"Mungkin anda masih buta, bisu dan pekak"

Mungkin anda masih buta, bisu dan pekak...

Bumi Sabah tanah tumpah air kita dipijak,dihina dan diragut kekayaannya hingga ia menangis tidak berdaya.

Dulu,kita hidup aman damai tanpa siulan kekerasan tanpa persoalan agama yang memisahkan kebersamaan kita.

Dulu kita punya tanah warisan nenek moyang yang bebas kita usahakan untuk mengais rezeki.

Tapi dengan bangga kita tetap memilih kesengsaraan demi memuaskan nafsu politik buta kita..

Dengan ego dan kebodohan yg meluap kita gadai tanah air ini dengan bangga untuk mendapat kenikmatan sesaat.

Mengapa kita masih bodoh dan buta memilih pemimpin yang bakal menghancurkan masa depan anak cucu kita?

Satu orang tidak akan mampu menghentikan kejahilan dan kerakusan mereka. Namun jika kita menjadi satu, siapa yang dapat menghentikan kita??

Hasil nukilan oleh Daniel Dilliam

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Read facts about "secession"

KOTA KINABALU : What is "secession"? The current trending word "secession" or "seceding" is derived from the Latin term secessio, which describes the act of withdrawing from an organisation, union, or a political entity.

World's history, both in olden days and recent, is astoundingly littered with the act of "seceding". In Americas, Europe, Africa, Indias and even nearby Indonesia the act of seceding has been just too common. Many seceding territories or states did succeed but others were crushed, violently.

While debates seem to be on the rise on suggestions and calls for Sabah and Sarawak states to secede from the Federation of Malaysia (formed in 1963), many, if not all, of those virulently commenting on it online as well as in coffee shops and offices, are actually still ignorant about all things "secession".

This article attempts to enlighten us as to what this word really means and implies to us in Malaysia, in the hope that a politically-enlightened audience would have a healthy discussions and not degenerate the word into a taboo, like some half-baked Malaysian politicians attempted to do.

The majority of the rest of this article is derived from observations records in Wikipedia, now a leading credible online source of reference worldwide.

According to popular observations, the mainstream political philosophy largely ignored theories of secession until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s through secession. 

In his 1991 book Secession: The Morality of Political Divorce From Fort Sumter to Lithuania and Quebec, philosophy professor Allen Buchanan outlined limited rights to secession under certain circumstances, mostly related to oppression by people of other ethnic or racial groups, and especially those previously conquered by other peoples.

In 1994 the Journal of Libertarian Studies published Robert W. McGee's article "Secession Reconsidered". He writes from a libertarian perspective, but holds that secession is justified only if secessionists can create a viable, if minimal, state on contiguous territory.

In April 1995 the Ludwig Von Mises Institute sponsored a secession conference. Papers from the conference were later published in the book Secession, State and Liberty by David Gordon. Among articles included were: "The Secession Tradition in America" by Donald Livingston; "The Ethics of Secession" by Scott Boykin; “Nations by Consent: Decomposing the Nation-State” by Murray Rothbard; "Yankee Confederates: New England Secession Movements Prior to the War Between the States" by Thomas DiLorenzo; "Was the Union Army's Invasion of the Confederate States a Lawful Act?" by James Ostrowski.

In July 1998 the Rutgers University journal "Society" published papers from a "Symposium on Secession and Nationalism at the Millennium" including the articles "The Western State as Paradigm" by Hans-Herman Hoppe, "Profit Motives in Secession" by Sabrina P. Ramet, "Rights of Secession" by Daniel Kofman, "The Very Idea of Secession" by Donald Livingston and "Secession, Autonomy, & Modernity" by Edward A. Tiryakian. In 2007 the University of South Carolina sponsored a conference called "Secession As an International Phenomenon" which produced a number of papers on the topic.

Justifications for secession

Some theories of secession emphasize a general right of secession for any reason ("Choice Theory") while others emphasize that secession should be considered only to rectify grave injustices ("Just Cause Theory"). Some theories do both.

A list of justifications may be presented supporting the right to secede, as described by Allen Buchanan, Robert McGee, Anthony Birch, Walter Williams, Jane Jacobs, Frances Kendall and Leon Louw, Leopold Kohr, Kirkpatrick Sale, and various authors in David Gordon's "Secession, State and Liberty", includes:

• United States President James Buchanan, Fourth Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union December 3, 1860: "The fact is that our Union rests upon public opinion, and can never be cemented by the blood of its citizens shed in civil war. If it can not live in the affections of the people, it must one day perish. Congress possesses many means of preserving it by conciliation, but the sword was not placed in their hand to preserve it by force."
• Former President of the United States Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to William H. Crawford, Secretary of War under President James Madison, on June 20, 1816: "In your letter to Fisk, you have fairly stated the alternatives between which we are to choose : 1, licentious commerce and gambling speculations for a few, with eternal war for the many ; or, 2, restricted commerce, peace, and steady occupations for all. If any State in the Union will declare that it prefers separation with the first alternative, to a continuance in union without it, I have no hesitation in saying, 'let us separate'. I would rather the States should withdraw, which are for unlimited commerce and war, and confederate with those alone which are for peace and agriculture."
• Economic enfranchisement of an economically oppressed class that is regionally concentrated within the scope of a larger national territory.
• The right to liberty, freedom of association and private property
• Consent as important democratic principle; will of majority to secede should be recognized
• Making it easier for states to join with others in an experimental union
• Dissolving such union when goals for which it was constituted are not achieved
• Self-defense when larger group presents lethal threat to minority or the government cannot adequately defend an area
• Self-determination of peoples
• Preserving culture, language, etc. from assimilation or destruction by a larger or more powerful group
• Furthering diversity by allowing diverse cultures to keep their identity
• Rectifying past injustices, especially past conquest by a larger power
• Escaping "discriminatory redistribution", i.e., tax schemes, regulatory policies, economic programs, etc. that distribute resources away to another area, especially in an undemocratic fashion
• Enhanced efficiency when the state or empire becomes too large to administer efficiently
• Preserving "liberal purity" (or "conservative purity") by allowing less (or more) liberal regions to secede
• Providing superior constitutional systems which allow flexibility of secession
• Keeping political entities small and human scale through right to secession

