THE EAST-WEST DIVIDE

A Federation of Independent Malay States in the making

Thursday, 19 June 2008

And this is what the federal government has been doing all this while. It unilaterally changes the terms of the agreement and forces the states to agree to these changes. If also forces the states to sign contracts that are one-sided and a breach of the Federation Agreement or the 20-point Agreement.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Malaysia Today

Kedah approves logging activities
By EMBUN MAJID, The Star

The Kedah Government has approved logging activities at the Pedu, Muda and Ahning dam catchment areas, a move that is expected to generate about RM16 billion in revenue for the state. Mentri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak said the move was necessary to cover the high expenditure incurred by the state following the petrol price increase.

He added that the state would call for tenders soon and award the logging contract to the highest bidder. “We will discuss the logging method to be used with the Forestry Department,” he told newsmen after chairing the state executive council meeting yesterday.

He added that the Federal Government had promised to pay an annual compensation of RM100 million in 2003 following the state’s decision to cancel its proposed heli-harvesting project to log timber in catchment areas. “However, until now the payment has not been made. We have also asked the Federal Government for financial assistance for the water supply to Penang and Perlis and for the rice we are producing for the country. Since the Government cannot assist us financially, we will carry on with the logging activities,” Azizan added.

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This is what happens when the federal government squeezes the opposition-led states and denies it the funding it requires. The federal government seems to forget that the granting of funds to the states should not be tied to which political party is running those states. The granting of funds to the states is a clause in the Federation Agreement.

At one time, the Malay states were independent and were known as the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, or the Unfederated Malay States. Then they all agreed to merge into the Federation of Malaya. In doing so the states agreed to relinquish certain rights like national defence, security and foreign policy while they retained certain rights like land matters, natural resources and religion. Each state would then be given an annual grant plus loans for development, calculated based on the size of its population.

These were the terms agreed in the Federation Agreement and which was the basis for all the states to merge under the Federation of Malaya. And any first-year law student can tell you that an agreement made on the basis of mutual consent can no doubt be changed with the signing of a supplementary agreement, but must also be based on mutual consent. One party can’t unilaterally change the terms of the agreement without the consent of the other party. In the event one party violates the terms of the agreement, then the aggrieved party can either give notice for the termination of the agreement or sue for specific performance, with or without damages (unless there is a specific clause in the agreement that stipulates what happens when there is a breach -- like going for international arbitration, etc.).

Therefore, in this spirit, the federal government has no choice but to give the states grants and loans for development. If the federal government fails to do so then, for all intents and purposes, the federal government has violated the terms of the Federation. And the states will therefore also have no choice but to fend for themselves the best way they can -- which will include cutting down all the trees to turn them into much-needed cash with which to pay for the cost of running the states and to finance development.

Oil and gas is a state resource. Under the terms of the Federation Agreement, oil and gas, which is a state resource, belongs to the states, 100% (just like water, timber, tin, iron, gold, coal, etc.). However, in 1974, the federal government nationalised oil and gas and then forced all the 13 states to sign an agreement with Petronas -- whereby the newly created national oil company will become the owner of all the oil in gas and the states would just enjoy a 5% ‘commission’. Later, the states were forced to sign a supplementary agreement stating that the 5% ‘commission’ would be officially and legally called ‘royalty’.

The states really had no choice in the matter. This was not mutually agreed. What the federal government did was to pass a law in Parliament called the Petroleum Development Act 1974. By law, the states had to relinquish all rights over oil and gas and the federal government, through Petronas, took what belonged to the states ‘by force’. That not being enough, the federal government even violated the Petroleum Development Act plus also the agreement that the states were forced to sign with Petronas. In 2000, the federal government cancelled the 5% royalty due to Terengganu and handed it over to Umno to manage. And they also changed the name ‘royalty’ to ‘goodwill money’ -- which does not appear anywhere in the Petroleum Development Act or the agreement the states were forced to sign with Petronas.

Yes, the federal government has, time and time again, violated the terms of the Federation Agreement. And they violated it again in 1974 by nationalising a state resource -- oil and gas. And they violated it yet again in 2000 by cancelling the 5% royalty in spite of the 5% being morally wrong in the first place (but made legally right through an Act of Parliament). And now, after the 8 March 2008 general election, the federal government is up to its tricks again by denying the opposition-led states the funds it is legally obligated to give the states.

Sure, the states can’t send the federal government a notice of breach of agreement with 30 days notice to terminate the federation or to sue the federal government for specific performance and possibly for damages as well. But it can do the next best thing. The states still have land, water, timber, tin, gold, iron, coal, and much more. The jungles bordering Kedah, Perak and Kelantan are rich in resources, much of it explored but untouched since the beginning of time. The states can open up these lands and exploit whatever they can find there, timber included. The states have no choice but to do this. But what a great loss to the world when after some time not a single tree is left standing in this country and Malaysia eventually turns into a hot desert and Malaysia’s contribution to global warming will turn this world into a mess.

What will happen when there are no longer any trees in the catchment areas? Well, there will no longer be any rain and the dams will dry up. Then water will cost more than petrol like in Saudi Arabia. And this will happen because Umno wants to punish the opposition-led states by denying it funds although, when these states joined the Federation of Malaysia in 1957, it was agreed that the states would receive funding and the agreement did not say that funding will be given only on condition that Umno rules these states.

Sabah too has been expressing its unhappiness all these many years but the grumblings of the Sabahans have fallen on deaf ears. But Sabahans no longer want to take any shit just like how the Sultan of Terengganu decided he too will no longer take any shit and he made this very clear by rejecting Umno’s choice of Menteri Besar. Now, Umno is going to return the 5% oil royalty it stole from Terengganu since 2000. But Terengganu does not want just the 2008 royalty. They want the royalty stolen since 2000, which comes to about RM7 billion, or RM8 billion with this year’s included.

Okay, if Umno does not want the eight Members of Parliament and 28 State Assemblymen from Terengganu to leave Barisan Nasional and become ‘independents’, then the federal government has to hand over RM8 billion this year. If not, then Terengganu Darul Ehsan will become the Independent Sultanate of Terengganu. The ball is at Umno’s feet.

Sabah too is pressing for the federal government to not only honour the Federation Agreement but the 20-point Agreement as well. Under the 20-point Agreement, Sabah is not one of the states of Malaysia equivalent to Kedah, Kelantan, Penang, Perak or Selangor. Sabah is equivalent to Malaya.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about the matter:

The 20-point Agreement was written for the main purpose of safeguarding the interests, rights, and the autonomy of the people of Sabah upon entering the Federation of Malaysia. It was originally envisaged that Sabah will be one of the four entities in the Federation, the others being Malaya, Singapore, and Sarawak. However, as times passed, Sabah and Sarawak ended up being merely one of the 13 states in the Federation.

