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Take us seriously, Abdullah tells Putrajaya

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Abdullah Saidol

KUCHING: Sarawak will not use hostile approach in negotiating to get back its rights as enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), but wants the federal government to take the state seriously.

Corporate Affairs Assistant Minister, Abdullah Saidol said the recent remarks by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that by giving 20 per cent of oil royalty to Sarawak will kill Petronas, this shows the federal government does not understand the state’s seriousness in the MA63 negotiation.

“We are no ask asking anything more than what is being stipulated in the Federal Constitution (FC) or MA63, all this initiative by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) led government is all about restoring back some of the important elements of our rights and interests.

“This is because we need to make Sarawak’s economy and coffers strong and because most of the infrastructures are managed and paid by the state government,” he told reporters when met after the launch of Sarawak Beyond Paradigm Summit 2019 at Pullman Hotel here, yesterday.

He said the federal government is not giving much funds to the state now, and what choice does the state has?

Abdullah Saidol

“The tone of the prime minister’s statement and statement by Minister of Finance that Sarawak will go bankrupt showed that they are taking us for granted.

“I suggest to the federal government to take us seriously because such hostile statements can rile up negative sentiments of Sarawakians and we don’t know how it is going to be like,” he said.

He added that the state wants to see results from the negotiations before the end of the year.

When asked if Sarawakians are frustrated, it can lead to them calling for a referendum Abdullah said he would not dismiss such kind of sentiment among the people.

“But in GPS, we try our best not to let hostile politics come to the surface. That is why the federal government must take us seriously and not to make statements that will make our negotiations fragile or look fake,” he said.

He added that the people wanted to see convincing results from the negotiations.

“And we cannot avoid the voice of the people if it becomes louder. We still want to be in Malaysia, but our relationship must be strengthened,” he stressed.

He also said the federal government should not threaten the people with the Sedition Act.

“That is not a diplomatic tone. If you are really a Malaysia Baru, don’t be like that. By doing so is like Malaysia Lama like he was the fourth prime minister.”

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