Aleksandar Pavkovic, associate professor at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Macquarie University in Australia and the author of several books on secession describes five justifications for a general right of secession within liberal political theory,

• Anarcho-Capitalism: individual liberty to form political associations and private property rights together justify right to secede and to create a "viable political order" with like-minded individuals.
• Democratic Secessionism: the right of secession, as a variant of the right of self-determination, is vested in a "territorial community" which wishes to secede from "their existing political community"; the group wishing to secede then proceeds to delimit "its" territory by the majority.
• Communitarian Secessionism: any group with a particular "participation-enhancing" identity, concentrated in a particular territory, which desires to improve its members' political participation has a prima facie right to secede.
• Cultural Secessionism: any group which was previously in a minority has a right to protect and develop its own culture and distinct national identity through seceding into an independent state.
• The Secessionism of Threatened Cultures: if a minority culture is threatened within a state that has a majority culture, the minority needs a right to form a state of its own which would protect its culture.

Types of secession
Secession theorists have described a number of ways in which a political entity (city, county, canton, state) can secede from the larger or original state:

• Secession from federation or confederation (political entities with substantial reserved powers which have agreed to join together) versus secession from a unitary state (a state governed as a single unit with few powers reserved to sub-units)
• Colonial aka "wars of independence" from a "mother country" or imperial state
• National (seceding entirely from the national state) versus local (seceding from one entity of the national state into another entity of the same state)
• Central or enclave (seceding entity is completely surrounded by the original state) versus peripheral (along a border of the original state)
• Secession by contiguous units versus secession by non-contiguous units (exclaves)
• Separation or partition (although an entity secedes, the rest of the state retains its structure) versus dissolution (all political entities dissolve their ties and create several new states)
• Irredentism where secession is sought in order to annex the territory to another state because of common ethnicity or prior historical links
• Minority (a minority of the population or territory secedes) versus majority (a majority of the population or territory secedes)
• Secession of better off regions versus secession of worse off regions
• The threat of Secession sometimes is used as a strategy to gain greater autonomy within the original state

Arguments against secession

Allen Buchanan, who supports secession under limited circumstances, lists arguments that might be used against secession

• "Protecting Legitimate Expectations" of those who now occupy territory claimed by secessionists, even in cases where that land was stolen
• "Self Defense" if losing part of the state would make it difficult to defend the rest of it
• "Protecting Majority Rule" and the principle that minorities must abide by them
• "Minimization of Strategic Bargaining" by making it difficult to secede, such as by imposing an exit tax
• "Soft Paternalism" because secession will be bad for secessionists or others
• "Threat of Anarchy" because smaller and smaller entities may choose to secede until there is chaos, although this is not the true meaning of the political and philosophical concept.
• "Preventing Wrongful Taking" such as the state's previous investment in infrastructure
• "Distributive Justice" arguments that wealthier areas cannot secede from poorer ones

Movements that work towards political secession may describe themselves as being autonomy, separatist, independence, self-determination, partition, devolution decentralisation, sovereignty, self-governance or decolonisation movements instead of, or in addition to, being secession movements.

Now let us look at some of the examples of secession movements in as many countries in different continents, just to convince ourselves it is a world's norm to have seen as many secessions, many were successful, some crushed, and yet others just a lingering aspirations or potentialities.

I bet many in Malaysia did not realise that the small enclave nation of now Belgium actually seceded from the Netherlands, and that Portugal seceded from a Kingdom of Spain. Neither do we so realise for sure before that Bangladesh actually seceded from what was formerly East Pakistan, only in the 1970s. Let us read on the list below...

Australia

During the 19th century, the single British colony in eastern mainland Australia, New South Wales (NSW) was progressively divided up by the British government as new settlements were formed and spread. Victoria (Vic) in 1851 and Queensland (Qld) in 1859.

However, settlers agitated to divide the colonies throughout the later part of the century; particularly in central Queensland (centred in Rockhampton) in the 1860s and 1890s, and in North Queensland (with Bowen as a potential colonial capital) in the 1870s. Other secession (or territorial separation) movements arose and these advocated the secession of New England in northern central New South Wales, Deniliquin in the Riverina district also in NSW, and Mount Gambier in the eastern part of South Australia.

Secession movements have surfaced several times in Western Australia (WA), where a 1933 referendum for secession from the Federation of Australia passed with a two-thirds majority. The referendum had to be ratified by the British Parliament, which declined to act, on the grounds that it would contravene the Australian Constitution.

The Principality of Hutt River claims to have seceded from Australia in 1970, although its status is not recognised by Australia or any other country. According to a lexicon on nationalist movements across the world, Macau happened to recognise that Principality.

Austria

Austria successfully seceded from Nazi Germany on April 27, 1945. This took place after seven years of Austria being part of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich due to the Anschluss annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in March 1938.

