FIFTY-four years after Britain granted Sarawak self-rule today, pro-autonomy groups have revived demonstrations against what they see as erosion of the state’s rights by the federal government. And as usual, these protests will likely amount to nothing tangible.

But far from being discouraged, the voices for greater autonomy have grown increasingly louder, with a pro-autonomy movement taking form over the past few years in Sarawak. Advocates are now pushing aggressively for a referendum for Sarawakians to vote on the proposal.

On May 12, the pro-autonomy movement came closest to achieving its dreams of a referendum when PKR’s Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How tabled an autonomy-related bill in the state assembly. However, the bill was voted out en bloc by state BN leaders.

The 26-page bill, if passed, would have allowed any citizen or group to start a petition and present it to the  state assembly. The proposer would then have six months to collect enough signatures to call for a referendum. For a referendum to be held, at least 10% of the state’s voting population must support the motion. Sarawak has a voting population of one million. However, the government is not legally bound to accept or follow the results of the referendum.

Despite the bill’a early death, Sarawak’s activists are continuing to push for a referendum, which they say is the precursor to autonomy.

Max Lee, a leader in the group, Sarawak-For-Sarawakians (S4S) , believes a referendum will allow “the people to be the real boss”.

“It is a way we could achieve autonomy and have some control over our lives. There many, many issues where the ruling authorities are slow to react to the wishes of the people.

“(Otherwise) once a government is elected, the people can (do nothing but) only wait five years if they’re not happy with the government,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

The activists’ fervour are fuelled by key areas of contention, namely native customary rights, oil royalties, and that the  federal government honours the Malaysia Agreement 1963, which recognises Sarawak as a territorial power with certain autonomous rights.

Erosion of rights

In December, a Federal Court ruled that the native customs of “pemakai menoa” (territorial domain) and “pulau galau” (communal forest reserve) were not recognised by law in Sarawak, setting aside the state’s land act known as native customary rights (NCR). The ruling is seen by many native rights activists as further erosion of rights.

Another issue of contention stems from the amendment to the Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974 which set oil and gas royalties at 5% for Sarawak and Sabah.

Human rights activists and S4S spokesman Peter John Jaban said the autonomy movement brews from a decades-long dissatisfaction that the federal government has dealt unfairly with Sarawakians in all matters.

“Sarawakians are feeling more victimised,” he said.

Lee of S4S said the autonomy movement prioritises above all else the restoration of the Malaysia Agreement 1963, in whiche Sarawak is recognised as one of the four “powers.”

Other autonomy demands are the recognition that Sarawak does not have a official religion, a higher quota of government jobs for Sarawakians, the right to use English in government and as a teaching language, a bigger share of tax revenues and ultimately, a higher percentage of oil royalties, Lee said.

The Malaysia Agreement 1963 is a binding treaty that was signed by the United Kingdom  and Northern Ireland, the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore.

The treaty gives Sabah and Sarawak autonomy in certain areas, including the rights to not have an official state religion and to have English as the official language. It also grants the two states autonomy in immigration and local government, for “Borneanisation” of the civil service, tariffs, and special legal rights for indigenous races.

However, amendments to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution in 1976 in Parliament reduced the status of Sarawak from a territorial power to one of 13 federated states.

S4S spokesman Jong Kim Joon said the group will continue to gather upport on the ground to push for another tabling of a referendum bill, saying the state cannot trust politicians from the peninsula, be they of the opposition or government.

“If there is really a change of government, it might only benefit the Malayans,” Joon said, using the anachronistic term for West Malaysians.

“We don’t want to risk losing everything to the point of being ruled by the Malayan political parties in all matters,” Jong said. – July 22, 2017.