On M'sia Day, BN and Pakatan jostle for East M'sia
Moontime:
Let's take a moment to reflect. Pakatan Rakyat promises change for the
benefit of Sabahans and Sarawakians. BN would like to maintain the
status quo.For over 49 years, this status quo has resulted in many 'records' - chief among them: highest poverty rate, highest influx of foreigners and highest income disparity among the populace. Are we proud of these records? Definitely no!
These people deserve to be better treated as equal partners and not be subjugated by leaders from the peninsula.
Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, "Better the devil you know than the angel that you don't." What this dinosaur failed to mention is that the 'devil' had wreaked havoc on the aspirations and dreams of the people and their patience have grown thin.
It's time to choose the 'angel' and see what they can do to improve the lives of Sabahans and Sarawakians. These people definitely deserve better. Let's welcome the winds of change in Sabah and Sarawak.
Geronimo: Just having a ceremony to announce the Kuching Declaration is not good enough. Banners, posters and flyers must be put up at all strategic points in the state, along with home to home, shop to shop distribution of the flyers.
We understand that Pakatan resources are pretty constrained, but it must be done if we want to topple the Taib Mahmud government enroute to Putrajaya. All these activities must start at the branch-divisional levels of Pakatan.
In Sun Tzu's ‘Art of War', the great general said, "If your army is smaller than your enemies, move your soldiers around to create the illusion that your army is greater than theirs, and strike at their weak points. You will win the battle."
Odin: All (in alphabetical order) Bidayuhs, Christian Melanaus, Ibans, Kayans, Kelabits, Kenyahs, Muruts, Penans, Punans, Selakos, Ukits, etc, who know about this Kuching Declaration must spread the news to all they know, particularly those in the interior.
The declaration will ensure a much brighter future for Sarawakians, and that the only way to see all that happens is to vote the Pakatan.
Enough of poverty. Enough of having your land grabbed. Enough of not having piped water and power. Enough of being deceived and cheated of what is rightfully yours. Enough of being treated like you are third-class citizens.
Paul Warren: After all this, I hope Sarawakians and Sabahans will not sell out for RM50. At the very least, they should hike it to RM1,000, otherwise they deserve everything they get, which is nothing, and their heritage forfeited by the plunderers in their states.
TC Chan: I think Pakatan's seven-point declaration is a good start but it should not end there as 20 percent of the oil revenue is not good enough.
The people's of Sabah and Sarawak should be given ownership of their own natural resources and they should not be told that they would be given 20 percent or any percentage.
I would argue that it is for Sabah and Sarawak to decide what percentage of oil revenue they would voluntarily contribute to the federal coffers.
Sabah, Sarawak: Overdrawn at the vote bank
Onyourtoes: Let's cut the long story short. Sabah and Sarawak have always been treated as the step cousins of those in Peninsula Malaysia. The two state governments have always been subservient to the federal government.
If you are in doubt, just ask Stephen Kalong Ningkan and Joseph Pairin Kitingan. Some have said the current Sarawak CM is invincible and "untouchable". No, that is not the case; the Sarawak CM was and is powerful simply because the federal government has nurtured and allowed it.
Of course, after 308 (March 8, 2008), the equation changed and that was because Peninsular Malaysia is now divided right in the middle, not because Sabah and Sarawak have discovered their hidden power.
Dr Suresh Kumar: The time is ripe now for our East Malaysian brethren to take advantage of politicians scrambling to the east to get their mandate.
Many factors such as poverty, illiteracy, poor leadership, poor infrastructure, etc, had contributed to their ignorance and naivety that led to Umno-BN being able to control them for almost five decades.
They now need a sincere and honest leader who will have their welfare and well-being in his heart to give them a rude awakening, lest they will be colonised by another political party for its own selfish political agenda.
Starr: The people from the two Borneo states irrespective of their origins, are historically different from the people of Peninsular Malaya, and hence their social, economic and political outlook.
Brunei initially included in the formation, had opted out at the eleventh hour and rightly so, on the advice of the British officers because of their significant commercial interests.
In light of this, the Borneo states should never have been included in the formation if not for the collusion of the British Commonwealth Office in London, Malaya and Singapore to coerce the two states into joining. Ironically, the local British officers then were against the idea.
After Merdeka, instead of honouring the Malaysia Agreement, the states were being subtlety assimilated through the politics of federalism.
Headhunter: How astute Commander S Thayaparan's observation is. We Sarawakians had never felt we are truly independent.
Even at the onset of joining Malaya, there were much antagonism when Malayan troops were sent to the state. They acted like conquering soldiers and this angered the locals so much that they hate the sight of Malay soldiers.
Worse was to come when BN started to replace local senior civil servants with Malayans. The latest insult comes from former chief justice Zaki Azmi, who is chairperson of the Special Review Commission on Civil Service Transformation.
He's not even aware that there are many well-qualified Dayaks in Sarawak who are unemployed. Less qualified Malays are preferred over them.
As for Chinese and the rest, there's not even the slightest chance of entering the service. So much so that if a Chinese apply for a government post, he would be laughed at for being naive.
So the situation today is no different from the earlier days of ‘Independence'. What's there for us celebrate on Sept 16?
Abasir: Headhunter asked, "What's there for us celebrate on Sept 16?"
Umno's honest answer (if that were ever possible) would be, "We celebrate our acquisition of these territories by promises we never intended to keep; we celebrate our ability to blatantly extract all that wealth under the noses of the very docile natives while urging them to be patient during the extraction; we celebrate our partnership with the many quislings we have managed to ferret out from the undergrowth and crevices of these verdant territories; we celebrate the possibility of many more years of exploitation ... while the natives wait in hope."
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