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| Emily Edward – Goodwill Ambassador |
The first year of SSRANZ has been a year of challenging progress in terms of the Sabah Sarawak Rights agenda, with some key achievements.
As a Goodwill Ambassador, I am pleased to be able to arrange some diplomatic meetings with some government ministers and non-government organisation to discuss Sabah and Sarawak legal issues concerning the current status of the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak.
The SSRANZ is fully committed to raise the issues with the Commonwealth Lawyers Association to upholding “The Rule of Law” on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), based on the reason that the treaty has been terminated by multiple federal government violations, abuses and dishonoured for more than 55 years rendering the treaty as no longer binding on Sabah and Sarawak.
Presenting the Sabah Sarawak struggles at the Human Rights Conferences and Forum were part of the initiative carried into action plan since the past two years to promote awareness of the Sabah Sarawak justice mission to the international authority.
During the diplomatic visits, the current situation in Sabah Sarawak Borneo being advocated to promote justice concerning mass deforestation, horrible destruction by logging, palm plantation, and hydro dams in Borneo's Rain forests caused by human's greed causing 90% of the lowland of Borneo rain forest has gone, for the production of palm oil.
The Indigenous Natives of Borneo continue to suffer from the loss of their Native Land.
The burning and felling of the jungle led to the destruction of the natural habitat and also killing of many local animals like the Orang Utans and Borneo pygmy elephants.
The Sabah Land Ordinance has been manipulated by land grabbers and the rights of the Native Customary Rights violated.
The Malayan Government made a promise in 1963 to especially safeguard the rights of the Borneo native people under the terms of the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
However, under the Malaysian Government’s “watch”, it has allowed its police to used by local authorities to evict the people of Sabah (and Sarawak) from their land by force so as to alienate their land to commercial agricultural companies, many of which are from Malaya.
The Malaysian government is on the lookout to stop foreign journalists who are trying to expose the corruption since two Global Witness investigators caught Taib Mahmud's family members red-handed on hidden cameras admitting to their under-the-table commission land deals (including a three-thousand-hectares concession of rain forest).
There's no 'Freedom of expression' in these issues as it could be dangerous to challenge the rampant commercial activities in the native land. The Malaysian government has permitted the destruction of the native's people homeland and sources of livelihood and the environment in the process of so-called economic development with a colonial one-crop economy of palm oil plantations.
The formation of Malaysia was justified by the main reason that federation was to develop Sabah and Sarawak.
However, this “federation” became a vehicle for long-term human rights abuses in Sabah and Sarawak since 1963 especially failure to eradicate poverty and raise living standards.
The abuses cover a wide range of matter including failure to access to basic amenities such as clean water, education, hospital, tarred road in the rural area, discrimination, oppression, demographic structure, ethnic cleansing, violation of international law in relation to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and Petroleum Development Act 1974.
Collecting sign petition of ‘Calling for Sabah Sarawak Rights’ are part of the undertaking chore that I carried to support the justice mission by the Sabah Sarawak Union – United Kingdom (Australia Chapter).
I always promoted the people’s rights, struggles and dignity as part of my discussions in every diplomat visit that I have attended. It is a vital part of seeking justice for the people of Sabah Sarawak Borneo in a damaged political system. Many people have come to see that the idea of Formation of Malaysia was only to colonise Sabah and Sarawak for the Malaya’s benefits, while the people of Borneo are struggled and ignored
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