MIRI – Calling Sarawak a “wilayah” (territory) is not necessarily a good thing for Sarawakians as the reference may very well have downgraded the state, says former mayor of Miri Datuk Lawrence Lai.
The lawyer said the name change to Wilayah Sarawak has actually downgraded Sarawak instead of upgrading it, as the term “wilayah” merely means “territory” in the overall country of Malaysia context.
“Certain local groups in Sarawak got very excited after Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin called Sarawak a wilayah during his recent visit to Kuching,” he told The Vibes.
“Actually, we must be very careful. This can be seen from the Wilayah Labuan and Wilayah Putrajaya reference, or the Federal Territory of Labuan and the Federal Territory of Putrajaya, which are seen as territories within Malaysia.
“Therefore, by using the term Wilayah Sarawak or Wilayah Sabah, it is equating both Sarawak and Sabah to the same level of Wilayah Labuan and Wilayah Putrajaya,” said Lai, who is also a former Sarawak Advocate Association deputy chairman.
“This is definitely not compatible for three equal partners of Malaysia.”
The lawyer said that if the term wilayah is to be used, then Peninsular Malaysia should be called “Wilayah Malaya”, comprising 11 states. “Following that, Malaysia will then have six wilayah: Sarawak; Sabah; Labuan; Putrajaya; Peninsular Malaya; and Kuala Lumpur.”
He said that the correct name for Sarawak and Sabah should be “Negara Sarawak” and “Negara Sabah” instead of wilayah, whereby Malaya should be renamed “Negara Malaya” with 11 states. “Then, it will comprise of three equal partners of Malaysia, which is in keeping with the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).”
The first step towards recognising and respecting our rights under MA63 should be amending our federal constitution to restore the one-third parliamentary seats for Sarawak and Sabah.
Lai said that for all official protocol and hierarchy in Malaysia, it should be as follows:
1. Persekutuan Malaysia (Federation of Malaysia);
2. Tiga Negara: Sarawak, Sabah, and Malaya (the latter comprising 11 states); and
3. Tiga Wilayah: Labuan, Putrajaya, and Kuala Lumpur.
“It’s just like the United Kingdom, which consists of 4 countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – Malaysia should consist of three countries, that is Sarawak, Sabah, and Malaya, pursuant to the intention and spirit of MA63,” he said.
Lai warned that a verbal change of name is by itself insufficient. “To really prove that Sarawak and Sabah are to be treated as equal partners of Malaysia, then they should each have one-third of the parliamentary seats in Malaysia, again as per MA63.
“We must ask the federal government for a third of parliamentary seats – because under Article 159(3) of the federal constitution, no amendments can be made unless there is a two-thirds majority vote by the MPs.”
He added that in 1963, out of a total of 154 MPs, 55 MPs came from Sarawak (24), Sabah (16), and Singapore (15) – and that when Singapore left in 1965, its quota of 15 MPs was wrongly taken over entirely by Malaya instead of being shared with Sarawak and Sabah.
Lai said that ever since then, the so-called “equal partners of Malaysia” (Sabah and Sarawak) have never enjoyed the one-third quota of MPs.
“The first step towards recognising and respecting our rights under MA63 should be amending our federal constitution to restore the one-third parliamentary seats for Sarawak and Sabah.
“If the one-third parliamentary seats cannot even be considered, then it will be clear and obvious that all the talk – of restoring our oil and gas rights; of repealing the Petroleum Development Act 1974, Territorial Seas Act, and other acts – shall only remain as just talk,” he said. – The Vibes, April 14, 2021
