Sarawak wants all pending MA63 issues resolved by December

PUTRAJAYA – The Sarawak government wants all pending Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) issues resolved by December, deputy premier Douglas Uggah Embas said.

In a statement, Uggah said negotiations on MA63's full implementation have been ongoing for nearly a decade, making it crucial to expedite settling the pending matters.

He was speaking at the MA63 Implementation Action Council's second meeting of the year, chaired yesterday by Sabah and Sarawak affairs minister Mustapha Sakmud, who 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.

Delegates were told by the Prime Minister's Department's Sabah and Sarawak affairs division that 13 matters had been fully resolved, five resolved on an interim basis, and two remain unresolved although policy decisions had been made.

Four issues are still under discussion, while five have been referred to "the highest level" in Putrajaya for consideration.

Among the key MA63 matters already resolved by Putrajaya is 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 the main issues discussed yesterday included the Kalimantan border development, the addition of state civil servants, the Borneonisation of the federal service there, as well as health and education matters.

He said Mustapha had directed all federal ministries and agencies to cooperate in prioritising the resolution of outstanding MA63 issues 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 said.