(13 July 2025 | Kuching & Melbourne) The President of the Sabah Sarawak Rights – Australia New Zealand (SSRANZ), Mr Robert Pei, has strongly condemned the Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan (MBKS) for imposing arbitrary, last-minute, and potentially unconstitutional restrictions on the planned 722 public event commemorating Sarawak’s political history and paying tribute to the late Chief Minister Adenan Satem (Tok Nan).

Mr Pei described the MBKS directive as “outrageous, cowardly, and a disgrace to Sarawak’s democratic aspirations.”

Rather than supporting freedom of expression, MBKS has chosen to behave “like a colonial gatekeeper imposing censorship on the people’s right to remember and reflect on their political journey.”

Among the most troubling conditions imposed on the organisers were:
 A prohibition on all vehicle displays and the release of pigeons;
 A ban on the display of the Sarawak Crown flag, also known as the Fairland flag, despite it being legally recognised under the Sarawak Flag and Emblems Ordinance, and even on the Malaysian Coat of Arms from 1963 to 1973.
 A gag order forbidding mention of any political names, history, or even symbolic representation—an effective attempt to erase the political context of the event.

“This is authoritarianism dressed up as municipal protocol,” said Mr Pei. “What is MBKS so afraid of—that the public might be reminded that Sarawak never truly completed its decolonisation process and was annexed into Malaysia without a valid treaty?”

He clarified that 22 July 1963 was not Sarawak’s true date of independence—as is often misleadingly implied by state and federal narratives—but merely the date on which the British appointed Stephen Kalong Ningkan and his Cabinet to prepare for the formation of Malaysia. Sarawak was never granted full sovereignty nor allowed to exercise its right to self-determination under international law.

“The so-called Sarawak Independence Day was in fact the British installation of a client government—under emergency law and without a referendum—to facilitate the transfer of power to Malaya under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which itself remains contested and arguably void.”

Before 22 July 1963, the Sarawak Council Negri had in fact unanimously adopted the Crown Flag as the state flag on 9 March 1963 in anticipation of Sarawak’s absorption into Malaysia.

Mr Pei further pointed out that MBKS’s suppression of the Fairland Crown Flag shows deliberate hostility toward Sarawak’s historical identity. He questioned whose instructions MBKS is acting on, and whether it is aligned with those who wish to erase Sarawak’s pre-Malaysia identity altogether.

He reminded MBKS that their own predecessors in the Kuching Municipal Council (KMC) of 1965 had the courage to unanimously demand a referendum when the Malaysia project began to collapse—after Singapore’s secession in 1965 and the ouster of Chief Minister Ningkan.

“Back then, KMC stood up for Sarawak’s democratic rights. Today, MBKS bans flags and pigeons. What happened to our civic spine?”

Finally, Mr Pei noted the irony that MBKS continues to use the inaccurate term "Sarawak Day" instead of the legally gazetted "Sarawak Independence Day", which the late Tok Nan had officially declared in 2016.

“This is a disservice to Tok Nan’s legacy and an insult to Sarawakian memory. The public deserves better than sanitised historical revisionism enforced by unelected officials.”

SSRANZ calls on all Sarawakians to remain vigilant, to speak out, and to assert their history and rights. July 22 should not be a politically policed event—it should be a time of critical remembrance and courage.

SSRANZ further urges the 722 organisers to consider pursuing legal action against MBKS to challenge the arbitrary and politically motivated restrictions imposed on the event. Such constraints may constitute an unlawful interference with the constitutional rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and cultural identity under both Sarawak’s and Malaysia’s legal frameworks, and violate principles of administrative fairness and good governance.

The organisers had duly notified MBKS well in advance, and the event was to be conducted peacefully, lawfully, and in good faith. The last-minute imposition of sweeping conditions without adequate consultation or justification is not only unjust—it is arguably illegal and unconstitutional.
SSRANZ supports the organisers in insisting that they retain the right to conduct the event as originally notified, including the lawful display of Sarawak's historical Crown flag, educational references to Sarawak’s political status, and the proper use of the term "Sarawak Independence Day" as gazetted by the State Government in 2016.

“This is not just about flags and pigeons—it’s about our dignity, our rights, and our history,” said Robert Pei. “We must not allow bureaucratic cowardice or political censorship to rewrite our identity.”

Issued by:
Robert Pei
President, Sabah Sarawak Rights Australia New Zealand (SSRANZ)
13 Jul 2025