Many do not understand this very important fact. Sabah is not a state as such. Sabah is of the same status as Malaya. Sabah lawyers can freely practice in Kuala Lumpur but Kuala Lumpur lawyers need permission to practice in Sabah. Sabahans can freely travel to West Malaysia but West Malaysians can be denied entry into Sabah (once upon a time West Malaysians needed to show their international passport before they could enter Sabah).

Is this unfair and smacks of double standards? This was what was agreed when Sabah teamed up with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore to form Malaysia. Whether it is fair or not is not the issue. The issue is: this was what was agreed and if it is not fair then why agree to it? You can’t agree to something, fair or unfair, just to get a state to join the Federation and then after it has joined you scream about the terms being unfair and unilaterally change the terms against the wishes of the other party.

And this is what the federal government has been doing all this while. It unilaterally changes the terms of the agreement and forces the states to agree to these changes. If also forces the states to sign contracts that are one-sided and a breach of the Federation Agreement or the 20-point Agreement. But now the states are fighting back. Now the states will no longer take any shit. And this is what is happening in the Terengganu, Kedah and Sabah situations. The aggrieved parties are fighting back as they rightfully should. And Terengganu wants back its RM7 billion. Kedah is going to cut down all its trees. Sabah will go for a new government that can increase its 5% royalty to 20% (which should be 100% in the first place) plus a government that can honour the 20-point Agreement, which was the basis for it to team up with Malaya to form Malaysia.

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Yong: Problems remain unsolved
The Star

The continued insensitive attitude of the Government towards serious issues in Sabah is the main reason Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) decided to move a motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister. Its president Datuk Yong Teck Lee said the party had to make a stand before the “window of opportunity” closed by August after which Sabah would be forgotten again.

“The nation’s attention will switch to MCA and Umno elections, people will be pre-occupied with the fasting month, Hari Raya, school exams and year-end events,” he said in a statement yesterday. “Political fatigue in the national mainstream over 'Sabah-Sabah-Sabah' issues will set in.”

He said the momentum for Sabah to recover autonomy, obtain 20% oil royalties instead of the present five per cent and the return of Labuan would be lost. “Unfair federal laws, excessive taxes and structural imbalances in the economy will remain entrenched. Sabah will remain the poorest state subservient to central leadership. The illegal immigrant problem will reach boiling point. With our political move today (yesterday), SAPP hereby initiates the political process to claim 20% in oil royalties, which is after all the natural resource of Sabah,” he added.

Yong said the extra billions could be invested in agriculture, education, capacity-building and achieve self-sufficiency in many areas. “We can therefore insulate ourselves from external shocks or an economic tsunami,” he said.

He added that the people of Sabah were also suffering from high inflation because of recent “astronomical” and “unexpected” fuel price hikes, which was contrary to a Barisan election promise. He said fuel prices have caused the business sector to stagnate and predicted that unemployment and social problems would rise. “But the Government’s responses seem ad-hoc, flip-flop and lacking in foresight with a fire-fighting style.”

Among the problems that Yong said would remain unsolved were poverty eradication, rural development, racial politics, illegal immigrants, crime and drugs.

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The Sabah 20-point agreement

Point 1: Religion

While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo.

Point 2: Language

* a. Malay should be the national language of the Federation
* b. English should continue to be used for a period of 10 years after Malaysia Day
* c. English should be an official language of North Borneo for all purposes, State or Federal, without limitation of time.

Point 6: Immigration

Control over immigration into any part of Malaysia from outside should rest with the Central Government but entry into North Borneo should also require the approval of the State Government. The Federal Government should not be able to veto the entry of persons into North Borneo for State Government purposes except on strictly security grounds. North Borneo should have unfettered control over the movements of persons other than those in Federal Government employ from other parts of Malaysia into North Borneo.

Point 11: Tariffs and Finance

North Borneo should retain control of its own finance, development and tariff, and should have the right to work up its own taxation and to raise loans on its own credit.

Point 12: Special position of indigenous races

In principle, the indigenous races of North Borneo should enjoy special rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays in Malaya, but the present Malays’ formula in this regard is not necessarily applicable in North Borneo.

Point 15: Education

The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under state control.

Point 17: Representation in Federal Parliament

This should take account not only of the population of North Borneo but also of its seize and potentialities and in any case should not be less than that of Singapore.

Point 20: Land, Forests, Local Government, etc.

The provisions in the Constitution of the Federation in respect of the powers of the National Land Council should not apply in North Borneo. Likewise, the National Council for Local Government should not apply in North Borneo.

High noon in Parliament


Sunday, 22 June 2008
When BN commands less than 2/3 majority in parliament the component parties can strike a harder bargain for Sabah than previously. This is probably what Teck Lee meant by “window of opportunity”.

By Stan Yee, Kota Kinabalu

So an aftershock has jolted Malaysia 100 days after the country’s political quake on 8th March. It may prove to be of little or no consequence, but has nonetheless struck fear in BN’s heart as there is no telling if this may be a harbinger of more to come, leading to the avalanche that Anwar Ibrahim said would sweep Pakatan Rakyat to power on or about Malaysia’s 45th birthday.

That may be a tall order and it remains to be seen whether SAPP’s defiant attempt to dislodge the reigning Prime Minister from the apex of power is a bold or foolish move. History has a way of designating a place for heroes and villains after the fact. For the moment, in the eyes of many, Datuk Yong Teck Lee is both, depending on which side of the political divide they stand.

As for being disrespectful to the PM, none of Yong’s utterances can compare with the much harsher language that Pak Lah’s detractors have used against him, especially in the web blogs. Some of the most injurious invectives used by his predecessor and erstwhile mentor, Tun Mahathir Mohamad, are offensive even to those who wish to see Pak Lah vanquished. So, in terms of being offensive or otherwise, none in Sabah I am aware of, no matter how opposed they may be towards the present PM, have crossed the line or used a language that can claim originality. But the proposed motion is the first sign that the animosity has advanced a notch higher to see action.

The question arises, is SAPP - or Datuk Yong Teck Lee, whoever calls the shots - being used by Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim to set in motion a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) juggernaut against not just the PM personally but BN itself? The revelation that he and Datuk Yong Teck Lee met in Hong Kong recently certainly lends credence to the proposition that the two have worked out a recipe to topple BN and bring PR to power. It appears that the no confidence motion is starters in the menu.

