Report on Sarawak education autonomy expected ‘in a month’

 

Fadillah Yusof, who is a PBB vice-president, also chairs the technical committee on matters to do with the Malaysia Agreement 1963. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak’s hopes for autonomy on education matters will hang on a report expected in a month by a working group under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 technical committee, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said.

Fadillah, who chairs the MA63 technical committee, said the working group will report to his committee in a month on the expected outcome of discussions.

“The technical committee’s working group will have to come back to us and report what will be the outcome of the discussion — where they can devolve or pass on some of the powers to Sarawak as far as education is concerned,” the Borneo Post quoted him as saying.

““For now, discussions and negotiations are ongoing. We will wait for one month, then we will see what will be the outcome from the working group’s discussion.

“From then onwards, I think we will make an announcement,” said Fadillah while on a visit to his hometown of Sibu. Fadillah is a vice-president of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) the leading party in GPS, Sarawak’s ruling coalition.

He had been asked when the matter of education autonomy would be brought to the MA63 implementation action council led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Fadillah said that Sarawak’s right to educational autonomy was included in the 1962 Inter-Governmental Committee report, which became the basis for the Malaysia Agreement.

The technical committee was formed last year by the prime minister to look into areas under MA63 that were still under negotiation and had already been implemented. - FMT