Pemimpin negeri sambut hari merdeka Sarawak pada 22 Julai

Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud dan Ketua Menteri Tan Sri Adenan Satem akan menghadiri acara khas bagi memperingati sejarah Sarawak Merdeka di Bangunan Dewan Undangan Negeri, Petra Jaya pada 22 Julai ini.

Menurut kenyataan Jabatan Penerangan hari ini, majlis itu akan dimulakan pada 10.30 pagi selepas ketibaan kedua-dua tetamu kehormat itu dan isteri mereka.

Semua tetamu lelaki dinasihatkan memakai sut atau jaket putih, pakaian kebangsaan atau tradisional masing-masing manakala tetamu wanita memakai baju kurung.

Acara itu akan menampilkan persembahan khas berkaitan detik bersejarah itu dan disusuli dengan ucapan Ketua Menteri, kata kenyataan itu.

Menteri-menteri Kabinet negeri dan Menteri-menteri Persekutuan, anggota-anggota Dewan Undangan Negeri, Anggota-anggota Parlimen, ketua-ketua jabatan kerajaan dan orang kenamaan juga akan menghadiri majlis itu.

Pada 22 Julai 1963, gabenor terakhir kerajaan British Sir Alexander Waddell meninggalkan Astana (kediamannya) dan menaiki sebuah sampan putih untuk menyeberangi Sungai Sarawak bagi menyerahkan kerajaan Sarawak kepada rakyatnya.

Hari bendera Union Jack diturunkan buat kali terakhir juga merupakan hari mesyuarat Kabinet negeri pertama, yang dipengerusikan Ketua Menteri pertama Datuk Stephen Kalong Ningkan, diadakan.

Sarawak kemudian menyertai Sabah, Malaya dan Singapura untuk membentuk Malaysia pada 16 September 1963. – Bernama, 19 Julai, 2015.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/bahasa/article/pemimpin-negeri-sambut-hari-merdeka-sarawak-pada-22-julai#sthash.0NQ6p886.dpuf

Read More

Taib, Adenan to attend Sarawak Independence Day event on July 22

Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud and Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem will attend a special event to commemorate Sarawak  Independence Day, which falls on July 22. at the State Assembly building in Petra Jaya.

According to a statement from the State Information Department, the ceremony is expected to start at 10.30am upon the arrival of the two guests of honour and their spouses.

All male guests have been advised to wear white lounge suit or put on a white blazer or they may choose to wear their national or traditional attire while the ladies will have to wear the "baju kurung".

The essence of the event will be a special rendition relating to the historic moment followed by a speech by Adenan, said the statement. 

State cabinet ministers and federal ministers, state assemblymen, members of parliament, heads of government departments and other dignitaries will also attend the event.

On July 22, 1963, the last governor of the British Government, Sir Alexander Waddell, left the Astana, his residence, and boarded a white sampan to cross the Sarawak River to hand over the Government of Sarawak to its own people. 

The day that the Union Jack was lowered for the last time was also the day that the first state cabinet meeting, presided over by first chief minister Datuk Stephen Kalong Ningkan, was held.

Sarawak later joined Sabah, Malaya and Singapore, on September 16, 1963, to form Malaysia. – Bernama, July 19, 2015.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/taib-adenan-to-attend-sarawak-independence-day-event-on-july-22#sthash.6z9q5Tu3.uVWlsxYN.dpuf

Read More

"Sarawak was granted self-government on 22 July 1963"

To West Malaysia people, there's something you all need to know before say something about Sarawak Independence day, why we reject August 31, you need to know one thing...

Sarawak was granted self-government on 22 July 1963...

William Liam (right photo)

Forgotten in the past, appeared to be a pointed reminder to the national government in Putrajaya that elements in both Sabah and Sarawak are demanding a more assertive approach to the governance of their own affairs.

The British took over the role of protecting Sarawak in 1888, formally becoming a colony in July 1946. On 22nd July 1963 Britain granted Sarawak full independence, where it became a sovereign state in its own right.

Many, if not most Malaysians are unaware that Sarawak was indeed, if only for a short time, a fully independent state before it entered into the Malaysia Agreement to form the Federation of Malaysia along with Sabah, Malaya, and Singapore, which formally came into effect on 16th September 1963, the actual birth date of Malaysia. Sarawak’s status, like Sabah’s within the Federation was defined by the 18 Points Agreement, which gave Sarawak (20 points in Sabah) sole responsibility in governing many aspects of its territory.

There is a sentiment in many quarters within Sarawakian society that the state’s rich and diverse history has been lost in favor of the ‘national Merdeka’ narratives dominated by the stories of the independence movement within the Malay Peninsula. As a consequence, Liberation Day, as independence from Britain is called in Sarawak, has become a forgotten annal in Malaysia’s history.