Predictably, some leaders of BN component parties in Sabah and Sarawak have rushed to Pak Lah’s defence and declared their support for him. It remains to be seen whether this act of loyalty is a knee-jerk reflex or a considered response to Datuk Yong’s move, and one that is consistent with the current political situation. That said, however, the apparent lack of overt response from some key figures in UMNO is rather significant. There are dramatically fewer knights in shining armour rushing to the PM’s defence this time around, a far cry from the theatrical devotion that all but smothered him when his quarrel with Tun Dr. Mahathir first came out into the open. When that happened the media carried a daily bulletin of every body who was any body in the BN camp swearing total loyalty and allegiance to Pak Lah. Or is it because the mosquito bite, that some see the proposed motion as representing, is not worth the fuss?

I may have missed the news but at the time of writing not all BN component parties have reacted openly to SAPP’s proposed motion, and I am not sure what to make of the quaint decision that came out of BN’s emergency meeting last Thursday when it took the stand that what Datuk Yong Teck Lee had publicly declared was his personal stand unless endorsed by the party as a whole. That decision was certainly not in sync with a later statement. When the question was asked as to why SAPP was not invited to the Thursday BN meeting, Tengku Adnan Mansor, UMNO’s Secretary General, was quoted as saying that there was no need for the party to be present as “they had made their statements in the press”. That contradicts the earlier stand that what Datuk Yong had said was his own view and not the party’s. As it turned out, Datuk Yong did carry the party with him at its supreme council meeting on Friday, or so it seemed, albeit with dissenting voices principally from the party’s Deputy President Datuk Raymond Tan. The lack of unanimity was later rendered less significant by Datuk Tan’s decision, as reported, to remain with the party even if it faced expulsion from BN.

Perhaps many component party leaders are still trying to figure out how to react. But there is little likelihood that SAPP will find itself running the gauntlet all by itself, like PBS did in 1990 when it left the BN to spearhead an anticipated mass exodus to Gagasan Rakyat led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamza.

Times have changed. With 81 MPs and enough state assemblymen to be in control of 5 state governments, the PR is a much stronger force, and many if not all these MPs are likely to go along with the motion. Furthermore, the new grouping is led by a very determined leader out to exact vengeance on the coalition that ousted him from power and humiliated him so grievously. But the situation is dicey for SAPP. For a start there is no certainty that the proposed motion will see the light of day, to use Datuk Nazri’s expression. If it fails to get tabled, or if the motion is defeated, as seems likely, SAPP is not expected to simply walk away as if nothing has happened, assuming that it will not have been expelled already.

But things in Semenanjung may be less straight forward. Other than Tengku Adnan and Datuk Nazri the response to Datuk Yong’s proposed no-confidence motion has been ominously muted. Dato’ Mukhriz bin Tun Mahathir has already declared a nay vote and Tunku Razaleigh Hamzah’s statement that Pak Lah should stand down is tantamount to an aye vote for the motion. There are uncertainties that will make Monday’s parliamentary sitting rather tense but interesting.

Whatever happens, to have gone for broke Datuk Yong must have a Plan B up his sleeves. But before exploring what Plan B might be, let’s assume for the sake of argument what could happen if the unlikely should eventuate and Pak Lah loses the confidence vote. Will he then step down quietly? That appears unlikely. Given that opposition leaders will try their utmost to tell their followers not to do anything even remotely resembling causing public disorder, Pak Lah will not have any ground to invoke emergency rule. The only other option would be for him to try and dissolve Parliament and call for election. That appears more plausible. If he is to fall at all, it would be more dignified for him to fall fighting than to be thrown out in a vote of no confidence by Parliament.

The question then arises, will the Agong oblige him and sign the dissolution proclamation? There are a few imponderables, one of which is whether the Agong approves of Pak Lah’s designated successor. What is Dato’ Seri Najib’s approval rating in the King’s book? If he is acceptable, then the Agong might refuse the request to dissolve Parliament, and allow succession to proceed as planned. Alternatively, the King might appoint a care-taker government and send a discreet message to UMNO to advance the UMNO election scheduled for December to an earlier date and pick the winner of the party election to be the next PM and thereafter to reshuffle the Cabinet. That might be a more acceptable option for many, especially within UMNO itself.

If, on the other hand, the Agong issues the Proclamation as requested, then a period of intense political activities will immediately follow. Some component parties of BN might indeed see this as a “window of opportunity” to free themselves of the BN straight-jacket to seek more elbow room to work out a brighter political future. One aspect of the straight-jacket that political parties would like to see the last of is the dictate by dominant UMNO in the role of BN leadership in regard to seat allocation for each component party and the choice of candidates in elections. Many find it hard to stomach this level of subservience to KL in the political arrangement under BN. But they have complied because the consequences of non-compliance are severe. The clamour for the limited vacancies in government is fierce and ruthless. It is through this political mechanism that KL has been able to exert its hegemony and total control over the states, especially the East Malaysian states. Party discipline has many guises. In terms of “divide and rule”, the situation is as colonial as it can get. Small wonder that component party leaders have displayed such exaggerated devotion and subservience to the BN leadership.

The loosening of the tight grip by BN leadership might spell the return of the free-for-all practice that prevailed in Sabah during the brief pre-Mustapha era and the BERJAYA and PBS periods, before every party started to go head over heel to join BN on whatever terms the leadership in KL imposed.

Of course the free-for-all contests would mean each party would be free to field their own candidates in all the constituencies they think they would stand a chance of winning. That seems acceptable, except that the votes would be decimated. But no matter, there will still be winners and losers. In such a situation race and religion may still be a factor, but less pronounced than they are under BN.

Which brings me to what Datuk Yong Teck Lee’s Plan B might be if the motion of no confidence fails. There are three options that he might have up his sleeves:

Leave BN, if the party has not already been expelled

Join PR

Stay unattached

Leaving BN is not necessarily a must for SAPP, and the BN leadership may decide that it can keep SAPP for the moment for two reasons: Firstly, they may not want to throw the babies out with the bath water, especially when YBs like Datuk Raymond Tan obviously prefer to remain in BN; secondly, SAPP’s proposed motion is not inimical to Najib’s ambition to be PM and will actually hasten his ascent to the high office of Prime Minister, if there are no intervening obstacles. When the crucial decision is debated in BN, Najib’s faction may counsel restraint. One convincing reason they can use is to safeguard BN’s political survival. With all the clouds hanging over Pak Lah’s government and the threat of defections, 2 seats might mean a lot in terms of a simple majority. Even if the motion of no confidence comes to naught and Pak Lah can limp along to December to face the UMNO election, whoever wins and becomes PM may not deal harshly with “the enemy of my enemy”, meaning ‘enemy’ in a very loose sense. In the event that Pak Lah wins the UMNO leadership in December (who knows?) and manages to regroup and strengthen his hold on power, then he may feel strong enough to deal with the likes of Yong Teck Lee.

