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Friday, 4 February 2011

From little acorns grow mighty oaks

A little over two weeks ago, on 18th January, I had dinner in KL with the leaders of the Sarawak National Party (SNAP).
From left : Patrick Saging, Anthony Liman, Stanley Jugol, Dayrell Entrie
I shared with them MCLM’s ongoing efforts in drawing up and crafting the Rakyat Reform Agenda and proposed that SNAP could get involved in the same so that the Reform Agenda could comprehensively take on board the needs of the marginalised communities in Sarawak.

  I also briefed them on MCLM’s impending Citizen Empowerment School and offered to make available to them our training modules to be carried out in Sarawak for their members.
I have also offered to make available MCLM’s candidate evaluation process to help SNAP in their candidate selection process.
The response was positive.
So positive that it culminated in an invitation for me to speak at their symposium in Kuching on 29th January, 2011 which I gladly accepted.
Whilst the symposium was themed ‘The Time Has Come : Unity For A Better Sarawak’, I urged a ‘Unity For a Better Malaysia’.
I urged a better understanding that since the 70′s, politicians from both Semenanjung and Sabah and Sarawak have colluded to enrich themselves leaving so many marginalised, both in East and West Malaysia.
They did this by dividing us and then ruling over us.
If we, the rakyat, are to take this country back from these self-serving politicians, we have to stop dividing ourselves into Sabahans, Sarawakians and Semenanjungites.
I proposed that SNAP needs to think beyond the forthcoming state elections and look to form the necessary collaborations with other like-minded parties to take federal power in the next general election if it is to have chance to bring about real change for the people of Sarawak.
SNAP, I suggested must forge a real working partnership with like-minded parties in Sabah and semenanjung and play a leading role in determining who gets to form the government at Putrajaya post the 13th GE.
Finally, I proposed that SNAP and MCLM work towards forging an alliance, MCLM making available its every resource to help SNAP in the forthcoming state elections and, later, to work together in the 13th GE.
Later that same night, after the SNAP Unity Dinner, I adjourned with several of the SNAP leaders for further discussions that were most productive and left me with the sense that something good will definitely come out of this trip to Sarawak.
Next day, I flew out to Kota Kinabalu for dinner with Jeffrey Kitingan and his team from United Borneo Front.
I took this opportunity to communicate MCLM’s commitment towards working for the honouring of the 18-point and 20-point agreement.
Let me just say that the dinner discussion was as fruitful as my discussions the night before in Kuching.
At the end of dinner I proposed a UBF-SNAP-MCLM alliance. This suggestion was well-received.
I am trying to arrange for a meeting in KL soon with both the SNAP and UBF leadership and if all goes well, we just might see that UBF-SNAP-MCLM alliance become a reality.

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