If a political party, such as Parti Bumi Kenyalang, upfront declared that they are through constitution and international laws going for independence by peaceful means is it still need Sarawak people to show through Independence Referendum whether they want to remain in Malaysia if Parti Bumi Kenyalang managed to get Sarawak people majority support and become ruling political party in Sarawak after next Sarawak election? The answer is obvious.
(Dayak Daily - By Karen Bong)
KUCHING, Dec 11: Holding a referendum on Sarawak independence or autonomy is necessary to give closure to the issue as to why and how Malaysia came about and then, to move forward.
Highlighting this, senior lawyer Robert Lau Hui Yew opined that the question of whether Sarawak and Sabah wanted to be in Malaysia had never been properly asked or put to the people.
“In 1962-63, we jumped in making an assumption that the peoples of Sarawak and Sabah wanted to be in Malaysia. “In that rush job, two children were suddenly pushed in and Malaysia came about and no one clearly knows what actually happened. This is an unfinished work (in Malaysia).
“Now, that over 50 years (old) assumption is being challenged. How to challenge this is by way of a referendum,” he told reporters after the public talk titled ‘Sarawak Independence Referendum: Is There A Way Forward?’ held last night (Dec 10) for which he was one of the speakers. Lau, who is also Sibu Rural District Council deputy chairman, pointed out that the whole narrative of the said referendum has not been told and the present situation offers a good
opportunity to talk, learn and explore this topic.
“Even though referendum is not a topic (of discussion) in the Malay sia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and was mentioned only once in the Cobbold Commission 1962, but the United Nations (UN) Charter remains that every man has the right to free choice,” he explained. As such, he said the answer to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement that Sarawak and Sabah did not want independence but autonomy during the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, can be found by asking the people.
“Has Sarawak and Sabah been given that opportunity of free choice such as in the case of the autonomous region of Bougainville (which is part) of Papua New Guinea, in which some 200,000 people had been given that choice (to decide)? We are asking for the same thing,” he emphasised. “If the peoples of Sarawak and Sabah were never asked ‘do you want to be part of Malaysia’, you have to ask that question.
Source: Dayak Daily