<figure id="attachment_3186716" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3186716" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3186716 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/b7dc7a11-peter-john-jaban-resize-fmt-181025.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3186716" class="wp-caption-text">Saya Anak Sarawak founder Peter John Jaban said MA63 is not a political stunt but a binding agreement that formed the foundation of Malaysia.</figcaption></figure>
PETALING JAYA: A Sarawakian rights activist has hit out at former law minister Zaid Ibrahim for claiming that East Malaysia is attempting to “outwit and control Malaya” via a Borneo bloc.
Peter John Jaban said he found Zaid’s comments insulting, reckless, and dismissive of Sabah and Sarawak’s position in the country.
“Framing Sabah and Sarawak’s pursuit of their constitutional safeguards as a game of ‘outwitting Malaya’ is arrogant, condescending, and offensive,&#8221; the Saya Anak Sarawak founder said in a statement.
“MA63 was never a political stunt; it is a binding agreement that formed the foundation of Malaysia. Reducing it to sarcasm insults the law, history, and the people of East Malaysia.”
Zaid was reported as saying the proposal of a Borneo bloc was an example of “how smart Sabahans and Sarawakians continue to outwit and control Malaya”.
He also accused Sabah and Sarawak of challenging federal laws, and were claiming “30 items still outstanding from MA63”.
“They said the Borneo bloc is to give them balance and a negotiating position. No, they already have that; now they want control,” he was quoted as saying.
Recently, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah deputy secretary-general Armizan Mohd Ali called for Sabah and Sarawak to work towards forming a united bloc that would help shape the federal government and drive its core agenda.
Sabah and Sarawak have 56 seats in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat – Sabah 25 and Sarawak 31.
Peter said neither Sarawak nor Sabah had “outwitted” anyone, as they helped form Malaysia as equal partners.
He also said a Borneo bloc was crucial as political parties in Peninsular Malaysia prioritised “Malayan interests”.
Separately, Gagasan Rakyat Sabah information chief Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan said the proposal to form a Borneo bloc should not be interpreted as an attempt to dominate the peninsula.
Jesselton Times quoted Nizam as saying such a bloc would align the voices of Sabah and Sarawak in advocating for the interests of East Malaysians in a more organised manner in Parliament.

MatchPoint Times

Zaid’s Borneo bloc comments insulting, reckless, says Sarawak activist

Peter John Jaban says neither Sarawak nor Sabah ‘outwitted’ anyone, as they helped form Malaysia as equal partners.

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