Kota Kinabalu: The Federal Government will always respect State rights and privileges, whether those given to Sabah, Sarawak or former unfederated Malayan states, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said.He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reiterated this assurance at the closing of Merdeka Month celebration in Kuching last September."State rights as enshrined in the Federal Constitution are pillars of the Malaysian nation. They shouldn't, therefore, act as obstacles to national integration," he told reporters when asked to comment on the ongoing debate on the issue in Sabah.
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The issue resurfaced earlier this week when Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk M. Kayveas urged the Sabah and Sarawak governments to take steps to review the 20-Point agreement and other rules and conditions agreed upon when Malaysia was formed in 1963.Kayveas' remarks, made in reply to a question at the Dewan Negara, drew strong reactions from Sabahans, many of whom came in defence of the Agreement.
Ongkili said: "These rights and safeguards are pillars of the nation and pillars are always to be strengthened and not to be diluted".He said that problems often arose in the implementation of these rights, thus giving rise to misconception and perceived obstacles to policy harmonisation and integration.
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"If that is so, the task is to smoothen the implementation and this is best done through consultation and discussion between the Federal Government and the affected states in an amicable manner and closed-door environment," he said.He said that the issue was not to be debated publicly as it might be sensitive to citizens in relevant states who are passionate about such rights.
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The National Unity Advisory Panel, which he chairs, would take steps to correct such misconceptions and provide the consultative framework to discuss such issues, he said."The unity panel will look at these (rights and safeguards) as guides and as ways to further promote national integration rather than the other way around," he said.On the use of identification documents when non-Sabahan Malaysians enter the state, Ongkili said the misconception occurred when the locals could just walk through the immigration counters without having to fill any forms while others had to do so, thus creating a sort of "two-world" scenario."There's no harm in filling forms because there is also the need for data...one way to address this is to do it electronically. You just put the identification documents for scanning and you can walk through the counters," he said.Earlier, when launching the Institut Bandaraya learning centre here, Ongkili urged the Sabah private sector to work with the state government to bring world-class universities to the state.
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He said the private sector should consider making education an area of business diversification as had been done by several multinational companies at the federal level.Institut Bandaraya is the franchisee of the NIIT's Diploma in Information Technology for Sabah and Labuan. The NIIT is a renowned global IT solutions provider which has over 1,000 centres and over one million students across five continents. - Bernama
