Sarawak wants all pending MA63 issues resolved by December

 Sarawak deputy premier Douglas Uggah Embas says negotiations have been ongoing for almost a decade, making it crucial that all unresolved matters be prioritised.

Sarawak deputy premiers Douglas Uggah Embas (left) and Awang Tengah Ali Hasan (second from left) at the MA63 Implementation Action Council meeting in Putrajaya yesterday. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA:

The Sarawak government has urged Putrajaya to resolve all outstanding matters relating to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) by December this year.

Sarawak deputy premier Douglas Uggah Embas said negotiations on the MA63’s full implementation had been ongoing for nearly a decade, making it crucial to expedite settling the pending matters.

According to a statement, Uggah said this during the MA63 Implementation Action Council’s second meeting of the year, which was chaired by Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Mustapha Sakmud yesterday.

Mustapha is deputy chairman of the council’s technical committee.

The meeting in Putrajaya was attended by delegates from the Sabah and Sarawak governments, including Uggah’s fellow deputy premiers Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and Dr Sim Kui Hian.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister’s Department’s Sabah and Sarawak affairs division informed delegates that 13 matters had been fully resolved, while five were resolved on an interim basis, and two remain unresolved though policy decisions had been made.

Four issues are still under discussion and five have been referred to “the highest level” in Putrajaya for consideration.

Among the key MA63 matters that have already been resolved by Putrajaya are the handover of Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd to the Sabah government.

Matters still under negotiation include the addition of parliamentary seats in East Malaysia and the development of Sabah and Sarawak’s borders with Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Uggah said among the main issues discussed yesterday was the Kalimantan border development, the addition of state civil servants, the Borneonisation of the federal service there, as well as health and education matters.

Uggah said Mustapha had directed all federal ministries and agencies to cooperate in prioritising the resolution of outstanding MA63 issues in order to expedite the agreement’s full implementation.

“The Sarawak government remains committed to working with the federal and Sabah governments to ensure the comprehensive implementation of MA63, in line with the spirit of federalism while preserving the rights and interests of the people of Sabah and Sarawak,” he added. - FMT