“We welcome anything that is good for Sabah and in that sense DAP’s autonomy plans shows that, to an extent, it is starting to realise the real meaning of autonomy for Sabah,” said Warisan vice-president Junz Wong.
The Likas assemblyman told FMT the autonomy which Sabahans wanted goes beyond what DAP promised.
“We want to have full control over our destiny. This means going back to the Malaysia Agreement 1963,” he said.
He said this included vital matters such as the Borneonisation of the civil service in Sabah, giving the state control over utilities and the granting of powers to the state to decide on matters which affected Sabah and its people.
“Right now Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) comes under Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). Electricity in Sabah shouldn’t be controlled from Peninsular Malaysia.”
Over the weekend DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had outlined to reporters at the DAP’s national leadership retreat the party’s autonomy plans for Sabah and Sarawak should Pakatan Harapan and its allies form the federal government.
He said this included full autonomy in the funding and administration of healthcare and education and 20% in royalty from revenues from oil extracted in Sabah and Sarawak each. He also pledged return of 50% of all taxes collected, including from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to the two states’ coffers.
Wong said other matters such as the issuance of licences for tour buses and deep sea fishing – which come from the federal government – should be brought under the state’s jurisdiction.
“Tourism is our rice bowl in Sabah. We need to have full control of matters like this because we know Sabah’s needs better than anyone else.”
He added that by having direct control over deep sea fishing in Sabah’s waters, the state could prevent the illegal outsourcing of the fishing licenses to foreigners, which he stessed was a big problem in the state.