Forget MA63, forge ‘new deal’, says Pandikar

 

Pandikar Amin Mulia says Sabah and Sarawak leaders should engage with Putrajaya to create equal status between the Borneo states and Peninsular Malaysia. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Former Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia has urged Sabah and Sarawak leaders to forget the 1963 Malaysia Agreement (MA63) and recommended that they forge a “new deal” with Putrajaya that would benefit both states.

In a webinar organised by the Enlighten Society titled “Forum Malaysia 58 Tahun: Hala Tuju, Potensi dan Cabaran”, he said MA63, which led to the formation of Malaysia, was a deal made by past leaders, and could be a basis for demands that would benefit Sabah and Sarawak.

However, Pandikar, who is president of Usno Baru, felt that the leaders of both states were still clinging to an old mentality by constantly harping on MA63.

Instead, he urged the leaders to engage with Putrajaya and forge a “new deal” which would create equal status between the Borneo states and Peninsular Malaysia.

This deal must include payment of a higher petroleum royalty rate for both states, which must be discussed with national oil company Petronas.

Pandikar also chided the previous Pakatan Harapan government for its failure to honour its manifesto promise to increase oil royalty payments, by claiming that such a move would bankrupt Petronas.

He also expressed disappointment that a deputy prime minister or a finance minister had never been appointed from these two states, although it has been 58 years since they joined the federation.

He questioned whether peninsular leaders felt that Sabah and Sarawak leaders were not “national leader material”.

Pandikar also urged the federal government not to ignore outspoken voices from Sabah and Sarawak and dismiss them as “suara sumbang” (dissenting voices), as Malaysia embraced mature politics, where implementing reforms was the topmost priority of the people. - FMT