Fadillah…in total, 11 demands settled over the tenure of three prime ministers, with more to go.
KUALA LUMPUR – Seven demands under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) negotiation platform have been successfully resolved under Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Bernama reported that he said in total, 11 demands have been resolved.
The ones resolved under the current prime minister include the designation of the Public Works Department (PWD) in Sabah and Sarawak as a Technical Department, the handover of regulatory power over gas supply, and amendments to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) Act 1995 [Act 533] to appoint representatives from the Sabah and Sarawak state governments as permanent members of the IRB.
Fadillah, who is also the MA63 Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63) Technical Committee chairman, said the resolution also covered demands related to the administration of the judiciary in Sabah and Sarawak as well as special guidelines for the return of reserved land for federal purposes in Sabah and Sarawak.
“The transfer of regulatory power over electricity and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) from the federal government to Sabah and the proposed amendment to Article 95B regarding legislative adaptation for Sabah and Sarawak were also resolved.
“Under the leadership of the 10th prime minister (Anwar), more matters have been decided upon within these two years,” he told reporters after attending the MTPMA63 meeting at the Sabah International Convention Centre yesterday, said Bernama.
According to Bernama, the meeting, chaired by Anwar, was also attended by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
Also present were the three Sabah deputy chief ministers Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan, Datuk Seri Joachim Gunsalam, and Datuk Shahelmey Yahya – as well as the three Sarawak deputy premiers, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, and Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
Fadillah also added that the three other demands were resolved during Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s tenure, including the administrative power handover over Pulau Sipadan and Pulau Ligitan to Sabah.
He added that one demand, which was the handover of regulatory control over liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Sarawak was carried out during Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s tenure as prime minister.
Fadillah also emphasised on the importance of MTPMA63 meetings in enabling the government to plan pragmatic follow-up actions regarding the status of unresolved MA63 demands.
“As part of this commitment, we have decided to improve the negotiation platform structure between the three governments (Federal, Sabah and Sarawak) by strengthening it through the appointment of new members to the MTPMA63 platform,” he added. – scoop.com
