No need for Nanta to resign, says Sarawak party

Parti Bumi Kenyalang president Voon Lee Shan said Nanta’s remarks in a radio interview expressing dissatisfaction about political discord between East and West Malaysia, merely reflected the frustration felt by many Sarawakians over unresolved issues.

Voon said there was no need for Nanta to resign from the federal Cabinet, where he is works minister, as his recent remarks did not breach the Federal Constitution or disclose classified information.

The call for Nanta’s resignation had come from Aziz Bari of Perak DAP, a former law professor, who said a minister should not openly express views that contradict Cabinet solidarity.

Voon said Nanta’s comments reflected the frustration felt by many Sarawakians after more than six decades of unresolved matters related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963, particularly in areas of development, autonomy and recognition.

“Voicing dissatisfaction or urging reflection on unresolved federal-State issues does not amount to sedition, nor does it automatically violate collective cabinet responsibility,” Dayak Daily reported him as saying today.

Last week, in an interview with BFM radio, Nanta had spoken out about the “constant quarrels and political bickering” in Peninsular Malaysia which led him to wonder whether “we were never meant to be one nation in the first place”.

Nanta said: “If we continue to quarrel over everything, then don’t blame us, don’t blame Sarawakians. If you don’t like us, just divorce us. Forget it.”

However, he said that as the grandson of Sarawak leader Jugah Barieng, a signatory to the Malaysia Agreement, he felt duty-bound to protect Malaysia. “But we must be respected, and we must be understood. We don’t want to waste our time on bickering,” he said.