Read More

Parade will confuse the people, says Wan Junaidi

KUCHING: It is up to the police if the civil rights movement, Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S), insists on holding a parade from MBKS building to Padang Merdeka to mark Sarawak’s independence on July 22.

Deputy Home Affairs Minister Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar who is also Santubong MP said the police had reasons why they did approve the parade in the first place.

He said while he understood there were certain parties in the state wanting to celebrate July 22 as an independence day when Sarawak gained independence from the British Colonial Government in 1963, he was also concerned of the confusion it would cause to the people.

“If they wish to continue with the parade, it will be up to the police to handle them.

“I don’t deny their rights to celebrate. It is not wrong to celebrate but it will confuse the people. We already have August 31 and September 16, how many more dates should we celebrate,” he said at his Hari Raya open house held at the old DUN complex yesterday.

According to him, in the United States of America, each state had its own date of joining the union of the United State, but Americans only celebrated July 4 as their Independence Day, the date when the continental congress declared the union of the United States.

“Tanah Melayu formed its own cabinet in March 1953 and Tunku Abdul Rahman was the chief minister. Why don’t they celebrate that date when the cabinet was formed in 1953.”

He said there should be a fixed date for Malaysians to celebrate their Independence Day.

On July 22, 1963, the last British colonial governor Sir Alexander Waddel left the Astana and boarded a white sampan to cross the Sarawak River to hand over the administration of Sarawak to her own people.

Sarawak joined Sabah, Malaya and Singapore to form Malaysia on September 16, 1963.

Recently, the civil rights movement, Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S), held a press conference to announce that they would hold a parade from MBKS foyer to Padang Merdeka to mark the state’s independence on July 22.

The parade, they claimed, was aimed to create awareness among the people that July 22 was the correct date when Sarawak gained independence from British Colonial Government.

Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/07/19/parade-will-confuse-the-people-says-wan-junaidi/#ixzz3gOxlzUlG

Read More

SUPP sec gen: Don’t forget importance of July 22

MIRI: Sarawakians, especially youths, are urged not to forget an important date in the state’s history, which is July 22, 1963.

SUPP secretary general Datuk Sebastian Ting said knowledge about the history of Sarawak will further instil Sarawakians with love for the state.

“This date must be remembered, because many do not know how important this date is for our state. This is the date we gained our freedom from the Bristish,” he said.

Ting, who is also SUPP Piasau chairman, said the date is among the three important dates which all Sarawakians must know.

The first date he said, is August 31, 1957 which is the Independence Day of Malaya before the date was made the National Day for all Malaysians.

Apart from Sarawak’s independence day, another date to be remembered is September 16, 1963 which is the date of the formation of Malaysia.

“SUPP was set up to fight for the right of every race and the rights of the people of Sarawak. So we will continue to fight for this,” he stressed.

Among SUPP Miri’s efforts to remember Sarawak Independence Day is the printing of t-shirts with the words ‘I AM Sarawakian’ to be distributed for free to some 200 party members.

He added that they will be printing more of the t-shirts in order to promote the important date.

SUPP launched its slogan ‘SUPP For Sarawakian’ last June and has been distributing car stickers bearing the slogan as part of its campaign to remember Sarawak’s independence day.

Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/07/19/supp-sec-gen-dont-forget-importance-of-july-22/#ixzz3gJ5YnL00

Read More

Malaysia Agreement is ‘invalid’, breaches international conventions, Kuching forum told

The Malaysia Agreement of 1963, the treaty that brought Sarawak, Sabah, and for a short while Singapore, to form the Federation of Malaysia, is an invalid agreement, a forum here heard.

The forum on the Malaysia Agreement in Kuching was also told that Malaysia had started out as an “equal partnership” but had now turned to a “take-over project” by Putrajaya.

A former deputy minister also told the forum to take its case to courts in the United Kingdom as the agreement was brokered by the British.

Robert Pei, a Sarawak-born lawyer now practising in Australia, said the Malaysia Agreement was “void ab initio” - a Latin legal phrase meaning it was not valid from the start - as it was not made in compliance with the established principles and rules of international laws like the Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties (VCLT), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1946 and the United Nations Decolonisation Declaration of 1960 (UNDD).

He said the Malaysia Agreement:

• breached established customary international law that only sovereign states could enter into international treaties;
• violated Article 5 of the UNDD when Britain was in breach of its 1946 Cession treaty with then independent Sarawak Brooke government to restore independence to Sarawak;
• violated Article 7 of the UNDD as there was no referendum;
• violated Article 4 of the UNDD and Article 52 of VCLT, when Britain and Malaya jointly used armed force and repression to coerce the Borneo states into Malaysia under cover of quelling the Brunei Uprising in 1962 and the guerrilla independence war.

