Hold Referendum On Sarawak Quitting Malaysia Gps Urged

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An aerial view of the Sarawak state assembly building. SUPP Youth says the state should not continue being ‘subservient’ to Putrajaya. (Bernama pic)KUCHING: A component party of Sarawak’s ruling coalition has suggested a referendum on the state’s future in Malaysia in the event of a deadlock in negotiations with Putrajaya over the equality of partnership in the Malaysian federation
Speaking to FMT, SUPP Youth secretary-general Milton Foo urged the coalition, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), to set a time frame for the negotiations
Putrajaya should not expect the state to go on being subservient to it, he said
“We cannot allow Malaya to continue to prosper at the expense of Sarawak and Sabah,” he added
He claimed he had spoken to people on the ground and found that many believed Sarawak should leave Malaysia “if the federal government refuses to return to us what we deserve under the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 (MA63)”
SUPP Youth secretary-general Milton Foo.He also said he had always believed that MA63 was signed in a rush. “Our forefathers were right when they wanted Sarawak to gain its independence before negotiating with Malaya or Singapore to form the federation.”Francis Paul Siah, who heads the Movement for Change in Sarawak, agreed on the idea of a referendum
“The present generation of Sarawakians did not decide in 1963 to team up with the others to form Malaysia,” he said
He told FMT it was known to him and many others that there were elements in GPS who were in favour of the state’s secession from Malaysia
He attributed this to heightened patriotism and growing discontent with Putrajaya over allegedly racial and religious-based policies. - FMT

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