Continue to put Sabah’s rights in place – Jeffrey

KOTA KINABALU (Aug 26): The word “State” or “Negeri” should be omitted when referring to Sabah, said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan.

“It should be Sabah only. The Sabah Government, Sabah region,” he said when asked by reporters if the term “State” as in the 12th State in Malaysia still applied to Sabah.

Most reports in publications in Malaysia still recognised Sabah as a State and used terms such as “the Sabah State Chief Minister” and so on, instead of just “Sabah Chief Minister”.

Jeffrey informed that Sabah is already recognised as a region by the Federal Government.

“Even Sarawak uses Sarawak only,” he said.

He added he will bring the matter up at the Sabah Cabinet so that an official announcement would be made.

“Simply use ‘Sabah’. There’s no need to add ‘negeri’,” he said during the Sabah Day celebration press conference on Monday.

He added that the media should adopt this with immediate effect.

Jeffrey, who is STAR Sabah president, also said the people of Sabah must continue to persevere and be determined to put Sabah’s rights in place.

“Over time, it will become a reality,” he said.

“I am truly grateful to Dr Mahathir (fourth and seventh Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) because he can change, he can understand and became the leader who was willing to implement these rights, although not all of them are yet to be realised. This is progress,” Jeffrey said.

He added that he still recalled Mahathir saying prior to his (Jeffrey’s) detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) that Sabah was at par with Perlis, and later, when Mahathir became the Prime Minister for the second time, he changed his perception and informed Jeffrey and other leaders that it was wrong to compare Sabah to Perlis and Sabah is equal partner to Sarawak and Malaya.

“When he (Mahathir) became the Prime Minister for the second time, he set up the MA63 (Malaysia Agreement 1963 Steering Committee) committee. This means he has come to a realisation and wants those rights to be fulfilled.”

He added prior to his arrest under ISA, Mahathir was against him teaching the people of Sabah what they did not know.

“He said Jeffrey, don’t teach the people what they don’t know,” said Jeffrey.

“This means: if we had a bet, I have already won as he has implemented what he told me not to teach,” he added.

Jeffrey also urged Sabah leaders to be louder in claiming the return of Sabah’s 40 percent revenue interim payment from the Federal Government.

“It hasn’t been paid all these while because we don’t have enough voice,” he said.

He reminded that Sabah is losing when the 40 percent is not returned as it could be used to develop her rapidly, instead of being used to bring development in West Malaysia.

“What we do not realise is it should be used to develop us. That is why Sabah is poor. I hope with this understanding, our leaders will embrace our claim and become more effective in claiming what is ours. Don’t be afraid to claim our money. Sometimes, when we are given loans to solve something such as water, if we realise when it comes to loans, we must pay back but the money for the loan is our own money. If we realise, (we) have to pay our own money,” he said.

Jeffrey also urged Malaysians, and more importantly, the people of Sabah, to know the signifinance of Sabah Day.

“Sabah Day is another history that needs to be understood by the people of Malaysia, especially the people of Sabah,” he said.

He added that Sabah Day is a forgotten history and had remained largely unknown to many people, including Sabahans.

He said the Fathers of Independence in Sabah focused on gaining independence from her colonial masters.

“They did not want to be colonised again. They wanted to speed it up. They asked for intervention from the United Nations and this prolonged the process to set up Malaysia until 16 September 1963,” he said.

Jeffrey noted that strangely, the MA63 was signed on 9 July 1963, when Sabah, then North Borneo, was still a colony of the British Crown Colony.

“On August 8, 1963, the Borneo Legislative Council, through the elected leaders, unanimously decided to declare Sabah’s independence on 31 August 1963.”

“The decision for Sabah’s independence on 31 August received the blessing of the British which gave in writing their agreement to give in to Sabah’s demand for self rule on 31st August,” he said.

Jeffrey stressed the importance of the “forgotten history of Sabah Day” as it formed that basis for Sabah’s claim to be recognised as at par with Sarawak and with Tanah Melayu, a claim that has since materialised.

“If before we were considered as the 12th State … in the political process in Malaysia, we have been recognised whereby Sabah’s status and Sarawak are regions and no longer the 12th state. This is a positive development, and Malaysia can become more prosperous where we are considered as equal partners,” he said.

“We will be able to claim our rights more effectively,” he said.

Jeffrey also said he wants everyone, including leaders from the central government, to understand more deeply the meaning of Malaysia and Sabah Day.

“If 16th (September) did not exist, Sabah will be alone at the United Nations. But our leaders were faithful to the Malaysia project … I am confident that our leaders were faithful to the partnership where we are equal partners,” he said.