7 MA63 issues resolved, 14 need further discussion, says PM’s office

The Prime Minister’s Office says the decisions were achieved by the Special Cabinet Committee to Review the Malaysia Agreement.

KUALA LUMPUR: Seven issues concerning the Malaysia Agreement 1963 had received joint agreement as of July 23 while 14 issues still require further discussions and are expected to be resolved before Aug 31, the Prime Minister’s Office said today.

It said the Special Cabinet Committee To Review the Malaysia Agreement had directed the Special Task Force Team on MA63 (Taskforce MA63) to prepare a final report before Aug 31 to be tabled at the next meeting of the committee.

In a statement, the PMO said the decisions were achieved at a Special Cabinet Committee meeting on July 23 and attended by 23 committee members comprising federal Cabinet ministers, the Sarawak and Sabah chief ministers and senior officials from the federal government and the Sarawak and Sabah governments.

The issues that have received joint agreement include:

* Export duty claims on logging exports and forest products. It was agreed that this matter be considered as resolved by the federal government and the Sabah government at a steering committee meeting following the agreement on the delegation of power to the Sabah Forestry Department, which had been given since June 1, 2017

* Gas distribution and regulatory powers on electricity and gas. The domestic trade and consumer affairs minisytr agreed to hand over regulatory powers on gas in Sarawak according to the Distribution Gas Ordinance (DGO) Sarawak 2016, while the Sabah government agreed to carry out due diligence before handing over gas and electricity regulatory powers. - FMT