Joining the opposition grouping looks plausible but that only makes sense if doing so can trigger an avalanche such that PR can form the government. It is a commitment that SAPP need not make to Anwar Ibrahim up front. To increase its net worth it can opt for the third option: to stay unattached and enjoy being wooed. In fact if each of the parties now in BN, including UMNO Sabah in a reconstituted form, is unattached it can achieve a tenfold increase in its net worth and can become a ‘king maker’ on terms and conditions that it deems good for Sabah, assuming of course that our Sabah politicians have the interest of Sabah foremost at heart and not their own.

When BN commands less than 2/3 majority in parliament the component parties can strike a harder bargain for Sabah than previously. This is probably what Teck Lee meant by “window of opportunity”. Of course that expression imputes opportunism and greed. The Prime Minister said he could not satisfy Yong’s insatiable greed because Yong had refused various offers made to him, including a senatorship and the appointment as Malaysia’s envoy to the BIMP EAGA regional grouping. That does not look like greed, unless Yong made counter demands, but the PM did not disclose to the nation what Datuk Yong demanded in place of or over and above these offers. Instead, he said Yong was more interested in what PKR’s de factor leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was offering him. But he did not say what Anwar was offering, except saying, “God knows what Anwar is offering him, high post and so on. That’s why I said he was greedy.” Sadly, he hasn’t done himself justice with such a statement.


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Tuesday, 24 June 2008


THE EAST-WEST DIVIDE

Sarawakians are proud to have kept Barisan Nasional's (BN) biggest component party out of Sarawak. 'We don't want them here because they tend not to share power and spoils,' said one official.
By Cheong Suk-Wai, The Straits Times

SABAHAN rice farmer John Jinus has two daughters working in West Malaysia. But he is not fond of the welcome he receives in the peninsula when he visits them.

'They keep asking me: 'Bila awak datang ke Malaysia? (When did you come to Malaysia?)'

'And I keep asking them: 'Am I not Malaysian? Is Sabah not part of Malaysia'?'

The irony is thick, especially since Sabahans and Sarawakians are about as Malaysian as they come. People in the two territories have intermarried for generations, so it is hard to tell if a person one meets here is Malay, Chinese or one among East Malaysia's many indigenous peoples.

More often than not, they are all of the above. Sabah and Sarawak are the embodiment of real Malaysia: multi-racial and, for the most part, peaceful.

On Sept 16, 1963, Sabah (known then as North Borneo) and Sarawak merged with Malaya and Singapore to form Malaysia. The two Borneo territories, each almost the size of a country, became Malaysian states.

Singapore, of course, ceased to be one in August 1965. But it is worth remembering that Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaysia in large part because of Singapore. Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaya's prime minister then, had refused to consider merger with Singapore unless the Borneo territories were part of the deal, so as to maintain racial balance.

The British went along with the Tunku's demands and encouraged Sabah and Sarawak to join Malaysia.

At that time, coming under the Malaysian umbrella was welcomed by most in the two territories. The Philippines claimed Sabah and Indonesia under Sukarno eyed both. There was also an on-going communist insurgency in Sarawak.

But Sabah and Sarawak have diverged much in their attitudes towards Malaysia since then.

It is not just that Kota Kinabalu, Sabah's capital, is as shabby as Kuching, Sarawak's capital, is sophisticated.

It is not just that many Sabahans drive cars with West Malaysian numberplates, because they can only afford to buy second-hand vehicles to ply the state's rocky and unstable roads.

Toyota, in the meantime, recently celebrated the sale of its 100,000th Vios model in Sarawak.

And it is not just that Sarawak has been built up with investments from giant oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, while 98 per cent of the enterprises in Sabah are small- and medium-sized, according to Malaysia's Deputy Trade Minister Liew Vui Keong, a Sabahan.

In negotiating the Malaysia Agreement, Sarawakians insisted on autonomy in four areas - the civil service, local government, land and immigration. These, along with the financial independence they gained from exploiting vast natural resources, have enabled them to cock a snook at 'Big Brother Umno'.

Sarawakians are proud to have kept Barisan Nasional's (BN) biggest component party out of Sarawak. 'We don't want them here because they tend not to share power and spoils,' said one official.

That is not to say that everyone is happy with the status quo in Sarawak. Lawyer Wilfred Gomeze anak Malong complained: 'In the State Legislative Assembly, no one, including the opposition Democratic Action Party, brings up issues like how Sarawak's oil revenue is being used.

'Instead, they ask what the government is going to do about dirty drains and other small matters.'

And dig deeper and one would find that the veneer of racial harmony is thin at best. 'The Dayaks would sooner trust a Malay than a Chinese. The Malay is a bumiputera at least,' said a Sarawakian who was in his teens when Malaysian was born.

Such resentment is partly due to the fact that few Dayaks have the money to stand for elections and agitate for change. Most political activity in Sarawak was, and still is, funded by the Chinese, which gives them a rather large say on important issues.

Sabahan leaders had tabled a memorandum of 20 Points in 1963, insisting on safeguards for Sabah on matters of immigration, religion, language, education, forestry and so on.

Today, despite all that early bluster, the state has a voice only in forestry and land matters. All else requires consultation with, if not approval from, the federal government in Kuala Lumpur.

Sarawakian officials crow about how their Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, has been in office for 27 years, while Sabahans have rotating chief ministers. It was ex-premier Mahathir Mohamed who introduced that peculiar feature of Sabah politics.

The rotation system was meant to give each race in Sabah a turn at governing. But critics say the musical chairs was a tactic to check the influence of chief ministers, particularly since the once-powerful Kadazandusun-based Parti Bersatu Sabah broke away from BN in 1990, only to return in 2002.

Indeed, the need to change chief ministers every two years has scared off many Chinese businessmen in Sabah. As one put it: 'Nobody knows if today's policies will be around tomorrow.'

'Semenanjung' - which is what East Malaysians sometimes call the federal government, 'semenanjung' being the Malay word for 'peninsular' - often raises the hackles of East Malaysians.