Belgium and the Netherlands

On August 25, 1830, during the reign of William I, the nationalistic opera La muette de Portici was performed in Brussels. Soon after, the Belgian Revolt occurred, which resulted in the Belgian secession from the Netherlands.

Brazil

Two southern republican states seceded from Brazil in 1835. Defeated in the Ragamuffin War, they returned in 1845. The slightly earlier cabanagem struggle of Grão-Pará was in part a northern secessionist movement.

Canada

Throughout Canada's history, there has been tension between English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians. Under the Constitutional Act of 1791, the Quebec colony (including parts of what is today Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador) was divided in two: Lower Canada (which retained French law and institutions and is now divided between the provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador) and Upper Canada (a new colony intended to accommodate the many English-speaking settlers, including the United Empire Loyalists, and now part of Ontario). The intent was to provide each group with its own colony. In 1841, the two Canadas were merged into the Province of Canada. The union proved contentious, however, resulting in a legislative deadlock between English and French legislators. The difficulties of the union led to the adoption of a federal system in Canada, and the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The federal framework did not eliminate all tensions, however, leading to the Quebec sovereignty movement in the latter half of the 20th century.

Other occasional secessionist movements have included anti-Confederation movements in 19th century Atlantic Canada (see Anti-Confederation Party), the North-West Rebellion of 1885, and various small separatism movements in Alberta particularly (see Alberta separatism) and Western Canada generally (see, for example, Western Canada Concept).

Central America

After the 1823 collapse of the First Mexican Empire, the former Captaincy-General of Guatemala was organized into a new Federal Republic of Central America. In 1838 Nicaragua seceded. The Federal Republic was formally dissolved in 1840, all but one of the states having seceded amidst general disorder.

China

The Republic of China (ROC) government, which ruled mainland China from 1911 to 1949, administers Taiwan and a few surrounding islands, while the People's Republic of China (PRC) government administers mainland China. Both sides officially claim sovereignty over both mainland China and Taiwan. There is debate in Taiwan as to whether to create a new Republic of Taiwan to replace the current ROC government. At the Third session of the Tenth National People's Congress (March 14, 2005) the PRC government adopted the Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China. See Taiwan independence.

Within the PRC, the three northwestern regions of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet, (and its accompanying regions) are also the focus of secessionist calls by the Tibetan Independence Movement and East Turkestan Islamic Movement.

Congo

In 1960 the State of Katanga declared independence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. United Nations troops crushed it in Operation Grand Slam.

Cyprus

In 1974, the Turkish Army invaded northern Cyprus to protect the interests of the ethnic Turkish minority, who in the following year formed the Turkish Federative State of Cyprus and in 1983 declared independence as the Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey.

East Timor

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor) has been described as having "seceded" from Indonesia.[19][20][21] After Portuguese sovereignty was terminated in 1975, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia. However the United Nations and the International Court of Justice refused to recognize this incorporation. Therefore the resulting civil war and eventual 2002 East Timorese vote for complete separation are better described as an independence movement.

Ethiopia

Following the 1993 victory of opposition forces against the communist Derg regime during the Ethiopian Civil War, Eritrea (formerly known as "Bahri Negash" before being renamed to "Eritrea" by Italian colonizers from 1890–1941) seceded in a United Nations referendum with the blessing of the newly formed Ethiopian government.

European Union

Before the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on 1 December 2009 no provision in the treaties or law of the European Union outlined the ability of a state to voluntarily withdraw from the EU. The European Constitution did propose such a provision and, after the failure to ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, that provision was then included in the Lisbon Treaty.

The treaty introduces an exit clause for members who wish to withdraw from the Union. This formalises the procedure by stating that a member state may notify the European Council that it wishes to withdraw, upon which withdrawal negotiations begin; if no other agreement is reached the treaty ceases to apply to the withdrawing state two years after such notification.

Gran Colombia

After a decade of tumultuous federalism, Ecuador and Venezuela seceded from Gran Colombia in 1830, leaving the similarly tumultuous United States of Colombia, now the Republic of Colombia which also lost Panama in 1903.

Republic of India

Pakistan seceded from the British Indian empire in what is known as the so-called the Partition. Today, the Constitution of India does not allow Indian states to secede from the Union. The disputed occupied territory of Indian-administered Kashmir has had a violent nationalist movement against Indian annexation mostly in the Valley of Kashmir since 1989, which continues and is supported by Pakistan. Other violent secessionist movements in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Punjab (known as the Khalistan movement), Mizoram and Tripura were also formerly active, while Tamil Nadu had a non-violent movement in the 1960s. While a violent Maoist insurgency continues to rage across a wide-swath of eastern rural India, the movement is not considered a secessionist movement because the goal of the Maoists is to overthrow the government of India, although rebel commanders have occasionally called for a Communist republic to be carved out of swaths of India. The Pakistani Armed organizations is a participant in the Kashmir conflict and strives to establish the merger state of Jammu and Kashmir from secular India to Muslim Pakistan.

Italy

The Movement for the Independence of Sicily (Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano, MIS) has its roots in the Sicilian Independentist Movement of the late 1940s. They have been around for 60 years and is the oldest movement in Italy. Lega Nord seeks the independence of Padania which includes lands along the Po Valley in northern Italy. Some organizations separately work for the independence of Venetia or Veneto and the session or reunification of South Tyrol with Austria.

