INTERVIEW As the government continues to push its ban on non-Muslims using the word ‘Allah' which will mostly impact East Malaysians, members of the cabinet from Sabah and Sarawak have been surprisingly silent on the matter.

This reluctance to speak up, not only on the ‘Allah' matter but also on other issues concerning East Malaysia, is symptomatic of the fear on the part of BN MPs from Sabah and Sarawak to flex their muscles, says veteran Sabah politician Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan.

Jeffrey, who leads an East Malaysian-centric movement as the leader of the State Reform Party (Star), said this fear appears to have persisted despite Sabah and Sarawak representatives sealing their second term as kingmakers in the federal government...