Good progress on MA63 issues: CM
Published on: Wednesday, August 21, 2019
By: Anthea Peter
KOTA KINABALU: The State Government is pleased and thank Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for the seven Malaysian Agreement 1963 (MA63) issues that have been resolved.
However, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (pic) said there are certain issues that still need to be refined.
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“Some issues are still being discussed in-depth such as the 40 per cent net revenue that should be given to the Sabah Government as well as the oil royalty which has been tabled in the main committee meeting,” he said during a book launch by his wife Datin Seri Shuryani Shuaib’s 15th book “Curry Leaves”, at a hotel here Tuesday.
“Not everything can be resolved in a short amount of time because it involves a lot of factors, for example the 40 per cent revenue needs to be examined in depth as we don’t have all the statistics and we need to approach it from various aspects,” he said.
Shafie said among the issues that were jointly agreed on in the Federal Cabinet are the agricultural and forestry issues, administration of Pulau Sipadan and Ligitan as well as the regulatory powers on electricity and gas in which there are still technical issues to resolve.
“I have appointed a company to carry out Due Diligence to refine the (gas and electricity) issues and how we would solve it. We need a platform at the State level that will enable us to refine these issues.
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“They (Federal cabinet) have already agreed to hand over, it’s only the State Government (that is with issues) because we have to look into the subsidy which is about RM1 billion,” he said adding that the State Government cannot shoulder the debts incurred by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB).
Despite the need for refinement, overall Shafie said he is confident that the people’s voices are being heard and progress is in motion.
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“What is being implemented by Dr Mahathir is something that we have wanted all this while in terms of our State rights.
He said previously nothing about the State’s rights could be turned into a reality but now it is evident that progress has been made.
“We shall move forward in this direction in order to make it into a reality what the people of Sabah want,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shafie clarified that the slogan “Sabah for Sabahans” does not imply that non-Sabahans cannot enter (the state).
Rather he said it is related to Sabahans being aware in fighting for their rights, which is also tied to their desires in the MA63 and it does not mean that it is parochial in any way.
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