JOHN TEO
SARAWAK seems to be in the news a fair bit these days, and mostly for the right reasons.
Good news travels well and even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has nothing but praise for what the state is doing each time he visits.
The state craves autonomy to carry out its own economic and other plans, without impinging on national interests and programmes, of course.
State and nation are two sides of the same coin and there should not be any contradiction that advancing one's prospects means checking those of the other. It is anything but a zero-sum game.
Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said as much when he recently clarified that the state's oil firm, Petros, seeks not control over the state's oil and gas industry but rather collaboration with its national counterpart, Petronas.
"Although it is much like a sibling relationship, it is also nothing like a big brother, small brother sort of thing — we are equal in this collaboration," said Abang Johari.
That should be the case in any federal set-up. As the Malaysian federation matures, each component state naturally flowers to assume its rightful place as an equal component, not just with other constituent states but with the federal government as well.
State or federal government is each guided by responsibilities spelt out under the state or federal list in the Federal Constitution, and jointly assumes responsibilities under the concurrent list.
It was also in the news lately that the Sarawak government will soon finalise gaining a preponderant stake in a commercial bank.
As far as I can tell, this will be rather unique in the sense that no other state government or the federal government directly owns any "controlling" stake in any other commercial bank. What are the implications of this development?
The Sarawak government, I feel, must emphasise that this is nothing but a commercial transaction although it will be a state-owned entity buying into the said bank.
Nothing else will change nor should it. The bank must still be guided by purely commercial considerations and Bank Negara Malaysia regulations.
The only "benefits" Sarawak can hope to accrue must be of a profitable banking operation and perhaps a more Sarawak-focused banking research and analysis team that can expand commercial lending to grow the state's enterprises.
All this should not be at the expense of the bank's existing activities nationwide.
Sarawak must not adopt a "us-versus-them" dichotomy, especially when the state's development policies and objectives are being publicised.
Although state leaders take pains to stress the state's developments are all within the context of national developments, care must be taken that perceptions contrary to what is officially conveyed are created.
There is an admittedly thin line separating asserting state priorities and emboldening an incipient state jingoism that is unhealthy to all concerned, Sarawak included.
I am struck by how strong a federation of 50 states America has grown to become in nearly 250 years.
The secret of its longevity and strength must be that the foundation of America's ruddy health is strong states that respect their equality to each other and to the federal government as well as respect the boundaries of state and federal authority.
There can be no strong America without strong states. The same ethos must be cultivated in the Malaysian federation — there cannot be a strong Malaysia without strong states.
We must all work to ensure that state and federation are mutually reinforcing each other, not working at cross purposes.
We are all in this together. The centre must hold but at the same time, the centre cannot exist without thriving constituent states.
The writer views developments in the nation, region and wider world from his vantage point in Kuching