Even Sarawakians such as Datuk Amar James Wong, the timber tycoon who was among the original negotiators of the Malaysia Agreement, complain today that the federal government will give aid to mission, Chinese and other independent schools in the state only if they sign over their land to it.

But Mr Wong has no regrets he helped Sarawak join Malaysia. 'Thank God for Malaysia,' he said. Sarawak would have 'burst out in bloodshed' if it had not joined, he told The Straits Times. Its peoples were too diverse, restive and politically immature to fend off the communist threat.

Ironically, in the recent general election, it was 'out of sight, out of mind' East Malaysia that voted overwhelmingly for BN, thus enabling the coalition to form the government. That is perhaps why Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi visited Sarawak twice within a week this month, first to announce a multi-billion-ringgit package of development projects for the state and then to attend its annual harvest festival celebrations.

He also gave Sabah a generous package, leading Mr Taib to gripe to reporters: 'Sabah and Sarawak are about the same size in population...But Sarawak got less than half (what Sabah got).'

So much for Malaysian unity, even between these two immediate neighbours.

East Malaysians are not enamoured with the way West Malaysia is going, especially its emphasis on ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) and the Malay agenda.

Indeed, as Mr Gomeze put it: 'The federal government cannot blame our people if we are anti-Malaysia. We are not anti-Malaysia per se, but we are against a system that advocates the supremacy of one race.'

Spoken like a true Malaysian.

Sabahans Not Happy


Tuesday, 24 June 2008
The New Sabah Times Monday (23 June) reported that many Sabahans are seriously unhappy with the way they have been treated since the state, along with Sarawak and Singapore, joined the Malaysian federation in 1963.

Singapore left Malaysia in 1965 but Sabah and Sarawak stayed on, and some now feel that was a bad decision.

“When Sabah and Sarawak joined in 1963, a 20-point clause was inserted into the merger agreement promising political autonomy, major development aid and much more,” says James Chin, who has written extensively on the state.

“Unfortunately, over the last 45 years, most Sabahans feel the government has not lived up to their end of the bargain.”

“Much of the state’s natural oil reserves go to the federal government but less than five percent is returned to the people here,” he said told AFP.

Many Sabahans are also worried about the large numbers of Muslim Filipinos who have settled here illegally, tipping the ethnic balance against indigenous tribes who were formerly in the majority.

In peninsular Malaysia, Muslim Malays are the dominant population, alongside large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

“The issue of immigration is the mother of all problems in Sabah and we must stop all these Muslim foreigners who are coming in illegally,” said Wilfred Tanggau, secretary general of the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (UPKO) which is also part of the ruling coalition.

Development has also been slow in coming for the state which is about half the size of peninsular Malaysia, carved by massive mountain ranges and with many primitive villages and towns that remain almost inaccessible.

“It is important to shatter the government’s attitude that they can ignore Sabah and continue to rule this country,” state opposition leader Jeffrey Kitigan told AFP. (MySinchew)

Musical Chairs In Sabah Politics

Friday, 27 June 2008


It is expected that Sabah BN may gradually split into two, with one stays together with the federal government and another will leave BN and form an independent coalition, being the third force after BN and Pakatan Rakyat.

By TAY TIAN YAN/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily

There was no motion for a vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister Monday (23 June). The tension of BN has been slightly released while the hopes of Pakatan Rakyat are gradually fading. Both of the parties wonder whether Datuk Yong Teck Lee is really serious about it.

In the past few days, I have asked some Pakatan Rakyat MPs and all of them did not understand why Yong was doing it.

Has Yong rubbed on the magic lamp? Was there a genie inside? If so, was the genie being released?

A MP told me that the original plan was like horse racing in which more than a hundred of horses burst out when the gate opens after the race gun goes off

However, no shot could be heard and the gate remained closed. But a horse escaped from the gate and ran on the track. It made no difference with only the strength of one. The no-confidence motion might not be mentioned again within a short period of time.

Yong and SAPP have also exposed themselves in which they can no longer hide under the protection of Sabah BN to bargain with the federal government.

"Based on their political sense, they know that leaving BN will be more conducive to gain Sabahans' support."

It seems like Yong and Pakatan Rakyat have failed to achieve their objectives while Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and BN are safe for the moment. At the same time, we could see that this is not yet the time for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat. They still do not have enough of seats to overthrow Pak Lah's government.

However, Yong's calculation might not be such simple. He has long-term political agenda. And perhaps, this is just the beginning. First of all, Yong has suddenly become popular in Sabah. The first horse that burst out from the gate has grabbed the people's attention. Sabahans who are discontented with the federal government could find satisfaction from Yong.

SAPP used to be a tiny political party and it will remain a tiny political party if it stays in the BN coalition. Moreover, based on the current political situation in Sabah, staying in BN might lead to the lose of its existing seats in the Parliament. So, Yong took its first step to secure its future.

Currently, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has carved up Chinese seats of SAPP while SAPP are not allowed to take seats belonging to Kadazan and Muslim member parties of BN. Yong has no way to expand its power.

Confronting BN does not only enhance its popularity, but as well earns a greater space for SAPP. SAPP can interfere in LDP's constituencies and it can also expand to non-Chinese constituencies in the future.

Secondly, Sabah BN has shown the federal government its strength through Yong. Yong did not really fight alone. Instead, he was supported by leaders from other parties.

Ghapur Salleh, Anifah Aman from Sabah Umno, and Bernard Dompok from United PasokMomogun Kadazandusun Organisation (Upko) are powerful leaders in Sabah. This time, they were “sympathetic” over Yong, forcing BN to cautiously handle the problem.

No matter whether they have reached an agreement with Yong, at least they have opened a space for their future cooperation. Anti-federal-government Sabah leaders did not want to see Yong being sacrificed because if so, they might meet the same fate as Yong.

It is expected that Sabah BN may gradually split into two, with one stays together with the federal government and another will leave BN and form an independent coalition, being the third force after BN and Pakatan Rakyat. Based on their political sense, they know that leaving BN will be more conducive to gain Sabahans' support.

It is learnt that about 14 to 18 Sabah BN MPs are now tend to form the new coalition. As Yong has taken the first step, naturally, he has become one of the leaders.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had spent 10 years to divide Sabah politics into several large pieces. For Muslim, he terminated United Sabah National Organisation (Usno) and introduced Umno. For Kadazan, he weakened Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and hastened the formation of Upko and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah(PBRS) to split Kadazan's political power. For Chinese, he let SAPP and LDP to contradict and check and balance each other.

