Sick of MA63 talk: where’s the beef?

 

Politicians are falling over themselves to appease Sabah and Sarawak to call them by using some pleasing name, instead of state, to win over their support or votes.

In September 2020, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad called for the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as “equal partners” with Peninsular Malaysia in the formation of Malaysia.

In April 2021, Muhyiddin Yassin, while visiting Sarawak referred to it as a “region” to set it apart from other states in Malaysia. From now on, we should not forget that Sarawak is a ‘region’ or ‘wilayah’, he said.

At the recent Umno general assembly deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Sabah and Sarawak had been accorded the status of “regions” and were no longer regarded as states within Malaysia, and that the unity government had a considerable legal and moral obligation towards Sabah and Sarawak.

If you are a follower of the political and economic situation of Sabah and Sarawak, you will be amazed at the chameleon nature of the Borneo “states”, which brings to mind what Shakespeare wrote in the play Romeo and Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Federal leaders can call Sabah and Sarawak by some name to suit their shallow political agenda, but where’s the beef?

“Where’s the beef?” is a catchphrase in the United States and Canada, introduced as a slogan for a fast-food chain in 1984, but which has now become an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event, or product.

The Borneo states have long asked the same question, “Where’s the beef (money)?” The quantum in a special grant provided in the constitution to the Borneo states is in dispute, and the Sabah Law Society and Sabah government have jointly taken the federal government to court over non-payment of the shared tax revenue.

Sabah and Sarawak are the richest states in Malaysia in terms of resources but very much lag in development, especially Sabah which has the highest poverty rate in Malaysia. This is due to many leakages on the federal side. Whatever dividend is given to the federal government by Petronas from Sabah and Sarawak, the oil and gas resources could have gone to plug leaky Putrajaya.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as finance minister, has cautioned civil servants not to be complacent as the national debt has reached RM1.2 trillion. Anwar pointed out that the national debt, when including liabilities, amounted to RM1.5 trillion. We all know of the biggest leaks such as that involving 1MDB and defence procurements (non-delivery of six littoral combat ships despite RM6 billion ringgit having been paid out to contractors, for example).

Malaysia is very much a leaky ship that needs to be constantly patched up to remain afloat. Profit from oil and gas earnings is a good way to plug these leaks, and as we all know Sabah and Sarawak are the biggest oil and gas producers in Malaysia.

Every day, leaders of the federal government, Sabah and Sarawak talk about MA63 until people in the Borneo states are sick and tired of hearing it. To the people living in the Borneo states, MA63 is just two letters and two numbers. The people are not consulted over what they want or their needs. Their ever-changing leaders – as in Sabah – have decided it for them.

MA63 has become a political game for political parties, each trying to outdo the other to extract some kind of small win to make themselves relevant. The elephant in the room is still the revenue derived from taxes and oil and gas resources.

Many promises have been made about MA63.

In March 2020, then minister Maximus Ongkili said one of his main tasks was to solve issues related to MA63 within six months. Then the period became even shorter. The restoration of Sabah and Sarawak’s rights must be resolved within a month, said deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof. The one month is already up.

More discussions and negotiations will take place without the Borneo people being consulted. At least our colonisers, the British, gave us the Cobbold Commission in 1962 to find out whether Sabah and Sarawak wanted to join Malaysia. In today’s case, we have to trust politicians whose tenure in and government is likely to be short.

With ever-changing government and party loyalties, people find it hard to trust any of our leaders to look out for their wellbeing.

MA63 is now an agreement without a realisation date but with changing demands, from the Inter Government Committee’s (IGC) 20 points, to the Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) 21 points – which was placed under the Official Secrets Act – and a new list under the current unity government. There is most likely another new list to come.

Many activists have complained that MA63 is like a moving target that changes over time with different people and governments in power. The futures of Sabah and Sarawak are in the hands of warring politicians, and the victims are the people living in the Borneo states who are crying for basic infrastructure to be delivered after 60 years in Malaysia. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.