Awang Azman Awang Pawi says the 'Sabah for Sabahans' idea has appeal, in touching on autonomy and the state’s identity, but would foster isolation, not integration.
00:00The push by some Sabah politicians for local parties to exclusively form the next state government
00:06could backfire, according to a political analyst.
00:11Awang Azman Awang Pawi of University Malaya said,
00:14although the Sabah for Sabahan's idea had local appeal, touching on autonomy and the state's identity,
00:21in the long run it was incompatible with the need for federal cooperation.
00:26He said Sabah needed to work well with the federal government as the state's development would hinge on its political alignment and not isolation.
00:35Awang Azman said Sabah's rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 could be fulfilled more quickly with collaboration between the state and federal governments.
00:46He was commenting on a call by Sabah elders and party leaders,
00:50including Party Solidarity Tanah Ayakuz Jeffrey Kitingan and APCO President Iwan Benedict,
00:56who at a roundtable on Saturday said that the November 29th election should serve as a referendum on forming a government made up solely of Sabahan parties.
01:07He also warned that Sabah parties were fraught with defections, leadership tussles, and frail coalitions,
01:14which made a state government formed only by Sabah parties risky.
Be the first to comment