Deal with our grouses instead of new treaty, says Abang Jo

 

Abang Johari Openg said the Inland Revenue Board had requested for a Sarawak representative on its board, which would allow the state government to know how much revenue is owed. (Bernama pic)

KUCHING: Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg has dismissed a proposal for a new Malaysia Agreement, saying the proposal would lead to the formation of Malaysia being questioned.

He said what the people of Sabah and Sarawak sought was for the implementation of conditions enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the results of the Inter-Governmental Committee Report.

The two documents are the founding documents that led to the formation of Malaysia in 1963.

Abang Johari said the suggestion by Barisan Nasional deputy chairman Mohamad Hasan for a new Malaysia Agreement “should not even have been brought up”.

He said MA63 was agreed upon by the country’s forefathers and was fundamental to the establishment of the country.

“We don’t need to make a new agreement. If it’s a new agreement, it means you invalidate the old agreement. If you invalidate the old agreement, then the formation of Malaysia would be questioned,” he said to reporters here.

Abang Johari said that most of the conditions in the agreement, agreed between leaders of Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, had been eroded.

Negotiations are currently being conducted between the federal government, and Sabah and Sarawak to restore these conditions.

Abang Johari said the negotiations also involved special allocations to Sarawak, as stated in the Federal Constitution.

He said Sarawak wanted the special allocation to be distributed according to a formula with the revenue generated by the state to be returned to Sarawak.

Negotiations for a Sarawak government representative to sit on the Inland Revenue Board’s (LHDN) board of directors, as stipulated in the IGC report, was also a good development based on the latest feedback he received.

“Now they (LHDN) have requested the name of a person to represent Sarawak. This will mean we’ll know how much our (state) revenue is. We can then know what is the right amount that the federal government should give us,” he said.

He added that the Sarawak government did not intend to pressure the federal government but wanted the MA63 negotiations to produce a win-win situation for all.

“If the financial situation of the federal government isn’t too good, we can’t pressure them. But based on the formula (suggested by Sarawak), it’s easy (to reach a consensus),” he added.

The suggestion of a new Malaysia Agreement was made by Mohamad at the Sabah BN convention on July 2. He said Sabah BN should propose a new treaty as a more concrete way forward to realise the rights and demands of the two states. - FMT