Parti Rakyat Borneo (PRB), anyone?

Someone from Sabah inquired from me today whether it is possible for Kadazans and Dayaks to form a regional party, say Parti Rakyat Borneo. Or is there any other suitable name?

“The party will be based in Sarawak and to be headed by a Dayak Christian with a fair representation from both sides,” he said, and added that it should preferably be a multi-racial party.

He said: “We must try the never tried before one party and I want to shatter all mentality blocks among us in East Malaysia.

“I admit it is not easy to accomplish it, but let us give ourselves a chance to ponder on our broken brotherhood,” he said.

The idea was not the first. Daniel Tajem made a suggestion in 2000 soon after he returned from New Zealand where he spent five years as Malaysian High Commissioner. But his suggestion was shot down by Leo Moggie, then the president of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) and James Masing. At the time, Moggie and Masing were like inseparable twins.

Tajem also made a suggestion that if a regional party between Sabah and Sarawak could not be formed, then they should seriously consider merging PBDS with SNAP in order to strengthen Dayak unity.

That idea was also shot down by the two men, claimed Tajem and pointed out that they disliked the idea as they were living in “comfortable zones” at the time, (and still are today).

In view of the recent calls for justice and equality for the people of Sabah and Sarawak as promised in the 20/18 points in the Malaysian Agreement it is good that we explore this suggestion further. Without Sabah, Sarawak cannot fight for justice and equal partnership alone. Likewise, without Sarawak, Sabah cannot do it alone.

Now, what is our response to the Sabahan suggestion? – The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

State rights: Sarawak BN messed up ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/107975

Sarawak PKR chief Dominique Ng rebuked the state's tourism minister Michael Manyin for saying that the basic rights of the state as contained in the 20-point Malaysia Agreement would be lost if Pakatan Rakyat were to form the government.

"It was the Sarawak BN that had partially traded off immigration powers as provided for in the 20-point Malaysia Agreement when the requirement for passports or filling immigration forms for Malaysians from other states coming into Sarawak was abolished in 2005," he said.

Ng, the state assemblyperson for Padungan, added: "Instead the state BN government is on record for having abused immigration powers of the state to stop opposition leaders from entering the state.

"In contrast to the BN government, a future PR government in Sarawak will ensure that the posts of director of labour, senior assistant director, assistant director and all of the senior labour posts will be filled by Sarawakians or long term residents married to Sarawakians.

"Labour interests in Sarawak can only be looked into by local officers with special understanding of labour matters," he said.


'BN abolished use of English'

Ng explained that the use of English as an official language in the state was a right clearly stated in the Malaysia agreement.

“It was abolished by the BN government in the mid-80s, much to the detriment of educational progress in Sarawak," he said.

The BN government, added Ng, had presided over the unfair distribution of natural resources.

Forty-six years after independence, the people of Sarawak are still being given 5 percent of the oil profits as royalty, though Sarawak is a major oil-producing state.

"Poverty in Sarawak is among the highest, and development of Sarawak is lagging far behind the rest of the nation," he said.

Manyin had warned the people that they stood to lose many of their fundamental rights as Sarawakians if they wanted change for the sake of change.

"I feel disturbed by some Sarawakians who call for a change of government and leadership using peninsula-based Pakatan Rakyat as their political platform.

"This is dangerous because it could result in Sarawak losing its rights as contained in the 20-point agreement when it helped to form Malaysia in 1963," he said.


Absurd claims by minister

Manyin added that some areas in the agreement were meant to give Sarawakians a head-start over their more advanced West Malaysian counterparts.

Meanwhile, Ng said Sarawak's representation in the federal cabinet had declined, especially the absence of representation from the minister's own Bidayuh community.

"Should he not first champion the interests of his own community at the federal level?

"He will not get anywhere trying to deflect the neglect of his own community by his absurd claims about a possible PR government in Sarawak in future," he stressed.

Ng assured that a future PR government in Sarawak as promised by Anwar Ibrahim, the PKR de facto leader, would respect the agreed rights of people of Sabah and Sarawak and bestow an improved level of state autonomy.

The PR government would also improve the representation of the two states in the federal cabinet by creating a second deputy prime minister to be filled by a Sabah or Sarawak Malaysian.

It will also improve the presence of officers from the two states in the foreign and diplomatic service; raise the oil royalty from the current 5 percent to 20 percent and provide a modern highway for Sarawak and narrow the development gap between East and Peninsula Malaysia.

"What is the BN government offering Sarawak in comparison?" Ng asked.