Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing
KUCHING (Sept 16): The birth of Malaysia 58 years ago on Sept 16, 1963 was a momentous historical event but the ‘marriage’ between Malaya, and Sarawak and Sabah, was never a smooth union, opined Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing.
The deputy chief minister said misunderstandings and bickering between Malaya and the two Bornean states on the distribution of resources, among others, have led some Sarawakians and Sabahans to feel “the only way out is divorce, or in political terms, secession.”
“There is, I am told, no provision in our Federal Constitution for secession. There is a recourse in international law which allows for a referendum. This is easier said than done.
“The International Court of Justice (IJC) would not grant secession if there is lack of proof to show oppression by the federal authority,” he said in his Malaysia Day message yesterday.
Masing, who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak president, said regardless of the ‘acrimonious’ relationship, the best approach for the peninsula, Sarawak and Sabah is to keep the union stable, understand each other’s characteristics, and to live in peace and harmony.