Malaysian activist and founder of Saya Anak Sarawak (SAS) Peter John Jaban has urged for the KLCC Twin Towers to be renamed “Sabah and Sarawak” in recognition of the vital role the two East Malaysian territories and their resources have contributed in developing our country.
In a statement responding to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir’s recent suggestion for Sarawak, which is now recognised as a high-income territory, to help poorer states in Malaysia.
Peter calls out Tun Mahathir’s past policies which affected Sabah and Sarawak
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Dayak Daily quoted Peter as saying that while Tun Mahathir was the “architect” of modern Malaysia, the former Prime Minister, during his premiership, had redirected development funds from Sabah and Sarawak to Peninsular Malaysia.
Peter asserted,
“His mega project – Cyberjaya, Langkawi, KLCC Twin Towers, Sepang International Circuit and other costly ventures – have only benefited a select few, leaving some of the other states across Peninsular Malaysia to fend for themselves, just as Sarawak and Sabah have had to,”
Peter John Jaban
Peter, who is also the Sarawak Association for People’s Aspirations (SAPA) publicity and information chief, stressed that Sarawak had reached a high-income status in spite of Tun Mahathir’s policies in the past, not because of them.
In addition, Peter said that after years of being treated as the “stepchildren” of Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak are finally standing on their own 2 feet.
He also hoped that Tun Mahathir would “stay at home to digest just how the States he dubbed as lazy, slow and greedy as recently as 2018 have pulled off this transformation”.
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So, what do you guys think of Peter’s statement? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