Iran

Active secession movements include: Iranian Azeri, Assyrian independence movement, Bakhtiary lurs movement in 1876, Iranian Kurdistan; Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Khūzestān Province Balochistan indefependence movent for free separated Balochistan, (Arab nationalist); Al-Ahwaz Arab People's Democratic Popular Front, Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz (See Politics of Khūzestān Province: Arab politics and separatism), and Balochistan People's Party (BPP) supporting Baloch Separatism.

Malaysia

When racial and partisan strife erupted, Singapore was expelled from the Malaysian federation in 1965. Agitation for secession has since been sporadic on the culturally distinct large island of Borneo in the states of Sabah and Sarawak although these sentiments has been gaining momentum and supports in the past few years following the proliferation of social medias and failure of the central government to fulfill conditions of the Malaysia Agreement 1963

*Sabah Sarawak Keluar Malaysia - Sabah Sarawak Union (UK), Sarawak Sovereignity Movement (SSM), Sabah Freedom Movement (SFM), Borneo's Plight in Malaysia (BOPIM), Sarawak People's Aspiration (SAPA), Borneo Youth Revolution (BYR), Semangat Satu Perjuangan Rakyat (SSPR), United Borneo Front (UBF)* 

Mexico

Texas seceded from Mexico in 1836 (see Texas Revolution), after animosity between the Mexican government and the American settlers of the Coahuila y Tejas State. It was later annexed by the United States in 1845.

The Republic of the Rio Grande seceded from Mexico on January 17, 1840, it rejoined Mexico on November 6 the same year.

After the federal system was abandoned by President Santa Anna, the Congress of Yucatán approved in 1840 a declaration of independence, establishing the Republic of Yucatán. The Republic rejoined Mexico in 1843.

New Zealand

Secession movements have surfaced several times in the South Island of New Zealand. A Premier of New Zealand, Sir Julius Vogel, was amongst the first people to make this call, which was voted on by the Parliament of New Zealand as early as 1865. The desire for South Island independence was one of the main factors in moving the capital of New Zealand from Auckland to Wellington in the same year.

The NZ South Island Party with a pro-South agenda, fielded only five candidates (4.2% of electoral seats) candidates in the 1999 General Election but only achieved 0.14% (2622 votes) of the general vote. The reality today is that although "South Islanders" are most proud of their geographic region, secession does not carry any real constituency; the party was not able to field any candidates in the 2008 election due to being unable to enlist 500 paying members, a requirement by the New Zealand Electoral commission. The party is treated more as a "joke" party than any real political force.

Nigeria

Between 1967 and 1970, the unrecognised state of Biafra (The Republic of Biafra) seceded from Nigeria, resulting in a civil war that ended with the state returning to Nigeria. Later in 1999 at the beginning of a new democratic regime, other secessionist movements emerged, the movement for the Actualization of a Sovereign state of Biafra was formed as a military wing of the Republic of Biafra.

Norway and Sweden

Sweden, having left the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway in the 16th century, entered into a loose personal union with Norway in 1814. Following a constitutional crisis, on June 7, 1905 the Norwegian Parliament declared that King Oscar II had failed to fulfill his constitutional duties. He was therefore no longer King of Norway and because the union depended on the two countries sharing a king, it was thus dissolved. After negotiations Sweden agreed to this on October 26 and on April 14

Pakistan

After the Awami League won the 1970 national elections, negotiations to form a new government floundered, resulting in the Bangladesh Liberation War by which the eastern wing of Pakistan seceded, to become Bangladesh. The Balochistan Liberation Army (also Baloch Liberation Army or Boluchistan Liberation army) (BLA) is a Baloch nationalist militant secessionist organization. The stated goals of the organization include the establishment of an independent state of Balochistan free of Pakistani and Iranian Federations. The name Baloch Liberation Army first became public in summer 2000, after the organization claimed credit for a series of bomb attacks in markets and removal of railways lines.

Papua New Guinea

The island of Bougainville has made several efforts to secede from Papua New Guinea.

Somalia

Somaliland is an autonomous region, which is part of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Those who call the area the Republic of Somaliland consider it to be the successor state of the former British Somaliland protectorate. Having established its own local government in Somalia in 1991, the region's self-declared independence remains unrecognized by any country or international organization.

Soviet Union

In 1990, after free elections, the Lithuanian SSR declared independence. Other SSRs followed leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

South Africa

In 1910, following the British Empire's defeat of the Afrikaner in the Boer Wars, four self-governing colonies in the south of Africa were merged into the Union of South Africa. The four regions were the Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Natal and Transvaal. Three other territories, High Commission Territories of Bechuanaland (now Botswana), Basutoland (now Lesotho) and Swaziland later became independent states in the 1960s. Following the election of the Nationalist government in 1948, some English-speaking whites in Natal advocated either secession or a loose federation. There were also calls for secession, with Natal and the eastern part of the Cape Province breaking away. following the referendum in 1960 on establishing a republic, and in 1993, prior to South Africa's first elections under universal suffrage and the end of apartheid, some Zulu leaders in KwaZulu-Natal considered secession as did some politicians in the Cape Province.

In 2008, a political movement calling for the return to independence of the Cape resurged in the shape of the political organisation, the Cape Party. The Cape Party contested their first elections on 22 April 2009.

Spain

Spain (known officially as "the Kingdom of Spain") was assembled in the 15th and 16th centuries from various component kingdoms, from which Portugal seceded in the Portuguese Restoration War while other component kingdoms lost their secession wars. Spain has several secessionist movements, the most notable being in Catalonia and in the Basque Country.

