Good to hold public town hall meetings on MA63, says minister

 Mustapha Sakmud said open engagement would be healthy despite differing views and expressed hope that common ground could be found.

Federal minister for Sabah and Sarawak affairs Mustapha Sakmud said there had been strong interest in a MA63 dashboard set up at the ministry’s website.

PETALING JAYA:

 The federal minister for Sabah and Sarawak affairs, Mustapha Sakmud, has welcomed a suggestion of public “town hall” discussions on issues relating to the Malaysia Agreement 1963.

He said open engagement would be healthy despite differing views and expressed hope that common ground could be found, Bernama reported.

He said there had been strong public interest in a newly set up MA63 dashboard at the ministry website, with more than 2,000 views recorded within its first three days. The dashboard contains information on MA63 issues, with updates posted for transparency.

Mustapha, who was in Kota Kinabalu for the Chinese New Year celebrations of Kota Kinabalu PKR, said he recently met Sabah Law Society leaders, including past president Roger Chin, and described the discussion as constructive.

He said 13 MA63 matters have been resolved, 16 remain under negotiation, and one has been settled on an interim basis through a RM600 million special grant to Sabah and Sarawak.

A technical committee will meet this month before updates are brought to the main council chaired by the prime minister. - FMT