By Jamie Lu
THE Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government has always placed priority on safeguarding and restoring the eroded rights of Sarawak to ensure the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) is respected and implemented as agreed to by previous leaders.
Describing it as a “sacred agreement” that led to the formation of Malaysia, Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the agreement could not be changed or diluted in any way and in whatever form.
Therefore, he assured that the GPS government will be continuing efforts to protect and reclaim the state’s rights under the MA63, for the interests of Sarawak and its people, for now and in the future.
“What Sarawak leaders had included then as provisions in the agreement as part of Malaysia were what they considered as necessary to protect the rights and interests of the state and its people during their time, as well as in the future,” he said.
Under the leadership of Abang Johari, several demands under the MA63 have been fulfilled by the federal government via various continuous negotiations, including to review special grants to Sarawak under Article 112D of the Constitution and devolution of power to state authorities.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Article 112D of the Federal Constitution covered two components, namely administration and developmental aspects.
He said under the Article 112D the Federal government is required to distribute special grants to Sarawak based on the formula submitted by the state.
He said the special grant given to Sarawak cannot be the same as what Sabah received, adding:
“The special grant to Sabah cannot be used as a guideline on the amount to be given to Sarawak, this is because Sarawak has a huge land size and its needs are different.”
The federal government had also handed over power in overseeing the distribution of gas to the state under the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016, which allows Sarawak to have full control of its oil and gas resources.
Also fulfilled were demands for the federal government to hand over power under the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127) to the GPS government to regulate environmental matters (including scheduled waste), and to return federal land to the state.
In December last year, the MA63 which defined the terms for the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, became part of the Federal Constitution — after the amendment of Article 1(2) and Article 160(2) of the MA63 was passed in Parliament.
Prior to this, the rights and privileges of both states could only be referred to as pre-constitutional documents, not as constitutional rights.
It was a victory and historical moment to finally recognise MA63 as fundamental to the constitutional relationship between the parties forming Malaysia and the equal status of the parties.
Thus, Abang Johari has called on the federal government to facilitate further negotiations on the MA63 for the good of the country as a whole.
“The only thing left to do is for the federal government to fully honour the agreement of the founding fathers of this nation in the spirit of Keluarga Malaysia, and not drag its feet,” he stressed.
Abang Johari has also made it clear that four matters accorded to the state as its fundamental rights under MA63 and the Constitution were non-negotiable, namely immigration right, right to taxation (such as state sales tax, port dues and other state laws), protection rights within the continental shelves, and state sovereignty over its seabed and subsoil.