Sri Lanka

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has been banned in US, UK, EU, Canada, and many other countries as a terrorist group, operated a de facto independent state called Tamil Eelam in eastern and northern Sri Lanka until 2009.

Switzerland

In 1847, seven disaffected Catholic cantons formed a separate alliance because of moves to change the cantons of Switzerland from a confederation to a more centralized government federation. This effort was crushed in the Sonderbund war and a new Swiss Federal Constitution was created.

United Kingdom

Ireland is the only territory that has withdrawn from the United Kingdom proper. Ireland declared independence in 1916 and, as the Irish Free State, gained independence in 1922. Currently the United Kingdom has a number of secession movements:

In Northern Ireland, Irish Republicans and Nationalists in general, have long called for the secession of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom in order to join the Republic of Ireland. This is opposed by Unionists.

In Scotland the Scottish National Party (SNP) campaigns for Scottish independence and direct Scottish membership of the European Union. It has representation at all levels of Scottish politics and now forms the devolved Scottish Government. A number of nascent pro-independence parties have enjoyed only limited electoral success. The Scottish Green Party, the Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Enterprise Party are most widely publicised, however all independence movements/parties are opposed by Unionists. A referendum on the independence has been scheduled for 2014, after being agreed by Alex Salmond and David Cameron

In Wales, Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) stands for Welsh independence within the European Union. It is also represented at all levels of Welsh politics and is the third largest party in the National Assembly of Wales.

In Cornwall, supporters of Mebyon Kernow call for the creation of a Cornish Assembly and separation from England, giving the county significant self-government, whilst remaining within the United Kingdom as a fifth home nation.

In England the now-disbanded Free England Party (FEP) campaigned for English independence.

Parts of Southern England like Devon, the Isle of Wight, Minster in Kent, and Wessex, have autonomy movements.[citation needed]

Some of the more radical members of the British direct democracy movement in the Conservative Party (Daniel Hannan for example) – while not actually advocating secession – support the federalization of the UK into states along county boundaries (actually a proposal of 5 or 6 regions of England, 4 or 5 in Scotland and 3 in Wales). There are currently 9 government office regions in England and none in the other Home Nations.

United States

Discussions and threats of secession often surface in American politics, and secession was declared during the Civil War between the States. However in 1869 the United States Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White, 74 U.S. 700 (1869) that unilateral secession was not permitted saying that the union between a state (Texas in the case before the bar) "was as complete, as perpetual, and as indissoluble as the union between the original States. There was no place for reconsideration or revocation, except through revolution or through consent of the States."

Yemen

North Yemen and South Yemen merged in 1990; tensions led to a 1994 southern secession which was crushed in a civil war.

Yugoslavia

On June 25, 1991, Croatia and Slovenia seceded from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Also Bosnia and Hercegovina and Macedonia declared independence. Followed, the federation collapsed, Serbia and Montenegro, was renamed to Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Several wars ensued between FR Yugoslavia and seceding entitites and among other ethnic groups in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and later, Kosovo. Montenegro peacefully separated from its union with Serbia in 2006.

Kosovo declared de facto independence on February 17, 2008, and was recognized by several dozen countries, but officially remains under United Nations administration.

There is a strong tendency for secession of the Republic of Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Source: http://www.borneoherald.com/2014/02/read-facts-about-secession.html#more

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The EU is young people’s future. They must have the vote in this referendum

In the days since the general election, David Cameron has set his sights firmly on Europe and shortened the potential timeframe of his planned referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.

But it’s worth remembering that the Tories managed to win only one out of 59 seats in Scotland, and that they had their worst ever general election vote share north of the border since 1865. Cameron’s mandate among the UK’s “family of nations” – to use his own term from the Scottish independence referendum campaign – is dubious at best. In light of the result in Scotland, the prime minister must recognise that it cannot be business as usual.

Cameron has promised to govern with respect. To have any hope of achieving that, it is vital to his own credibility and to that of the government he leads to apply core democratic principles to the EU referendum bill ,which is expected to be published on Thursday.

Best practice from the independence referendum must be followed – and that includes extending the vote in an EU referendum to 16- and 17-year-olds across the UK. Scotland’s 56 SNP MPs will certainly seek to amend the legislation to ensure that young people are able to take part in the vote.

Restricted franchise in EU referendum would make a mockery of democracy

Letters: David Cameron must give me and fellow Brits living in other parts of the EU a say in our own future

My own interest in this matter goes back many years – including devoting my maiden speech in the House of Commons in 2001 to the case for lowering the voting age to 16 across the board. Interestingly, when Winnie Ewing won the Hamilton by-election in 1967, her maiden speech called for the voting age to be cut from 21, as it was at that time, to 18.

Progress has been made, and one of the great successes of last year’s independence referendum was the franchise being extended to young adults. Scotland sent out the message loudly and clearly that 16- and 17-year-olds should have the right to shape the country they live in.

And as a nation we were not let down: 16- and 17-year-olds turned out in huge numbers to vote, and did not stop there. Young people in Scotland have embraced participative democracy like never before.

I don’t agree with having a referendum on EU membership – but if it is to go ahead, then Cameron has a responsibility to help ensure it can be an enriching and open debate. Young people are our future. It is their UK – and their Europe – so they must have their say.

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds can pay taxes, get married and join the armed forces, so it is only right and fair that they should also be entitled to vote.

The opposition benches must send a message to this Tory government that they cannot ride roughshod over our future

We will also seek to amend the legislation to ensure that no constituent part of the UK can be taken out of the EU against its will. We will propose a “double majority” rule, meaning that unless England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each vote to leave the EU, as well as the UK as a whole, Britain would remain a member state.

