‘Muhyiddin's power grab will cost Sabah and Sarawak’

KOTA KINABALU – Sabah and Sarawak should be concerned over the federal government's plan to declare an emergency as doing so could adversely affect the Borneo states' sovereignty.

Former CEO of Institute for Development Studies Datuk Johan Ariffin said the Sabahan civil society had pointed out that the last time emergency powers were declared in 1969, Sabah and Sarawak lost their exclusive rights and control of their territorial waters, from 200km of shorelines to just 3km.

“Sabahans are concerned whether our head of state has a say on this matter as the reports say that the rulers will convene a meeting.

“Sabah had nothing to do with the May 13, 1969, incident and we were punished. (Prime Minister Tan Sri) Muhyiddin Yassin's cabinet is trying to do the same again.

“Sabah and Sarawak are not involved in the political grab of power or what is going on in Kuala Lumpur, but will be severely affected by the outcome,” said the former Sabah Foundation deputy CEO.

Johan said Sabah is already fighting a huge spike in Covid-19 and cannot afford another draconian law imposed on its population.

“Tourism which is a huge industry in Sabah is almost dead and any more restrictions will kill whatever business and industries that Sabah has nurtured all these years to create jobs and a strong economy.

“With lower GDP, high rate of poverty, pandemic and now the proposed emergency orders, Sabah is not going anywhere with the newly elected state government,” Johan said

He added that Sabahans are calling out for common sense to prevail over a few individuals’ 'self-preservation, just to be in power.

"Sabahans are also calling out for their Sabahan members in the federal cabinet to resist the prime minister's move or resign from the cabinet to save Sabah from further economic disaster and control by Kuala Lumpur,” he added.

The Federal Government took ownership of Sabah and Sarawak Territorial Waters using the emergency declared on May 15, 1969.

The Emergency was declared using Article 150 of the Federal Constitution, where Parliament was suspended and only reconvened on February 20, 1971.

Between 1969 and 1971 several Ordinances and gazettes were issued, where three of these laws transferred the ownership of Sabah and Sarawak territorial waters to the federal government without consent, as equal partners under the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

The three enactments that sealed Sabah and Sarawak's fate were the Emergency (Essential Powers) Ordinance No.7 1969; the Continental Shelf Act 1966; and the Petroleum Mining Act 1966.

Meanwhile, Warisan’s Penampang MP Darell Leiking echoed Johan’s sentiments, saying that the state’s territorial rights must be safeguarded at all cost to prevent another round of exploitation if emergency is declared.

“We have learned through Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) activist Zainnal Ajamain that the federal government took control of Sabah’s continental shelf beyond three nautical miles in 1969,” he said.

Leiking said the same attempt was done via the Territorial Sea Waters Act 2012.

The former Minister of International Trade and Industry (Miti) said the territorial rights debate had been resolved at the federal-state committee on MA63 during the administration of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government.

However, the resolution was not implemented by the current Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

Leiking said Sabahans must remain vigilant to prevent further exploitation of Sabah’s natural resources although there has not been any official declaration of emergency law.

“Sabah's rich resources such as lands and minerals will surely be tempting enough for some to exploit. Only a united Sabah can prevent this from happening again,” he said. – The Vibes, October 24, 2020