KOTA KINABALU – Doris Jones, the controversial activist accused of promoting secession through a social media-based movement called Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia (SSKM) in 2015 has resurfaced with a new video.
This time the UK-based legal assistant is being linked to Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) and Sabah Star with her signature drive.
In the 45-minute video, Jones, 53, whose real name is Doris Yapp Kim Youn, claimed followers from the two parties were involved in the drive launched by her movement called the Sabah, Sarawak Union (SSU), which demands for the independence of Sabah and Sarawak.
She claimed some SAPP and Sabah Star followers had also signed the petition.
The petition was launched in 2014 with the aim of collecting as many as 300,000 signatures from “Genuine Sabahans” (Sabah Tulen).
This continued until the 14th general election, when Jones demanded that all the signatures, which included names and Mykad numbers, be returned to the SSU office.
“We want all the signatories and details provided in the petition forms to be returned whether you are still with SSU as volunteers or not.
“There are names and Mykad numbers on the list. We don’t want the list to be abused by those who may want to use them for their personal gain.
“I wish to clarify that if any of the names and details were abused, SSU will not be responsible for it,” she said in the video.
She also called on volunteers or former volunteers of the SSU movement to return all the signature petition forms, saying the list did not belong to them.
An arrest warrant was issued against Jones in 2015 for seditious activities with Interpol’s help also being sought for her arrest.
It is understood that the Sabahan, who is believed to be from Penampang, married in Britain and works in the legal sector. She has family members living in Labuan.
She is also believed to be keeping in touch with Malaysian NGO networks through Skype.
The Sabah rights activist who was once linked to Sabah Star leader Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan is also vocal on state rights, especially the controversial Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), which is a cornerstone issue for many political parties in Sabah.
The two figures were said to have had a falling out late last year, after Jeffrey and his party became part of the ruling alliance at both the federal and state levels.
In the video, Jones said the process of gaining independence for Sabah would be an uphill task.
She said for one, the petition was only a small part of the process, and that achieving independence involved bringing the matter to the United Nations and the International Court of Justice, which was not an easy task.
“We need some fact finding and hard evidence to prove that the federal government had neglected Sabah, breaching terms in the MA63.
“The evidence should also be new, like about 10 years or so, not relying entirely on old treaties alone,” said Jones, adding that the call for independence also requires all Sabahans to support the move.
She pointed out there are two types of leaders in Sabah, one, patriotic politicians who fight for what’s right and the other, silent politicians who do nothing after getting elected. – The Vibes, July 24, 2021