If Cameron continues to refuse to accept this democratic protection, then his independence referendum vow that Scotland is to have an equal voice will be in tatters.

We also support the idea of EU nationals living in the UK having their say. If a vote for the UK to leave the EU was successful, it could have deeply damaging consequences on the lives of those people who have chosen to live and work here, and on their families. Just like young people, and the UK “family of nations”, European nationals deserve a voice too.

North of the border, EU citizens can vote in Scottish parliament elections and local authority elections – and, of course, they had their say in the independence referendum. Although this is not yet the case for Westminster’s general elections, it would be wrong to exclude them from a vote on the UK’s European membership.

Cameron will be accountable for his rhetoric and his actions, and the SNP will – as we promised during the general election campaign – work to promote progressive policies.

And we will look to work across party lines in these objectives. As well as from our friends in Plaid Cymru and the Greens, we will also seek support from Labour MPs and the remaining Lib Dems.

It is important that the opposition benches send a strong message to this Tory government that it cannot ride roughshod over our future.

SNP MPs at Westminster will do all we can to ensure that everyone has a fair say on our future European membership – including the UK’s youngest citizens.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/24/eu-young-people-vote-referendum?CMP=share_btn_tw

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A message from a Canadian to all Sabahan regarding the Earthquake tragedy: Siou poh kumaa tulun Sabah

I am deeply saddened by the events that have recently transpired in Sabah, for a number of reasons.

First, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims of the earthquake. My deepest condolences. To the rescuers, we honour you.

I am fortunate enough to have been allowed to climb Mount Kinabalu, and I will always remember the welcoming porters who tolerate tourists climbing her with kindness and hospitality. I admire the Dusun women who carry giant tubs of water up the mountain to the waypoint, Laban Rata (wearing only sandals!).

The people of Sabah are some of the gentlest people I have ever had the fortune to know. Who would have thought I would meet and marry a Kadazandusun from Tambunan! I am blessed to be part of such a beautiful family. I am in awe of my wife’s spiritual connection to Nature, something that the Western world seems to have lost a long time ago.

Sabahans are compassionate people with a warrior spirit, and have a rich indigenous tradition. Mount Kinabalu is not 'just a mountain'. It holds a place of deep significance, particularly to the natives. They do not ask much of tourists - they know that most will make little or no attempt to learn their language. They tolerate rudeness with a smile and only ask that tourists show some respect to their culture and traditions.

When I found out that Canadians were involved in the recent 'strip down' on the mountain (on May 30 no less--- they are likely blissfully ignorant of the significance of doing this on Kaamatan), I only hoped that they were contrite, and made immediate, public apologies. When I found out that they swore at the porters, and urinated on the mountain, I was infuriated. Canadians have worked hard to build up a good reputation as tourists and travelers, and these few have managed to soil our reputation in the eyes of many Sabahans, perhaps forever. They have continued to show disrespect and are doing more damage to the reputation of Canada than they likely know. When Sabahans say that their lewd behaviour is what caused the earthquake, this may sound 'ridiculous' to some. But it is their belief and we need to respect it.

I hope that the people of Sabah realise that not all Canadians are ignorant. I hope that the people responsible for the disrepectful behaviour are punished to the fullest extent of the law. They should be fined or jailed, and asked to perform community service. Although this will not erase what they have done, hopefully it will make them realize how seriously they have offended one of the last guardians of the natural world as we know it. Siou poh kumaa tulun Sabah.

Written by Chris Quarrie with Michelle Kiob

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Mangsa Korban Gempa Bumi Perlukan Doa Anda Semua

Abang saya hantar barang di kundasang tadi, sekali yang dia balik sudah, dia singgah sekejap beli breakfast.. Aunty yang jaga kedai itu terus cerita semalam jam 11pm ada bunyi pelik di gunung, itu aunty keluar kunun pergi tengok di sana arah gunung ada orang suluh-suluh lagi dari laban rata sambil dorang dengar ada orang teriak-teriak.. ada itu yang sama-sama membeli terus cakap sama itu aunty. . "aik,saya ingat saya saja yang dengar" dia bilang ni..

Itu bunyi pelik berlaku sekitar jam 11pm - 1am ..

Sejak semua sudah dijumpai, dipercayai tidak ada siapa-siapa sudah yang berada di gunung. Belum ada kerja pembaikpulihan atau pun apa-apa. Bunyi apa kah itu ?? Pelikk tapi benaarrr...

Mungkin itu souls sana ataupun yang baru meninggal di atas gunung... Memang belum rest in peace itu sebab my friend itu hari pray rosary 11.45pm... Itu soul/roh Robbi and another guide and the singaporean kids datang kepadanya, dia blang....Itu kawan saya cakap sama si Robbi.. "GO TO JESUS... HE'S WAITING FOR YOU... BRING ALONG THE KIDS..YOUR JOB HAS DONE HERE..." Begitulah kawan saya cakap sama soul/roh si Robbi... Itu guide satu tidak berckap tapi muka dorang sedih sebab ramai budak mati... Si Robbi tidak tahu yang dia sudah mati... Kawan saya bilang... Tengah dia sembayang rosary... Dia nampak itu souls/roh-roh guide kan berabis berlari kehulu-hilir pergi search and rescue itu budak-budak semua... Dia nampak masa the day Robbi kena kubur....

