Some politicians, activists, and residents of East Malaysia have not been pleased with the long character of negotiations involving issues like position income, oil and gas, as well as the supply of national parliamentary seats, as well as what has been perceived as an increase in Islamization on the peninsula.
Peter John Jaban, a rights activist for Sarawak and Sabah, believes that the federal government lacks the capacity or willingness to make up for the “extensive financial and development costs” they have suffered over the past 60 times.
There has been a considerable delay since the conversations began on the recovery of MA63 privileges in 2015, with issues like the Sabah 40 % profit rights still unanswered, he told CNA.
According to Mr. Jaban, the federal government faces major difficulties in fully implementing MA63 because he believes that the country’s unique conception of a secular multicultural state has changed to one predominated by racial and religious diversity.
Political analyst Murray Hunter cited unease with multiracial Sabah and Sarawak, both, and malaise with Malay dominance in high civil service positions and a spiritually divisive convenience store chain incident as examples of these.
East Malaysian Bumiputeras made up only 3.1 % of senior management in the civil service in 2022, despite having a preference for them alongside the predominately peninsula-living Malays, according to an ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute report from 2023.
After one of the company’s outlets was discovered to be selling a pair of boots bearing the word” Allah,” which is revered as sacred for Muslims, in Perak, Pahang, and Sarawak in April, KK Super Mart outlets were targeted with petrol bombs in the area.
Sarawak received some of the most vehement criticism of how the affair had been morally politicized, with some of its politicians supporting the chain’s Sarawakian founder, who had apologized for the incident.
KK Super Mart and its provider were each fined RM60, 000 on July 15 for intentionally offending Muslims, despite the company’s founder and director and the supplier’s directors receiving a discharge that did not amount to an acquittal.
Mr Fabian Wong, the retired Singaporean infantry officer, said:” Sarawak’s main priority is freedom of religion. Any fanaticism is never welcome. Sarawak is pleased with its cooperation and wishes to keep it that way.
Another Sarawakian Aziz Ali, 61, agreed, noting that Malaysia has for years practised a “one Malaysia” multicultural principle, but in recent years mainland politics seemed to greatly play up issues of race, nobility and spirituality.
Dr. Johan Arriffin Samad, a political observer, also made a point about the controversy surrounding the use of the word” Allah” after it was mentioned in Malay-language books and religious books by indigenous Christians in the Malay states, which sparked outcry on the coast.
Malaysia’s Malay rulers had decided that the word” Allah” cannot be used by non-Muslims in the peninsula, while conditional usage is allowed in Sabah and Sarawak.
” These are some instances that affect Sabah and Sarawak, both of whom complained about it. People are frightened of this kind of thing”, said Dr Johan.
More escalation in Malaysia’s Islamization, according to Mr. Hunter, could “push Sabah and Sarawak absent little quicker.”
Given that the prime minister is attempting to secure the help of Sabah and Sarawak to “keep the government up,” he added that Mr. Anwar would be “very delicate” to these problems.
According to Mr. Hunter, “his intuition is telling him that he needs Sabah and Sarawak to get and get a second term up.”