“The British repression and suppression of pro-independence Sarawak nationalists was not just a violation of the UNDD but it was a major violation of human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948,” Pei added.

“On its very face, the MA63 document displayed a fatal and fundamental flaw.

On the “established principle” of international law that only sovereign states could enter into valid agreements with other states, Pei pointed out the then North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak were not sovereign states on July 9, 1963 when the Malaysia Agreement was signed and therefore had no legal standings to sign the agreement.

“The Malaysia Agreement, registered as an international treaty with the United Nations in 1973, was purportedly made between five 'sovereign states' - the United Kingdom, Malayan Federation, Singapore with North Borneo and Sarawak on July 9, 1963."

He said as North Borneo and Sarawak were still colonies and therefore has no independent international representation, and its top-level administration is under direct control of the metropolitan state that owns the colony, the agreement was actually entered into between only two independent sovereign states, the United Kingdom and Malaya.

Pei then posed the question: “So is the MA63 (Malaysia Agreement 1963) really about the de-colonisation of North Borneo and Sarawak or just a vehicle for re-colonisation by the new colonial master – Malaya?”

He believed in the latter, saying Malaya had “colluded and pre-determined with Britain to form Malaysia to re-colonize the Borneo territories”.

He also said the MA63 was invalid and was abrogated by Singapore's separation and independence from Malaysia in 1965.

“An international treaty could not be changed without the agreement and consent of all the parties.

“The bilateral Singapore Separation agreement between Singapore and Malaya in 1965 was made without active involvement of the other three signatory parties... and it basically changed the concept of Malaysia which should have been re-negotiated.”

The chief of Sabah-based party Star and Bingkor state assemblyman, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan (pic, left), concurred with Pei's view that what started as “equal partners” had now turned to a “take-over project” by Putrajaya.

Kitingan, who has been critical of the erosion of Sabah and Sarawak rights in the Malaysia Agreement, cited issues like religion, 'Project IC' and the plundering of the states' mineral wealth, failure to implement the Borneosation of the civil service, and the position of indigenous people in favour of the Malays as the “federal play to re-colonise Sabah”.

Hindraf chairman, P. Waythamoorthy, who was specifically invited to share his experience in taking Hindraf's case to the courts in the United Kingdom, said Sabah and Sarawak can also take their right for self-determination to British courts as the British government could be held liable for their current predicament.

“Sue Britain and hold them liable for compelling Sabah and Sarawak into the Malaysia Agreement and seek a declaration in the UK court that the MA63 is null and void,” the former deputy minister said.

Waytha however warned that such a legal fight would be long and “would not be easy”.

Sharing his experience in taking the plight of Malaysian Indians to the British court, Waytha said he is willing to assist nationalists in the two Borneo states to take their case to Britain.

“The states of Borneo have the right to self determination, autonomy.

“Culturally, socially, ethnically they are different from Peninsula Malaysia. They have their right to chart their own course,” he said at the forum that also had former Sabah chief minister and president of SAPP, Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee, and deputy President of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) Baru, Patrick Anek Uren, as speakers.

Waytha (pic, right), who once inked a Memorandum of Understanding last year with Barisan Nasional to improve the Indian community, said the British government was not acting in good faith in creating Malaysia because the “UK government was more interested in protecting their strategic defence and economic interests in South-east Asia than the interests of Sabah and Sarawak”.

“UK wanted control of the South China Sea and to maintain its military bases. It needed to protect the sea route up to the Philippines.”

The forum, jointly organised by Sarawak Association for Peoples’ Aspiration (SAPA) and Borneo Heritage Foundation of Sabah (BHF) which Kitingan heads, had some 200 people packed in the conference hall of a local hotel. – April 28, 2014.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-agreement-is-invalid-breaches-international-conventions-kuching-fo#sthash.7JfSHKKg.dpuf

Read More

Cerita tentang Johor yang merdeka dari Putrajaya

Semasa saya kecil, setiap kali Aidilfitri, keluarga saya akan menyambut hari raya di Kluang, Johor.

Semasa itu, rumah nenek masih rumah kayu, suasana kampung masih wujud lagi, dan masih kelihatan ayam itik dan lembu di sekeliling rumah.

Tapi itu kira-kira 20 tahun yang lalu. Sekitar tahun 1997, kawasan kampung ini disodok dan dijadikan kawasan perumahan untuk golongan menengah rendah di Kluang.