Today, Dr Mahathir's “grand plan” is gradually collapsing. Sabah political power is reforming and its structure is changing. It seems that it is the will of Sabahans.

Sabah, Sarawak demand more

Monday, 30 June 2008
(The Star) - Sabah's Kadazandusun and Sarawak's Dayak groups said they would forward new proposals to the Federal Government to narrow the economic disparity with peninsular Malaysia.

The new demands were made following a meeting of Kadazandusun leader Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Sarawak Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie and Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Frederick Lojingki during a joint Gawai festival on Saturday.

Among others, they wanted:

> THE Federal Government to review all existing government contracts in Sarawak and Sabah handled by Sarawakian and Sabahan bumiputra contractors with the aim of revising upwards the contract costs;

> A TOTAL revamp of the New Economic Policy (NEP), which had failed to do justice to non-Muslim bumiputras of Sabah and Sarawak;

> CONTRACTORS from Sabah and Sarawak to be given more opportunities to handle federal projects because they are not getting the same chances as their counterparts in the peninsula; and

> THE Federal Government to include one senior leader from Sabah and Sarawak each to be attached to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

Dompok said he would forward the proposals to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi soon.

Addressing some 1,000 Dayak and Kadazandusun community leaders here, Dompok said the 1.5 million Dayaks in Sarawak and one million Kadazandusuns in Sabah have found themselves now even further behind following the rise in fuel prices and escalating costs of living.

"There is a unit in the EPU to look into the welfare of the minority bumiputras in Sabah and Sarawak.

"This unit failed to function properly. The welfare of the non-Muslim bumiputras in east Malaysia has not been taken care of because the people in charge of this unit do not know our needs," Dompok said.

Moggie said bumiputra contractors in east Malaysia wanted the existing contracts with the Government to be reviewed and for the Government to pay them more than before.

Lojingki said his chamber wanted the NEP revamped with a fairer policy, saying that the NEP had failed to improve the standard of the Dayaks and Kadazandusuns.

Merdeka! Merdeka. Merdeka?
Extracted from MT.

Tuesday, 01 July 2008
Except for politicians and activists, the general population does not seem to care about their own predicament. We allow our leaders to decide what is 'good' for us and accept their actions without the slightest blink of an eye.

By Edmond R

I read with concern the recent news that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had to seek refuge at the Turkish Embassy for his own safety. After 50 years of Independence, it is a shame that our government is not able to provide the basic security needs of our people. It is sad indeed to see a citizen of Malaysia seeking refuge in a foreign embassy because he fears for his own safety. What is the meaning of Merdeka if it fails to ensure the protection of the basic rights of our citizens?

MERDEKA!

In 1957, we exclaimed 'Merdeka' with the full spirit of patriotism. Every citizen was full of hope that our country will be free from colonial rule at last. Everyone was rearing to move ahead together to build our nation.

MERDEKA.

In 1969, Merdeka came to a full stop and the nation was faced with racial tension and animosity. It was the start of the government's efforts to implement various policies to correct the social imbalance. Initially the plan to reduce poverty and create equality amongst the people appeared to be solid and trustworthy. However not long after that, those policies were misused by the ruling party to keep themselves in power.

MERDEKA?

In 2007, we celebrated the Golden Anniversary of our nation with a big question mark. Is Malaysia really a free country? Have we been hoodwinked by the government all these years into thinking that we are really free?

For 50 years, we have been shouting 'Merdeka!' whenever 31st of August looms close by. But after fifty years of this so called independence from British rule, the nation's mindset remains caged-in with our own fears of racial discrimination, religious discords, corruption, injustice and most of all veiled suppression of our basic freedom.

And yet not many people seem to worry about that.

Except for politicians and activists, the general population does not seem to care about their own predicament. We allow our leaders to decide what is 'good' for us and accept their actions without the slightest blink of an eye. For the last fifty years, Malaysians have given our politicians an easy life. Even the Opposition could not give the ruling party a run for their money; not until recently.

Fortunately there are a few amongst us who manage to realize the ongoing systematic erosion of our basic rights. These are the people who dare to voice their dissent to the government despite threats of incarceration and punishment. But then, time and again, it is the same few people who are behind these heroic acts.

The rest of us either remain mum or criticize them for being trouble makers, power grabbers and disturber of peace. Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, has been accused of being too obsessed in taking over the reins of the Federal Government. Lim Guan Eng, the Chief Minister of Penang has been told by certain quarters to start working and stop harping on land scams issues in Penang. The list goes on – BERSIH, HINDRAF, PROTES etc.

Even our endearing Raja Petra is considered to be out of his mind when he made his famous Statutory Declaration about the Altantunya murder case.

But let us pause and dwell deeply into our hearts. Who do we really want as our leaders? What kind of leader does Malaysia need to propel it from its current stagnant state of affairs?

Do we want leaders who are willing to stand up for what they believe in? Do we want people who risk their own freedom so that the rest of us can be free?

Or do we want to be led by people who claim to represent us, but in reality are more concerned about their own welfare and power status? Do we still want to stay in our comfort zones and remain oblivious to their countless attempts to ravage the country's resources for their own pockets?

Malaysians should be made to realize that they are the ones who choose their own destiny. Whether we like it or not, each and every one of us is responsible for the state of our nation. Therefore we should swiftly recover from our stupor and start participating in the process of rejuvenating our beloved country again. There must be a collective awakening of political consciousness amongst all citizens for real democracy to work.

Fortunately this is starting to happen as more and more people are waking up from their slumber after the shock of the election earthquake in March 2008. Bloggers are becoming more vocal and activists are more organized in their various quests. The Pakatan Rakyat governments are also helping the nation by appointing members from Non Governmental Organizations into their local councils to encourage the involvement of people in the administration of the State.

Just a few years ago, all these might seem impossible. But with the ever growing network of internet accessibility and other modern modes of affordable communication methods such as mobile phones and messengers, people like you and me suddenly realize that we are not alone anymore. Through sharing of information and ideas, Malaysians of every race and religion are beginning to see that they share a common aspiration. We are now capable of bypassing the barriers set up by 50 years of partisan rule of Barisan Nasional and come together as one people again.

However this section of society only represents a small fraction of our population of 23 million. We need to spread this self realization to the general populace – those who do not have access to the internet, those who are caught up with their work to even bother about politics and those in the rural areas of the country. These people form the bulk of Malaysians who have the potential to MAKE MALAYSIA WORK!

