Sarawak activist: MA63 not up for debate, it's a constitutional duty
KUCHING (May 10): Former two-time Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been reminded that the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) is not a subject for debate, but a constitutional obligation that must be enforced.
Responding to Dr Mahathir's recent remarks suggesting Sarawak's pursuit of greater autonomy should go through Parliament, social activist Peter John Jaban emphasised that MA63 is a foundational international agreement that should be upheld, not negotiated.
'Our Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and his ministers are not naïve or foolish. They fully understand the limitations of seeking justice through Parliament,' Peter John said in a statement today.
'On the contrary, they are fully informed of the structural imbalance within Parliament, where Sarawak and Sabah combined hold only 25 per cent of the total 222 seats,' he added.
Peter John said the call to bring MA63 into Parliament must be met with hard facts.
'As it stands, Sabah has 25 seats and Sarawak has 31. This structural imbalance means that we do not have the parliamentary strength to assert or protect our rights effectively,' he stressed.
Peter John said bringing MA63 to Parliament under these conditions would be counterproductive.
'To ask Sarawak to argue for its rights in a house where its voice has already been weakened by design is not democracy — it is dilution,' he said.
'During Dr Mahathir's time as prime minister, the erosion of MA63 accelerated and so it is ironic to now suggest Parliament as the path forward, when that very institution has historically failed to protect our rights partly due to the structural imbalance in representation.'
Much of the erosion of MA63 provisions took place during Tun Dr Mahathir's own tenure as prime minister, he claimed.
Peter John added that Sarawak's leadership is committed and strategic in reclaiming what is rightfully theirs through legal, administrative, and direct engagement with the federal government.
'Sarawak's rights are not up for debate. They are due for enforcement. MA63 is not about parliamentary opinion, it is about the restoration of what was legally agreed upon,' he said.
Sarawakians, he added, are disappointed by Dr Mahathir's view that Sarawak's autonomy push and demand for control over its oil and gas resources should be debated in Parliament instead of being resolved through direct action.
'The matter of MA63 is not for debate. It is for enforcement,' he concluded.
Tun Mahathir was recently quoted as saying that Sarawak's push for autonomy and control over its oil and gas should be debated in Parliament, not discussed behind closed doors.
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