Sementara itu, orang-orang Kampung Bentong Luar (nama kampung saya) dipindahkan ke satu kawasan perumahan teres di Taman Sri Kluang.

Sejak itu, keluarga saya jarang pulang ke Kluang. Mereka lebih selesa berhari raya di rumah sendiri.

Tetapi tahun ini, saya mengambil keputusan untuk berhari raya di Kluang, walaupun keluarga saya tidak ikut sekali.

Ini kerana saya mahu menziarah kubur arwah nenek saya yang meninggal dua tahun yang lepas.

Biasanya jika saya balik berhari raya di Johor, saya mengelak daripada bercakap tentang politik, kerana saya tahu pegangan politik saya sangat berbeza dengan orang kampung.

Kampung saya ini kubu kuat Umno sejak, hmmm..., entah sejak bila tapi setahu saya ia memang selamanya kubu Umno.

Tetapi kali ini orang kampung saya melihat pemerintahan Datuk Seri Najib Razak yang lembik dan teruk, selain faktor GST yang membuatkan mereka marah, banyak isu-isu panas yang gagal diuruskan oleh pentadbiran Najib.

Tapi dalam masa sama mereka kurang percaya yang Pakatan Rakyat boleh jadi kerajaan persekutuan yang baik.

Sebaliknya, mereka melihat satu alternatif yang lain – Johor keluar dari Malaysia dan membentuk sebuah negara sendiri, seperti Brunei Darussalam, mungkin.

Pada kali pertama saya mendengar perkara ini, saya tergelak perkara ini kerana benda ini agak mengarut.

Tetapi sentimen ini diterjemahkan oleh mereka tanpa disedari. Mereka menyampaikan ketidakpuasan hati mereka kepada Putrajaya melalui cara mereka berfikir, berpakaian atau bercakap.

Mungkin mereka tidak sedar – tetapi mengikut pemerhatian saya, saya merasakan mereka lebih rela memakai jersi JDT daripada jersi pasukan Malaysia. Tapi itu perkara yang kecil.

Tapi perkataan-perkataan yang dahulunya saya jarang dengar seperti "Bangsa Johor", sudah mula kedengaran di mana-mana.

Sticker-sticker berlandaskan semangat kenegerian berada di mana-mana kereta dan motosikal. Jenama baju Joho, baju tertulis perkataan "Johor" dalam tulisan jawi, atau sticker seperti "Lanun Johor" kelihatan di mana-mana, tidak mengira kaum.

Johor yang saya kenal semasa saya kecil dahulu, bukan Johor yang macam sekarang.

Mungkin selama ini negeri yang agak kuat semangat kenegeriannya seperti Kelantan atau Sabah sudah biasa saya lihat, tapi semangat kenegerian Johor ini seolah-olah ia secara "subliminal message" ini adalah "nasionalisme Bangsa Johor" dan ia lebih kuat dari apa yang saya fikirkan sebelum ini.

Yang paling saya tak tahu selama ini negeri Johor ada bendera-bendera daerah mereka sendiri.

Saya tak pernah bayangkan Hulu Langat atau Petaling ada bendera sendiri di Selangor.

Itu mungkin perkara kecil. Tapi, dari perkara kecil lah, benda besar boleh berlaku.

Peristiwa rusuhan di Plaza Low Yat misalnya, bermula dari perkara kecil – curi telefon bimbit (atau peniaga menipu barang kepada pengguna, tak tahu yang mana satu betul) – tapi lama-lama ia menjadi besar, dan jika tidak dikawal ia jadi satu rusuhan kaum yang besar seperti 13 Mei 1969.

Jadi "perkara-perkara kecil" inilah yang saya perhatikan di Johor. Jika pentadbiran di Putrajaya masih lagi kalut, dan pembangkang masih berkelahi sesama sendiri, lama-lama saya rasa gerakan untuk keluar dari Malaysia akan semakin kuat.

Bahkan saya percaya rata-rata rakyat Johor lebih percaya dan lebih menyokong Sultan dan Tengku Mahkota Johor dari perdana menteri Malaysia.

Kalau berterusan begini, mungkin satu hari nanti bila saya nak pulang berhari raya ke rumah saudara mara saya di Kluang ini, saya terpaksa membawa passport.

Apapun, saya ingin mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri kepada semua pembaca ruang pojok ini, dan semua pembaca The Malaysian Insider. Saya memohon ampun dan maaf sekira sepanjang tahun yang lalu saya ada terkasar bahasa dan menimbulkan kemarahan. – 18 Julai, 2015.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/nomy-nozwir/article/cerita-tentang-johor-yang-merdeka-dari-putrajaya#sthash.kOxCYMxD.dpuf

Read More