It might seem like a humongous task to bring 23 million people to their senses but I believe not an impossible one. The first step is to make sure everyone who is eligible to vote, VOTES. It is stated that there are still 4 million eligible voters who have yet to register with the Election Commission. This represents nearly 30% of those eligible. We need people not only to talk about politics but also to act and participate in the process of democracy.

This can be done by legislation and making it compulsory for all Malaysians who have come of age to vote. Some might view this compulsion as an infringement of our basic rights to choose. They say that 'choosing not to vote' is also part of human rights and making it compulsory will therefore remove this right.

In my opinion, their case might hold up for Western countries where the governments are more transparent and fair. But in Malaysia, it would serve as a good way of ensuring we vote in the right leaders and prevent the ruling party from abusing the election process to suit their goals.

We should educate all Malaysians to be brave, honest and truthful to ourselves. We must be brave to stand up for our rights. We must be honest and avoid giving in to the temptation of corruption. We must be truthful and admit to ourselves that our nation has not really progressed as much as we should since Merdeka.

Malaysia was formed with its citizens' rights enshrined in the Constitution. If we do not practice our rights, it is a form of abuse by itself and one which is brought about by our own neglect. If we don't use our rights, it will slowly erode away with the help of an ever suppressive government. These politicians who are already in power are more than happy to help you give up your rights so that they can remain in power forever.

Malaysians tend to think highly of their politicians and leaders, so much so that we are willing to ignore their wrong doings and hyper inflate their minimal achievements. It is time to change our mindset and judge them according to their actual deeds.

Not many have realized it but our freedom has been continually and systematically restricted year by year since Independence. There have been so many changes in the Constitution that it is now barely recognizable. Throughout the years, the government had enacted various prohibitive acts that curtail our freedom of expression.

We are now at the cross roads of our destiny. If we choose to remain silent and be led astray, our nation will regress and end in failure. If we choose to voice out our stand for justice, humanity, and equality, then we will definitely be taking a bold step towards the birth of a new era.

Malaysians are tired of full stops and questions marks. After 50 years of independence, it is time we shout MERDEKA together with three exclamation marks!

MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA!

The Sabah 20-point agreement

Point 1: Religion

While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo.

Point 2: Language

* a. Malay should be the national language of the Federation
* b. English should continue to be used for a period of 10 years after Malaysia Day
* c. English should be an official language of North Borneo for all purposes, State or Federal, without limitation of time.

Point 6: Immigration

Control over immigration into any part of Malaysia from outside should rest with the Central Government but entry into North Borneo should also require the approval of the State Government. The Federal Government should not be able to veto the entry of persons into North Borneo for State Government purposes except on strictly security grounds. North Borneo should have unfettered control over the movements of persons other than those in Federal Government employ from other parts of Malaysia into North Borneo.

Point 11: Tariffs and Finance

North Borneo should retain control of its own finance, development and tariff, and should have the right to work up its own taxation and to raise loans on its own credit.

Point 12: Special position of indigenous races

In principle, the indigenous races of North Borneo should enjoy special rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays in Malaya, but the present Malays’ formula in this regard is not necessarily applicable in North Borneo.

Point 15: Education

The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under state control.

Point 17: Representation in Federal Parliament

This should take account not only of the population of North Borneo but also of its seize and potentialities and in any case should not be less than that of Singapore.

Point 20: Land, Forests, Local Government, etc.

The provisions in the Constitution of the Federation in respect of the powers of the National Land Council should not apply in North Borneo. Likewise, the National Council for Local Government should not apply in North Borneo.

July 10, 2008 1:42 PM

20-point agreement not adhered to

Extracted from Malaysiakini
Dr John Brian Anthony | Jul 15, 08 4:34pm

We heard so much about the 20-point agreement when Sarawak and Sabah decided to form Malaysia together with Malaya. The three countries agreed upon a certain agreement, known as the 20-point agreement to provide meaningful autonomy for Sarawak and Sabah.

This 20-point agreement is fundamental for the ‘relationship and the preservation of pertinent rights for Sarawak and Sabah’. Somehow, after 45 years, the federal government started to ignore the agreement and even changed the ‘rules’ without the consent of Sarawak and Sabah.

The net result is the unhappiness and dissatisfaction of the people of Sarawak and Sabah as they felt ‘colonised’ and ‘marginalised’ by Barisan Nasional lead by Umno. Sarawak and Sabah have delivered on their part but for reasons best known to them, Malaysia is not keeping to the agreement.


The provisions in the federal constitution in respect of the powers of the National Land Council should not apply to Sarawak. Likewise, the National Council for Local Government.

Why nationalise oil and gas resources? Why choose to give the state only a 5 percent royalty? Several requests for an increase in royalty to 20 percent were unheeded.

This is the kind of mistakes BN makes and they will lose out on the Dayak vote.

The PM wanted to make Sarawak Malaysia's rice bowl but hopefully the investors do not come into Sarawak and take away the property titles to the land.

The investors need not own the land. They should just pay rental to the government, employ local workers and create a sustainable environment for their projects. Give out the contracts to local Sarawakians and train them up.

I leave it to the readers in Sarawak to do a mental review of what has happened to Sarawak and whether the 20-point agreement has been upheld by federal government.

Will Sarawak & Sabah Wake Up?
Borneo hinge to Anwar's ambition
By Andrew Symon
Asia Times Online

SINGAPORE - If Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is successful in his historic bid to form a reformist government in Kuala Lumpur, he will likely owe much to the country's Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak.

Anwar claimed on Tuesday he had secured the parliamentary numbers needed to topple Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's beleaguered government and called for "handover talks" towards a peaceful political transition. The government refuted that claim, saying Anwar was employing the "politics of distraction" because he failed to achieve his avowed September 16 deadline to seize power through parliamentary defections.

The large, lightly populated and culturally distinctive northern coast of Borneo island, separated by the small oil rich Sultanate of Brunei, are now key to Anwar's ambitions. Should their members of parliament shift their loyalties away from the ruling Barison Nasional (BN) coalition government, their defections would be decisive for Anwar's Pakatan Rakyat alliance.

After the dramatic March 8 election, which saw the United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO)-led BN coalition suffer its worse result since it first took government on independence from Britain in 1957, Sabah and Sarawak together now account for 55 out of the BN's 140 parliamentary seats. With Pakatan Rakyat holding sway over 82 seats, Anwar needs to woo a little over 50% of the Borneo seats to form a new government.

Helping Anwar's cause is the fact that about 40 of these 55 are from small parties in alliance with the dominant UMNO, which has led the national government and shaped Malaysia's political direction for five decades. To bring Borneo members on side, Anwar has offered to give the East Malaysian states a greater share of petroleum revenues, from 5% to 20% - an especially enticing offer given US$100 plus a barrel global oil prices - and greater autonomy generally.

