KUCHING: An agreement has been reached between the Sarawak and the federal governments to fulfil five out of 13 demands relating to the state’s rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Assistant Minister for Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali
(pic) said of the remaining eight demands, four were still in the process of negotiation, and the other four were being discussed at the joint-committee level.
She said the five demands that have been fulfilled were to review of special grants to Sarawak under Article 112D of the Federal Constitution; to hand over the power to oversee the distribution of gas to Sarawak under the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016; and, to implement devolution of power from federal minister to state authorities to enact subsidiary under Labour Ordinance on labour conditions peculiar to Sarawak.
Also fulfilled were the demands to have the federal government hand over a delegation of power under the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127) to the state government to regulate environmental matters, including scheduled waste and, to return the ownership given to federal land in the state.
Sharifah Hasidah said this in reply to Datuk Dr Juanda Jaya (GPS-Jemoreng) who wanted to know on the latest status of MA63 at the State Legislative Assembly sitting here Wednesday.
“Sarawak will continue to pursue and bring up the remaining demands with the federal government under the leadership of Perikatan Nasional to restore Sarawak’s rights as enshrined in MA63 and the Federal Constitution,” she said.
Sharifah Hasidah said at the federal level, a special Cabinet committee had also been set up to pursue and monitor the implementation of the decisions made by the previous committee.
Apart from that, she added the Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Division (BHESS) in the Prime Minister’s Department has been appointed as the secretariat to monitor the implementation of the policy decisions on the special cabinet committee.
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