KUALA LUMPUR — Many Sarawakians support leaving Malaysia after decades of what they feel is unfair treatment as part of the federation, lawyer and politician Voon Lee Shan said at a forum.
The president of Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) said they were frustrated at the broken promises of rights due to the state’s people under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“The way Malaysia was formed was wrong from the start,” Voon told the Fifty Shades of Federalism seminar yesterday, organised by the Oriental Hearts and Minds Study Institute.
He argued that Sarawak was forced into joining Malaysia in 1963, with little regard for fairness.
“The rules of humanity say you must treat us fairly, not use force to make us agree.”
The call for independence, according to Voon, comes from years of economic exploitation and political control.
“They take our oil and gas and promise us a 5% share. But where is that 5%? No one knows, when I asked the Finance Minister, he doesn’t have an answer,” he said.
Voon also claimed that Sarawak “loses around RM100 billion every year” from its oil resources, with even more lost through taxes collected by the federal government.
He cites as another example of unfair treatment in the current system of the federation is that the rotation for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can only be among the nine Malay rulers of states on the peninsular.
“How can we be equal partners when our Sarawak Yang di-Pertua Negeri can’t even become king?” Voon said at the forum.
Other reasons Sarawakians want to leave Malaysia include the increasing religious rhetoric and calls to impose an official religion on the state, something people there have never agreed to, he added.
“We don’t want any official religion. People here are not happy with this,” he said, while accusing Malaya of meddling in Sarawak’s affairs even before it officially joined Malaysia, which left many feeling betrayed.
Sarawak wants to be free from the politics of Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) and religious dominance, and be a land where everyone is treated equally, Voon added.
He also criticised Malaysia’s electoral system, which he says is controlled by money and power.
“Elections are won by those with money, not by the people’s choice,” said Voon whose PBK party has been pushing for Sarawak’s independence from Malaysia for over a decade since it was formed.
Small local opposition parties like PBK face numerous challenges, he added, also stating his own experience of being arrested and harassed for speaking out against the government.
Voon also described the federal parliament as a “monster” that “ignores” the Federal Constitution and the MA63.
“They even tried to change the MA63. I’ve seen the declassified documents,” he claimed, adding that this had broken the trust between Sarawak and the federal government.
The desire for independence, Voon stressed, is not about hatred but about fairness and self-rule.
“The best solution is for us to leave Malaysia peacefully, like Singapore did in 1965,” he said.
He believes Sarawak’s rich resources, if managed independently, could turn the state into a prosperous nation.
“If Sarawak becomes independent, we’ll invite West Malaysians to come and help us develop,” he added.
The seminar, held at the Royal Subang Golf Club, also featured other prominent speakers, including former Sarawak State Attorney General Datuk Seri Fong Joo Chung, author and columnist Datuk Dr Joe Samad, High Court of Malaya lawyer Andrew Khoo.
The keynote speaker was Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, the Tunku Abdul Rahman Chair Holder at Universiti Malaya. The discussions centred on federalism and the challenges faced by East Malaysian states like Sarawak and Sabah within the Malaysian federation. – February 16, 2025