Is Putrajaya afraid of SAPA?

By admin-s On Nov 19, 2014

Putrajaya’s heavy handed behaviour only raises questions about why SAPA is so ostensibly dangerous. Barisan Nasional minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing had also called for a review of the Malaysia Agreement previously without any apparent repercussions.

Khairie Hisyam Aliman, MMO

In declaring Sarawak Association for People’s Aspiration (SAPA) illegal, Putrajaya is effectively shooting the messenger but leaving the questions unanswered.

That the home minister is empowered to do so is in no doubt. Section 5(1) of the Societies Act 1966 gives him the absolute discretion to declare any organisation illegal if, in his opinion, it is operating for purposes that are harmful to the nation.

Contrary to what SAPA president Lina Soo thinks, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi’s personal opinion really is all it takes to declare a society illegal. Once the order is gazetted, SAPA is immediately deregistered.

SAPA may still fight to stay legal, relying on the precedent set by Bersih which was previously declared illegal by the same ministry only to find relief in the high court which quashed the decision. But that is further down the road.

But why come down on SAPA so harshly?

Is SAPA dangerous?

SAPA is a small group of just 11 members. Its Facebook page counts only 2,856 likes at the time of writing compared to Bersih’s page, which has over 185,000. The association claims no notice was served, nor any show-cause letter received. Instead the association discovered the declaration through the media.

By all appearances, SAPA is a small minority. Yet the Home Ministry saw fit to act in a similar way towards SAPA as it did Bersih, ignoring many other groups blatantly sowing strife in the nation that remain legally registered to this day.

The logical conclusion is that, in calling SAPA an organisation “that carries out activities detrimental to the interests of the security of Malaysia and public order in the country”, Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamad Khalid Shariff was referring to SAPA’s campaign to review Sarawak’s position in Malaysia.

To recap SAPA’s campaign aims to start a public petition to the United Nations to this effect, which requires the signatures of 10 per cent of Sarawak’s adult population. To date SAPA claims to have garnered 16 per cent of the signatures it needs for this purpose.

The association’s proposed review of Sarawak’s position in Malaysia is based on the right of self-determination of any people, a fundamental principle of international law that is recognised by the United Nations.

When Scotland held a referendum to decide whether or not it should stay in the United Kingdom, calls for a similar public poll in Sarawak and Sabah arose but were downplayed by federal minister Nancy Shukri, a Sarawakian, who said such an exercise is not needed as more people want to stay than leave.

I share her opinion that more East Malaysians will vote to stay than leave at this moment. A referendum would likely be in favour of staying. But the point lies in asking the question, not presuming the eventual answer.