KUCHING: Being partners, Sabah and Sarawak can negotiate directly with the Prime Minister on any strategic issue involving their interests, said a political analyst.
University of Malaya senior lecturer Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said on the issue of petroleum rights, for example, the state government could negotiate directly with the PM and make decisions.
For any such decision, he said, the PM would ask Petronas to implement it without any long bureaucratic deliberation like before.
Awang Azman said the issue of the return of state rights is inadequate, adding the people of Sarawak wanted the next phase of the restoration of the other rights contained in the Malaysian Agreement 1963.
He said the return of partner status to Sabah and Sarawak should coincide with the return of Sabah and Sarawak rights in accordance with the spirit of MA63.
“With the return of these rights as enshrined in the MA63, Sarawak will be prosperous and able to generate more revenue,” he said.
“The federal government has announced that the Cabinet has agreed to amend Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution and this would restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners and the states will no longer be regarded as one of the states in Malaysia,” he said.
The sentiments of Sabahans and Sarawakians, he said, were slightly reduced now with the proposed amendment of Article 1 (2) of the Federal Constitution which was previously one of the main claims of Sabah and Sarawak.
But this, he added, required the consent of the majority of members of parliament and should be presented in a Bill to amend the Constitution in Parliament this month.
“If the amendment is passed then Sarawak and Sabah’s position will no longer be equivalent to the states in the peninsula but as a partner in the formation of Malaysia,” he said.
