Why East Malaysians are pushing for secession
Putrajaya’s twin policy of pushing Ketuanan Melayu and Ketuanan Islam in East Malaysia will lead to more conversion of the native population to Islam, which in turn will lead to worsening relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in East Malaysia.
James Chin
The recent amendments to the Sedition Act (SA) state that that any call to secession for any states from the federation of Malaysia is seditious. Many are of the view that this amendment was targeted at the increasing vocal voices from East Malaysia for Sabah and Sarawak to break away from the Malaysian federation.
There are at least half-a-dozen groups operating openly in Sabah and Sarawak calling for Sabah and Sarawak to break away rather than autonomy. Several supporters of the Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia (SSKM) group were arrested in Sabah recently and charged for sedition. Other active groups include Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (Bopim), 916 Occupation Day, Sarawak Sovereignty Movement and Sarawak for Sarawakians.
All started their movements via social media, especially Facebook. In this article, James Chin identifies five sources of the push. They are
(a) The ’20 Points’
(b) Sabah and Sarawak’s status in the Federation
(c) Manufactured consent towards the formation of Malaysia.
(d) Federal intervention in state politics: Sarawak and Sabah
(e) Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) and Ketuanan Islam (Islam supremacy)
He concludes that Putrajaya’s twin policy of pushing Ketuanan Melayu and Ketuanan Islam in East Malaysia will lead to more conversion of the native population to Islam, which in turn will lead to worsening relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in East Malaysia.
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