I am reading with great interest the on-going debates about the amendment in the Federal Constitution which purportedly ‘demoted’ Sarawak’s status from a ‘region’ to a ‘state’. My name was mentioned as one of the Sarawak MPs who ‘supported’ the amendment. I will not apologise for it was a collective decision and accept full responsibility for what happened because it was a better option to move forward at that time as far as our nation building process was concerned.
But before any blame is laid on me and my colleagues, it is important for people to understand the political and social context during which the amendment was made. I leave it to people in the know to articulate and to examine the implications of the amendment to Sarawak’s position in the federation. What I am more interested in is to see the present generation to uphold the spirit of Malaysia by respecting the Malaysian Agreement 1963 and the Federal Constitution.
Now, let me come to the focal issue of the amendment in 1976. Many things had happened in Malaysia in the span of seven years before 1976. In 1969, for instance, we witnessed one of the bloodiest ethnic riots in our country’s history. In 1970, the government formulated a national ideology known as Rukunegara to keep Malaysia’s esprit de corps intact during difficult periods. This was followed by the introduction of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1971.
In 1973, the country saw another milestone with the formation of the more inclusive Barisan Nasional (BN) to replace the Alliance Government comprising ethnic and regional-based parties. All these were introduced to the country with the aim of strengthening the spirit of Malaysia by creating a sense of belonging of Malaysians. At the same time communist threat was hanging over our country’s security like a sword of Damocles.
We in Sarawak supported the government’s multi-pronged measures to address the political, social and regional gaps among our divided societies. As one of the Sarawak BN leaders at that time, our main aim was to unite Malaysians as only through unity would we be able to continue with the efforts of building Malaysia.
As far as I can remember, the amendment to Article 1 of the Federal Constitution was not a ‘demotion’ of the Sarawak status but more of an exercise to reflect Malaysia’s parliamentary federal system. It was (and still is) a federal system which granted Sarawak a special position in the Federal Constitution. So, despite the amendment, Sarawak’s special position in the federation was still intact.
On whether Sarawak was demoted from a region to a state is a matter of academic contention. I do not think what I will say will contribute anything beneficial and constructive to the on-going polemics about Sarawak’s status.
To reiterate, we acted according to the political and social circumstances at that time. We needed to make a decision fast for the sake of Malaysia. We were more interested in nation building and in integrating Sarawak into the federation of Malaysia in order to expedite more development and also to keep our nation’s security intact.
As I said in a forum recently at Unimas, we believed in what Tunku Abdul Rahman said that Malaysia would be a strong and prosperous nation with the participation of Sarawak in the federation. It is up to the present leaders to examine whether the provisions in the Malaysian Agreement and Federal Constitution to preserve Sarawak’s unique position have been adhered to.
I fully support the initiatives by the Chief Minister Adenan Satem for a greater autonomy for Sarawak. However, in our quest to fight for Sarawak’s rights, we must also look into the larger interest of our beloved country Malaysia.
EDMUND LANGGU SAGA is a former Member of Parliament for Saratok.
