KUCHING: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad must lead by example first, said Sarawak Patriots Association (SPA) chairman Datuk John Lau.
He welcomed the call by Dr Mahathir urging Sabah and Sarawak to think as Malaysians but “he should set the example first”.
“In this ‘Malaysian’ mentality, it means race and religion are secondary and therefore, race and religion should not dictate policies with regard to nation building, and this includes the economy of our country,” Lau said in a statement yesterday.
He said a good example is Singapore and Indonesia, where leaders of these two countries develop every corner of their countries irrespective of ethnicity and religion.
“Current Indonesian president Joko Widodo, in particular, is going all out to develop Indonesia including his ambitious plan to relocate the national capital to Kalimantan.”
Lau said although Malaysia was formed on Sept 16, 1963, Malaysia Day was not celebrated until recent years.
“And the Federal Constitution Article 160 stated that Malaysia was established under the Federation of Malaya Agreement 1957 rather than the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). We all know that Sabah and Sarawak did not participate in the Malaya Agreement 1957.
“It is an undisputed fact that Sarawakians and Sabahans are citizens of Malaysia. But from a few SPA surveys, it showed that there are some unhappiness among Sarawakians, that the original terms and conditions stated in MA63 have not been respected,” he stressed.
Lau explained that MA63 was enacted in 1963 with equal partnership between Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak.
“People in Sabah and Sarawak felt that the equal partnership can be better enhanced as they felt they have been marginalised from the main stream development, policies, decisions which will impact our country’s economic growth.
“Being equal partners, Sabah and Sarawak need to be involved in decision making as Sabah and Sarawak are different in terms of infrastructure from the Peninsular,” he said.
Lau stressed that national leaders from Peninsular Malaysia must learn from Sarawak how Sarawakians can live in unity and harmony in diversity irrespective of race and religion.
“As the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Senator P. Waytha Moorthy, said, Sarawak is the most united state in Malaysia because of mutual respect and coexistence among the people.”
