Adenan Satem said Sarawak would forever remain with the federation of Malaysia and all it wanted was to safeguard its rights as stipulated in the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, Borneo Post Online reported.

“We have been colonised by London (the British government) before the formation of Malaysia, and I certainly don’t want to be colonised by Kuala Lumpur after we formed the country.

“Sarawakians would not accept it if we free ourselves from one colonialist only to be colonised by another,” he was quoted as saying while speaking at a Chinese New Year gathering in Betong yesterday.

Adenan’s statement was supported by his deputy, Alfred Jabu, who said the chief minister had no interest other than to discharge his duties and do what was best for Sarawakians.

The chief minister has been working for greater autonomy in 10 areas, including education, oil royalty and environment.

Last year the state government also decided that English, along with Bahasa Malaysia, would be the preferred official language in administration. In 2015, Adenan also recognised the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) qualification, which is not endorsed by the Federal Government.