KUCHING: The establishment of an Inter-Governmental Relations Committee can help mitigate conflicts involving the state and federal governments.
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH) deputy dean Dr Arnold Puyok said this will also strengthen the relationship between the governments which has been influenced by party politics.
“With the establishment of this committee, it can improve communications and the implementation of policies on issues that arise, through the conducting of regular meetings.
“Looking back at the federal and state jurisdictions in the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, decentralisation of power to the states has been implemented as this matter can be refined by the Inter-Governmental Relations Committee,” he said.
He said this during the Politik Sabah dan Sarawak Dalam Konteks Hubungan Persekutuan – Negeri, (2008 – 2021) online webinar on Tuesday (June 7).
The webinar was hosted by the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs) and was moderated by UNIMAS FSSH dean Prof Dr Neilson Ilan Mersat.
On the establishment of the Law, MA63 and State-Federal Relations Ministry under the Premier’s Department and its lack of counterpart in Sabah, Arnold said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor should deliberate on whether there is a need to set up such a ministry in Sabah.
“However, we need to see if this establishment does not cause overlaps between the existing ministries.
“Currently, there are several ministries that are indirectly focusing on development in Sabah and Sarawak.
“These existing ministries can also be improved and see to the development needs of the two states,” he explained.