Lepas kawan saya bercakap sama dia... Barulah Robbi bawa semua budak-budak yang mati itu dan itu guide satu orang di belakang sekali jalan ke tempat lain... Dorang betul-betul sedih kawan saya bilang... Dorang perlukan doa... Bukan untuk setakat sehari, dua, minggu tapi forever kawan saya bilang...

***Cerita ini adalah satu perkongsian daripada beberapa orang yang telah digabungkan menjadi satu cerita lengkap. Ini bukan rekaan cerita dan terpulang kepada anda untuk mempercayai ataupun tidak. 

Kepada semua rakyat Negara Sabah khususnya, mohon anda semua membawakan mereka ke dalam doa anda nenurut kepercayaan anda masing-masing.***

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An open letter to the nudists: Our culture makes us who we are; who are you to question it, let alone defile it?

Dear Emil, Monkeetime, and the rest,

I haven’t been this angry in a long time. In fact, I doubt I have ever been this angry. I was raised to respect people as equals, and I am doing my best to keep that in mind. I am truly, however, disappointed and ashamed to have to call you as such. Please know that there is nothing more I would like to do than cuss you out, but I am a better person – not better than you, but better than that.

I cannot understand and I cannot even begin to fathom how utterly and completely selfish you must be. It is not a joke. It is not even remotely funny. People have lost families and loved ones because of the earthquake. If you did or did not cause it is not the point. If the mountain has spirits or not is not the point.

The point is you.

The point is your disrespect, and your continual disrespect of Malaysia. You have not insulted just the locals of Borneo – you have insulted Malaysia. Every. Single. One of us who call it home, whether we live here or overseas.

The point is your insolence for who we are. This is not your home. This is not your country. You are but a visitor, with no right to do what you did. Our culture makes us who we are; who are you to question it, let alone defile it?

The point is your ignorance of the current situation. People have lost lives. People have lost family and loved ones. People have lost their homes. People are suffering. And you don’t care. Don’t tell me otherwise, because it’s evident in the way you speak.

The point is your inability to take responsibility for what you have done. I don’t mean the earthquake – I mean the incivility you have displayed by taking those pictures. You would not go to France and draw on the Mona Lisa. You would not go to England and vandalise the Buckingham Palace. You would not go to Egypt and take a dump on the pyramids. And yet, you have taken nude pictures on sacred land. It’s the same thing; you have come into our land and blatantly, and without any sign of remorse, desecrated something that is special to us.

Own up. Take responsibility. Apologize. These are basic manners ingrained into me since I was a child. I don’t know what background you’ve had, nor how you were raised. I only know the bare basics of how to behave. You have taken those pictures. You have shown nothing but a complete and utter effrontery for us as a country. You have damaged the sacredness of our mountain, and then you have the sheer audacity to insult us and our culture after that.

I am angry, but I am also disgusted. I am disgusted by your hard heart – your lack of empathy towards those who are suffering. I am disgusted that you have such a small mind and such a shallow appreciation for different cultures that you can’t understand what you have done wrong. I am disgusted that you cannot and will not take responsibility for what you have done. I am disgusted by your continual insulting of our culture and our people.

You alone know why you did such horrible acts, and you alone know why you have shown such disrespect towards us as a nation. All I know is that I truly and honestly pity you, because only someone with absolutely no moral standards would ever do something like this. What truly horrible lives you must live and have lived to have turned out this way.

I can only hope that, one day, you find your way back to humanity.

Sincerely,

Written by Melanie Lim

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Formation following quake said to resemble first Dusun man to scale Mt Kinabalu

KUNDASANG, June 8, 2015: Surface formation following the earthquake aftermath is said to resemble Datuk Gunting Lagadan, the first Dusun man to scale Mount Kinabalu.

Dusun is one of the more than 70 ethnic groups in Sabah.

A lodge on the mountain has also been named in his honour.

The “image” was initially thought to be of Aki Nabalu, which is the mountain’s name in the Dusun language.

A photo of the surface formation and that of Lagadan have gone viral and are being circulated on Facebook and WhatsApp.

The images hold a lot of fascination following the earthquake tragedy on Friday that has resulted in at least 16 deaths and many injuries on the revered mountain and property damage in the surrounding areas.

The Kadazan Dusun Murut (KDM) community believes that the spirits of their ancestors dwell among the bare rocks of Mount Kinabalu top.

According to local folklore, Aki Nabalu, which literally means “the revered place of the dead”, is the story of a broken-hearted wife who turned into stone waiting for the return of her husband.

Some say it is a giant king and it remained unshaken until Friday morning after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit most parts of Sabah.

Since the quake, the people have been lifting their eyes to the mountains seeking help from their god.

Many blamed the sacrilegious act by a group of Europeans who posed butt naked on Mount Kinabalu recently and thus desecrated the site revered as sacred to the people of Sabah.

The group of 10 tourists, believed to include two Canadians, two Dutch and a German national, were butt naked when they posed upon reaching the peak of Mount Kinabalu on May 29 morning.

Of the 187 climbers,  a total of 16 deaths have been recorded and two more have not been accounted for.

Source: http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/06/08/formation-following-quake-said-to-resemble-first-dusun-man-to-scale-mt-kinabalu/

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‘EC must refer to Malaysia Agreement 1963 for delineation plans involving Sarawak, Sabah’

KUCHING: The Election Commission (EC) should adhere to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 as the reference for any proposed constituency delineation exercise.

PRS Youth deputy chief Sempurai Petrus Ngelai concurred with party president Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing who recently said the legality of the Malaysian Federation could be questioned if the 1963 Agreement was not honoured.

