What overtures, agreement-in-principle, parameters, Wan Junaidi asked
KUCHING: Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin says he is both impressed and puzzled by the comments of six-term Santubong MP published in an online news portal very recently.
He said the more than two decades of service as an MP certainly makes Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar as among the most senior of MPs, and that probably should have earned him the title of ‘teacher MP’.
“I do not doubt the depth and breadth of his experience at all but I am greatly puzzled by his choice of media and by what he could not do during the 26 years he was a member of the ruling government, and by what he has also failed to do as an opposition MP.
“I was hoping that the adage of ‘old is gold’ holds true for him but it looks like I may have been mistaken.
“By outlining the government decision-making process, which he became very intimated with after having been part of the BN administration for over two decades, it seems to me that his intention was to use the process as an excuse for his failure and the failure of the previous Sarawak BN government to do something substantive towards the restoration of autonomy for Sarawak and the return of the accompanying rights.”
Willie said that talks about securing autonomy for Sarawak and the returns of its rights started in ‘earnest’ when the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem became chief minister in March 2014 while Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg picked up the fight when he took over in January 2017.
He said that all along there was unstinted support for the struggle - from Sarawak’s state legislative assembly (DUN) and from Sarawkians as a whole.
He said in October 2018 , the PH federal government, taking cognizance of the growing calls from Sarawakians, formed the Malaysia Agreement (MA63) Steering Committee to set the wheels for negotiations turning.
The reciprocal efforts by the PH federal government culminated in the moving of the federal constitution amendment Art 1(2) bill in parliament in April this year.
“As we are all aware of, the bill was soundly defeated, in part because Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) MPs boycotted the bill.
“It is therefore very difficult for me to fathom what exactly Wan Junaidi meant when he spoke of overtures, agreement-in-principle, parameters, etc, as we have clearly reached the negotiation stage.”
Willie, who is Sarawak PKR vicechairman, said he was also equally perplexed by the moral support extended to Wan Junaidi by two academicians; one from Universiti Malaysia Sabah and the other from Universiti Malaya.
He said the opinions put forward were without substantiation, and were mere speculation on the part of those two academicians.
He again challenged Wan Junaidi to officially write to the PH federal government, enclosing his cost benefit analysis to clearly show that the Sarawak government is not only fully capable of giving the best to Sarawakians in education and health matters but also to shoulder the financial burden that comes with it.
He cautioned that having a say in policy directions but without the financial capacity to implement it does not amount to autonomy.
“It is like a man saying to his wife ‘I am ok to having children with you but you must bear the financial burden that comes with it’. It is a complete ‘no go’,” Willie said.