloved State of Sarawak should land me in jail, why not?
You would not believe the above statement was made by a lady!
So, who is she? Well, she definitely is a lady with plenty of guts to say so. And most of all, she is willing to give all her unconditional love to the ‘Land of Hornbills’.
She is none other than Lina Soo. She is a petite and sweet person, and one who sets her priority straight. Currently, she is the President of Star Reform Party (STAR), an opposition party in Sarawak.
New Sarawak Tribune was eager to know about Lina’s strong will and determination to fight for Sarawak’s right, and decided to interview her.
When asked how old she is, she answered with a laugh: “Well a lady’s age is always a secret!”
Lina went to SMK St. Mary’s in Kuching, and went on to pursue a Master degree in Business Adminstration (MBA) from Leicester University in England.
She has a daughter who is currently working in Singapore.
In 2013, Robert Pei, a Sarawak-born lawyer practicing in Australia sent Lina the declassified colonial documents to study, and gave her his research papers on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). Lina then started to scrutinise them and did more research on MA63.
She studied the British documents and later wrote her first book, ‘Sarawak, The Real Deal’ which was published and released on Sept 24, 2013. The book’s released date was in line with the founding date of Sarawak, which was on Sept 24, 1841. It is based upon the British documents and Sarawak gazetted records.
In 2016, she decided to join STAR. Before that, she was with the then Malaya-based opposition party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and later, Sarawak United Peoples’s Party (SUPP).
Q: What influenced you to join politics?
A: I grew up in the era of the formation of Malaysia, and when MA63 was formed. I was still young at that time, and didn’t quite know what it was about. It all started in 2013, when I began to show interest to learn more about MA63, and came to realise that the book is the only weapon that could save Sarawak.
My main reason and purpose of joining politics is to help gain back what belongs to Sarawak, and also to create public awareness on MA63 among Sarawakians.
Q: How have you managed to create the awareness and what challenges did you face at the initial stages?
A: I started to give public talks on MA63 and the formation of Malaysia in 2013 which were held in Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, and Kuala Lumpur.
I was doing it as the President of Sarawak Association of People’s Aspiration (SAPA), which is a Sarawak NGO for Sarawak rights.
Then in November 2014, the former Minister of Home Affairs Dato Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi deregistered SAPA and claimed that the association was a threat to public order and security.
The challenges were there; each time I held a public talk on MA63, the Special Branch would track and interrogate me. And I had to give a police statement after the talk.
But that didn’t stop me and other members. We went to the High Court and Appeal Court to set aside the Home Minister’s order, and we won twice. Now, the case is pending before the Federal Court. Since we have a new government that is in power, we will request the Home Affairs Ministry to withdraw their appeal.
Q: Do you think many are aware of it now?
A: Yes, it took me five years to talk about MA63. I believe many are aware of it already and are more politically matured now.
The youths especially, they have been starting to learn and educate themselves on MA63.
I will still continue to create more awareness on MA63 and hope more youths and the public at large will take the time to study about it.
Q: What made you decide to join PKR and SUPP, and then left?
A: I only joined PKR for a while and then left because Malaya party interests are not compatible with Sarawak interests.
On SUPP, I joined the party also for short while and left because I realised the leaders were not working for the people effectively. Today some of those leaders are no longer in the party due to election defeats.
Q: Why STAR?
A: All political parties are good as they share similar objectives of what to fight for justice, fairness, improve the economic standards, and to empower the people.
However, it depends on the leaders to make a difference, whether they are fighting for the people or for personal interest.
“A political party is like a knife. The knife can be used to save a life in surgery or it can be used to injure or kill.”
I fell in love with STAR because it is a party for Sarawakians who love Sarawak. The party is a struggling party with financial constraints as it does not have any tycoon or businessmen to donate to it.
STAR members love their party, and of course Sarawak. We share the bond of passion for our State (note that Sarawak is a country within the Federation of Malaysia).
In STAR, we struggle for Sarawak’s rights, interest, territorial integrity, pride, and internal sovereignty.
For having the same vision, that is what binds STAR members.
Q: Any big plans for STAR?
A: Founded in October 1996, STAR currently has more than 5,000 members throughout Sarawak.
We are small now, but we are consistent in our political beliefs and agenda, and are getting more support from throughout Sarawak.
You see, Rome was not built in a day. We are confident that more Sarawakians will be attracted to STAR to share the same aspirations for a stronger Sarawak in terms of economic and political rights. And for the sake of our future generations!
Q: What values do you uphold in continuing to fight for Sarawak?
A: Consistency and belief in doing what is right for the people and country.
To quote former United States President John F. Kenny, “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”
