KUCHING: State Reform Party (STAR) will focus on an Independence Referendum for Sarawak as its core agenda for the forthcoming state election.
Its president Lina Soo said, “This will give the power of the vote to the people to choose and determine our future.
“It is our self-determination right whereby we have the right to choose and decide on our sovereignty.”
She cited a cardinal principle of self-determination where it is codified in the United Nations (UN) Charter Article 1 and Article 55 in 1945 and is an established legal doctrine in international law.
“It states that permanent population of a defined territory has the inalienable right to decide their political, cultural and economic future.
“One of the common questions asked is whether Sarawak can hold an independence referendum as there is no referendum law. The answer is yes, as this is due to the supremacy of Parliament to make or unmake laws.
“Such referendum is a ‘Yes-or-No’ vote for independence or continued union in a larger political entity such as a federation,” she explained.
Adding that there is no need for a referendum law to have an independence referendum, she said it could be held if the State Legislative Assembly wants it and can pass the Sarawak Independence Referendum Ordinance.
She explained that an independence referendum is a voting process where citizens can choose to decide whether the territory should become an independent sovereign state.
She stressed that no political party or government could decide for its citizens except through a free and fair balloting process by popular vote.
“The best way is to negotiate and get the blessing of the federal government.
“In today’s world, we do it law by law and peacefully. Let the people decide, vote and choose whether they want our sovereignty to be restored,” she said in a press conference here yesterday.
Soo believed that Sarawakians are now politically mature and ready to make an informed decision to determine the sovereignty and future of the state.