Sempurai feared that any act to the contrary would breach the said Agreement and in turn, could open a floodgate in which any federal bodies would begin to ignore or refuse to abide by the said accord.

“It is puzzling to us as to why the EC said it’s not bound by the 1963 Agreement when it has clearly spelt out that East Malaysia should be given one-third of parliamentary seats. We urge the commission to observe the Agreement and allocate one-third of the parliamentary seats accordingly.

“We must uphold the fundamental principles under the Malaysia Agreement. Therefore, any act to the contrary clearly denies the existence of this accord,” he said in a statement to The Borneo Post yesterday.

On Thursday, Masing was quoted as having said that EC should honour and uphold the terms entailed in the 1963 Agreement as it remains the foundation for the country’s formation.

“If the accord is not honoured, then the Federation of Malaysia should be declared null and void,” he said.

Masing was responding to EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, who said that any allocation of seats must be dealt with according to the constitution; not by way of any agreement that would not be binding on the commission’s part.

On this, PRS Youth publicity chief Bit Surang believed that the legality of the nation would be at stake should Abdul Aziz’s statement be taken into account.

“The EC chairman is obviously ignorant about the history of the formation of Malaysia. By saying that EC is not bound by the Malaysia Agreement 1963, he is in fact, questioning the validity of the Agreement.

“Abdul Aziz said any review on the matter must take into account the composition ratio of the parliamentary seats agreed at the formation of the (Malaysian) Federation. Back then, Malaya was allocated 104 seats representing 65 per cent of the parliamentary seats; with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore combined getting 55 seats or 35 per cent. But after Singapore left, where did the 15 seats go to?

“Sabah and Sarawak must collectively be given 35 per cent of the seats in Parliament, which means a combine minimum of 78 seats out of 222 in Dewan Rakyat. Currently, Sabah and Sarawak have 56 seats in Parliament,” he pointed out.

Bit also said the government should revisit the recommendation in Paragraphs 165 and 190(g) of the Cobbold Commission Report, which states: “Representation of the Borneo territories shall take into account not only of their population but also their size and potentialities.”

He added: “We must also ensure fairer and more equitable distribution of funds for each constituency, as well as access to facilities and amenities by the people in both states.”

Source: http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/06/06/ec-must-refer-to-malaysia-agreement-1963-for-delineation-plans-involving-sarawak-sabah/#ixzz3ck6hGvaw

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Sabah and Sarawak saviours, not fixed deposits, says academic

Describing voters in Sabah and Sarawak as "fixed deposits" for Barisan Nasional (BN) is degrading, an academic said, adding that the Bornean states were better called "saviours" of the ruling coalition.

University Putra Malaysia's politics and government expert professor Dr Jayum Anak Jawan said Sabah and Sarawak had time and again ensured Malay politics in the states survived for BN, which would otherwise be faring worse in elections.

"Sabah and Sarawak are not a fixed deposit, I think that is very degrading.

"Please don't use fixed deposit. Sabah and Sarawak are the saviour of a sunken ship. Without Sabah and Sarawak, Barisan Nasional is no where. We have been saving West Malaysian politics for more or less three or four times in history," he said at a conference today.

"Before this, we came over to save Malaya from the emergency in 1948. In 1963, we came to ensure Malay politics remained, as our population was to balance the Chinese population in Singapore," Jayum said, referring to the formation of Malaysia in 1963 when Sabah, Sarawak, Malaya and Singapore came together. Singapore left the federation two years later.

Jayum said BN's political problems were race-based between the Malay and Chinese votes and had little to do with Sarawak and the Dayaks –  the broad term used to collectively describe the indigenous people of the state.

"This is all Malay-Chinese problem, it is not a Sarawak and Dayak problem, but we have been coming to resolve, to bring peace between these two political warring ethnic groups," he said at a conference called "The 13th Malaysian General Elections: The Sarawak Perspective" in Kuala Lumpur.

Jayum said Sabah and Sarawak had again saved Malay politics in the 2008 and 2013 general elections, when BN leaders began using the term "fixed deposit" to describe the east Malaysian states which remained with the ruling coalition despite inroads by the opposition.

Jayum also said later during a question-and-answer session that it was unreasonable for Sabah and Sarawak's citizens to say they were still undeveloped, since they had chosen to vote for BN all this while.

"Is that the fault of federal government or the fault of state government, or your own fault?

"If the representation from Sabah and Sarawak is unfair, why do Sabah and Sarawak people still stay in Barisan Nasional?

"If Sabah and Sarawak says that they are unfairly treated, yet keep on telling the people that we still (lag) behind, then what are (we) doing in Barisan Nasional the last 50 years?" Jayum said.

On that score, Jayum said he agreed with other analysts that BN would win the upcoming Sarawak elections, except for seats in urban Chinese areas which have swung to the opposition in recent polls.

But he also predicted a rough ride for BN now that greater political awareness had come to the Dayaks.

"The state elections will be challenging. I don't expect the state BN to lose, but I'm not sure whether they will be able to keep their two-thirds majority because the focus now is on the Dayaks," he said.

Dayak seats form some 45% of state seats in Sarawak, and Jayum said more natives were beginning to realise that there was nothing wrong in voting against the ruling party or government.

He said this "wind of change" among the Dayaks was coming from the younger generation, who were more politically aware and informed of their rights.

He said this would not have much impact on the coming state polls which must be held by August 2016, as such awareness was still new, but he believed it was an indication of things to come. – June 9, 2015.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/sabah-and-sarawak-saviours-not-fixed-deposits-says-academic#sthash.mb9VLumo.dpuf

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