00:00Sabah and Sarawak must remember that before you joined the Federation,
00:05before you became a part of Malaysia, they were very poor countries.
00:10And the oil was not being produced at that time.
00:13It is only after they joined Malaysia that we were able to exploit the gas potential,
00:20the oil potential of Sabah and Sarawak.
00:23So they become rich because they joined the Federation.
00:26Dr. Mahathir Mohamad says Malaysia's prosperity has been built on a partnership
00:32between the resource-rich regions of Sabah and Sarawak and the federal government,
00:37which provided expertise, capital and infrastructure to unlock their potential.
00:42Speaking to FMT, the former Prime Minister said Malaysia's petroleum wealth
00:46was not discovered or monetized by either side on its own,
00:50but through a combination of natural endowment and national expertise.
00:54According to Mahathir, Sabah and Sarawak were among the poorest states
00:59at the time of Malaysia's formation.
01:01Sabah and Sarawak were very poor states.
01:04They were far behind in terms of development the states of the peninsula.
01:11But because of federation and allocation of funds from the federal government
01:17to the state, Sabah and Sarawak has made progress.
01:22Commenting further on the state of federalism today,
01:25Mahathir said Malaysians must not mistake Sarawak's current success
01:29as happening despite federal government policies.
01:32Instead, he said, it happened because of those policies.
01:36Sarawak must remember that at the beginning,
01:41the federation helped Sarawak.
01:43Now the time has come for Sarawak to help the federation
01:48because of the help given by the federation has enriched Sarawak.
01:54Mahathir stressed that the 1963 Malaysia Agreement
01:57outlines not only the special rights of Sabah and Sarawak,
02:00but also those of the federal government.
02:02In a federation, we have to accept that certain power
02:10is given to the federation which the state must recognise.
02:18Certain other powers are given to the state
02:21which the federal government must recognise.
02:24But there are also conjoined authorities on certain issues
02:29and this will involve the government's working together.
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