Kit Siang wants Royal Commission set up on MA63

After over half a century, the Federal, Sabah and Sarawak Governments have no excuse not to comply with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang has urged Prime Minister Najib Razak to push for the establishment of a Joint Royal Commission (JRC), chaired by a Sabahan and a Sarawakian, to work with the Federal Government and the two state governments in Borneo on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). “Non-compliance on MA63 aside, there’s a new dark shadow being cast this time over the Harvest Festival, Tadau Ka’amatan (Sabah) – Gawai Dayak in Sarawak – in the two Borneo states.”

“It’s not carefree as in the past. It’s a time every year for introspection, on whether the harvest on Malaysia has been good.”

In short, said Lim in resuming his take in MA63, the JRC should be the compliance mechanism proposed by MA63 and the constitutional documents on Malaysia, to translate the various “guarantees, assurances and undertakings” into concrete action. “The Batu Sumpah in Keningau (a constitutional document in stone) should be one of the Terms of Reference in the JRC,” proposed Lim in a statement.

Again, the new dark shadow – the proposed amendments to Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 – was highlighted by National Unity Minister Joseph Kurup in a statement,” noted Lim.

“Kurup’s warning that Sabah and Sarawak would end their relationship with Malaya – more immediately over the hudud Bill (and non-compliance on MA63) – and go their separate ways from Malaysia, must be taken seriously.”

After over half a century, the Federal, Sabah and Sarawak Governments have no excuse not to comply with MA63, said Lim, who is also Gelang Patah MP.

In calling for the collective amnesia of the last half century in Putrajaya to be brought to an end, the DAP veteran was taking his cue from a Kaamatan Harvest Festival message by the Ranau Council of Churches.

The Council lamented that “the harvest in Sabah and Sarawak was poor”, a reference to the Federal, Sabah and Sarawak Governments being in non-compliance on MA63.

It pointed out, among others, that MA63 was the basis on which Sabah and Sarawak were in relationship with Malaya, as equal partners.

MA63, the Council further stressed, could not be amended by the Malaysian Parliament or ignored by the Federal Constitution. MA63 is an international agreement signed by five governments – United Kingdom, North Borneo, Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya – and lodged with the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General in line with UN General Assembly Resolutions.