Federalism makes the nation stronger, say elder statesmen

Free Malaysia Today

A state by itself will not be very strong, says Dr Mahathir Mohamad, while Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah says federalism offers the best protection against military and political threats.    Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2024/10/23/federalism-makes-the-nation-stronger-say-elder-statesmen/  Laporan Lanjut:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2024/10/23/persekutuan-jadikan-negara-lebih-kuat-kata-2-negarawan/  Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5 Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download FMT News App: Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46 App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP  #FMTNews #DrMahathirMohamad #TengkuRazaleighHamzah

Transcript

00:00Malaysia was founded on the premise that its true strength lies in the unity of its constituent

00:06regions, according to former Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

00:11A federation gives strength to the state. The state by itself will not be very strong.

00:20And from the very beginning, we decided that we should have a federation of many states.

00:28Tunku Razali Hamzah, a former member of Mahathir's cabinet, echoes this sentiment, highlighting

00:34the high costs of divided polities defending against regional superpowers, as well as the

00:38country's history of being surrounded by hostile neighbours.

00:43Can you imagine the amount of money that we have to spend if there is going to be a breakup?

00:50Can you imagine each country having to spend, build up new navy, new air force, new this,

00:58new that? What are you going to do?

01:02Meanwhile, Putrajaya is enhancing Malaysia's defence capabilities with new naval and air

01:07bases in Sarawak, crucial for securing its borders in the face of rising tensions in

01:12the South China Sea.

01:14However, as defence spending rises, states are also pushing for more financial control.

01:20Penang and Johor have sought to reclaim at least 20% of federal tax revenue from their

01:25while Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak pushed for a larger share of oil royalties.

01:31Sarawak has taken further steps, relying on state law to take over the role of gas aggregator

01:36from Petronas, sparking talks of leaving the federation if it does not get its way.

01:42Mahathir, however, places little value in such idle talk, attributing them to some extremists,

01:47urging all parties to work at a compromise that will keep the federation intact.

01:53We may be thinking along that line, but a federation gives strength to the state.

02:03Danish Roger Reza, FMT News.

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