Of the two states, it may be Sabah's MPs that are prone to lean first towards Anwar. With Sabah lagging well behind other Malaysian states in its level of economic development, Anwar has said greater petroleum revenue sharing would only be the redistributive start to remedy the BN's severe neglect of the state. According to the government's own national development plan, the incidence of poverty in Sabah is four times the national average.

Another point of contention between Sabah and the central government is the issue of illegal immigration, with many Sabahans feeling that Kuala Lumpur has not done enough to control the entry of migrants from nearby and even poorer southern Philippines and Indonesia. Anwar can also promise those BN MPs from Sabah who cross the floor some of the spoils of office, in terms of ministerial appointments in his new government.

The region's political dynamics and relationships with Kuala Lumpur are steeped in a complicated history. Formerly British crown colonies, and, before that, in the case of Sarawak, ruled by the so-called "White Rajah" Brookes family - three generations of Englishmen who fashioned the borders of present day Sarawak independent of London - and Sabah, once run by the British North Borneo Company, a company chartered by Queen Victoria, the two joined Malaya and Singapore to form Malaysia on September 16, 1963.

The lightly populated states, together making up just 5.5 million of Malaysia's 27 million, are socially and culturally different from peninsular Malaysia. Non-Muslim indigenous Dayak peoples of various tribes - Iban in Sarawak and Kadazan and Dusun in Sabah are the largest - are mostly Christian Anglicans or Catholics, along with ethnic Chinese, and make up the large majorities in both Sarawak and Borneo.

Muslim Malays and the small percentage of Dayaks who are Muslim make up less than 25% of the population in both states, compared to the peninsula where Muslim Malays make up about 60%. It is now notable that their federation with the peninsula in 1963 was a rush affair.

The British believed, in the Cold War context of the time, that both their and the region's best interests would be served by the incorporation of the two states into a new Malaysia, especially given the claims by Indonesia's president Sukarno that they should become part of Indonesian Kalimantan to the south. Intertwined with this was the fate of Singapore.

Arguments for the inclusion of Singapore into the new federation, argued by both the British and Singapore's leader, Lee Kuan Yew, could only be accepted by the UMNO, that is, Malay-led government in Kuala Lumpur of Tunku Abdul Rahman, if the Borneo states were also included.

Their Malay and Dayak populations would ensure a non-Chinese or bumiputra "sons of the soil" majority in the new Malaysia. (Singapore was later to go its own way after being pushed out of the federation by Kuala Lumpur in August 1965.) To make the federation attractive to Sarawak and Sabah, assurances were given by Tunku that their interests, as less economically developed and culturally distinctive states, would be protected. Various special autonomy powers were given to the two states.

Overlooked outback

The federation has proved, in fact, to be very successful. There has never been any talk of secession, despite periodic disagreements between state and national governments and the different characters of the Borneo states and the peninsula. But there still remains belief in Sarawak and Sabah that Kuala Lumpur takes more than it gives back and that their interests are often overlooked.

Within Sarawak and Sabah, although relations between the different racial and ethnic groups are generally good, there are still resentments among the indigenous non-Muslim Dayaks that they are not always getting a fair share and that their land rights are prone to abuse from large-scale timber, palm oil and other plantations and hydropower dam development, as the long-running controversies associated with the state-backed Bakun dam in Sarawak attest.

Non-Muslim Sabahans have also long been concerned at the apparent ease at which illegal Muslim immigrants were able to gain Malaysian citizenship papers in the 1980s and early 90s, thereby, some argue, adding support to the more Muslim focussed UMNO in Sabah. Certainly for the national government and development programs on the peninsula, the Borneo states have been a critical source of resource revenues, especially from oil and gas.

Sarawak has long been an important petroleum-producing province and now Sabah is joining it as a result of new and large deep water oil discoveries. Sarawak currently produces about 200,000 barrels of day of oil, or about 28% of national production. But it is natural gas that is most important in Sarawak with very large volumes - about three billion cubic feet per day, or 50% of national production - of offshore gas for the Bintulu liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the mid-coast run by Malaysia's state company, Petronas. At 23 million tons annual output capacity, it is one of the world's largest LNG facilities.

The Sarawak government, apart from its existing 5% upstream royalty on production also benefits from a minority stake in the downstream facility. An additional 15% royalty though would be a very substantial boost to state treasuries. But it is in Sabah where a 20% royalty would be a real and unprecedented bonanza and could go a long way to help Sabah overcome the development gap with the peninsula.

A huge increase in oil and gas production is forecast to come on line by the end of the next decade from deep water fields offshore. Until now, Sabah has produced only a modest volume of oil and gas, so petroleum has not featured greatly in the state and Kuala Lumpur's political equations. But all this is changing. New deep water exploration in depths of more than 200 meters, by the US's Murphy Oil and Shell has revealed major deposits.

By the middle to end of the next decade, this deep water frontier is anticipated by Petronas, to be adding of the order of 300,000 barrels per day and one billion cubic feet per day of gas to national output. The significance of these volumes is underlined by the fact that oil production at this scale would be about 45% of the country's present total output while the natural gas output would be about 16% of present production.

Plans for the commercialization of Sabah gas are ambitious. Petronas aims to take the offshore gas to shore and then pipe it 500 kilometers overland through Sabah and into neighboring Sarawak to the Bintulu LNG facility. The route which takes the $620 million pipeline behind the Brunei borders in Sarawak would pass through rugged mountainous terrain and over rivers before running along the more benign Sarawak coastal plain to Bintulu.

For Sabah members of parliament, with all these new revenues poised to come on-stream, Anwar's promise of a larger slice of the pie has them salivating. The problem for Anwar is that having shown his Borneo cards after the March election, the government has had time to try counter at least some of his moves by also promising a better deal - although not being specific about any changes to petroleum revenue sharing - and new development funding and programs for Sarawak and Sabah.

So, it may yet turn out that the safest strategy for the Borneo MPs is to work both ends to the middle, and enjoy a new importance in the BN coalition government without risking all by joining Anwar's Pakatan Rakyat. It's not clear yet if that political calculation has set back Anwar's bid to seize power on Tuesday. But what is clear is that how Sabah and Sarawak go, so too will Malaysia’s government.

Andrew Symon is a Singapore-based writer and analyst specializing in energy and resources and a frequent visitor to Sarawak and Sabah. He may be reached at andrew.symon@yahoo.com.sg