KUCHING: Issues over the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) look to be coming to an end with several matters already agreed upon.
The MA63 technical committee is now examining and finalising several matters including the delegation of authority to agencies such as the Public Works Department and the Irrigation and Drainage Department, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said.
He said that besides MA63, there were also several other issues that have been brought up by Sabah and Sarawak to be considered by the Federal Government, according to Bernama.
He added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would make an announcement on the decisions after chairing the weekly Cabinet meeting on Jan 4.
“Apart from that, there are several matters related to MA63 that involve amendments to the Federal Constitution and will take time to be resolved.
“These need to be tabled and approved in Parliament,” he told reporters after distributing Christmas cookies here yesterday.
On Dec 5, Anwar said Fadillah would focus on Sabah and Sarawak affairs, especially on matters related to MA63.
He will also play a role in ensuring that the economic gap between the people in the peninsula, and Sabah and Sarawak will be reduced through various measures to be taken to address the issue.
In KOTA KINABALU, Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said a total of 27 matters will be raised in the Cabinet Ministers’ Memorandum on Sabah and Sarawak’s demands, particularly concerning MA63.
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) said the matters raised in the memorandum were the result of feedback from the Sabah and Sarawak state governments.
“Out of the 27 matters, 22 are directly related to MA63 itself and the Inter-Governmental Committee, while the other five are additional recommendations,” he told reporters after visiting Tanjung Aru Baru residents who were affected by the high tide phenomenon, here yesterday.
Armizan said one of the five additional recommendations had been announced by Anwar recently, namely to hand over the gas supply regulatory power in Sabah to the state government.
“It (the regulatory authority) was previously under the state of Sabah but there were legal amendments in the 1980s and the authority was transferred to the Federation; acting out of concern for the state government’s request, the Cabinet has approved it.
“Hopefully by this January, the autho- rity will be transferred back to Sabah,” he added.
