PUTRAJAYA is deploying a team to the British national archives in London to search for documents related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
The team will be led by Minister in Prime Minister’s Department for Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili and comprise a team of legal experts, researchers and officials from both the Federal and Sabah Governments.
They will depart on June 19. The trip will last a week.
“Preliminary research showed over 300 documents referring to our rights and matters related to the MA63 are at the National Archives in London.
“There have been so many misconceptions and it is time to set the records right. MA63 is not just an agreement, therefore we need all the facts and figures to enable us to make claims that are rightfully ours,” Ongkili said on June 14.
A similar effort was carried out by the Sarawak government six years ago.
Ongkili stressed that it was vital for the team to do their “homework”, so the rights of Sabah and Sabahans are protected.
“We are excited as finally, we can get hold and access these confidential documents, which have now been declassified at the National Archives.
“We hope to get better insights about what transpired prior to our independence in 1963,” he added.
Team members include Sabah Attorney General Datuk Nor Asiah Mohd Yusof and Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia who is the Sabah envoy to Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
Nearly 60 years after the formation of Malaysia, Sabah is still negotiating with the Federal Government to reinstate its allowances laid out under the MA63.
Among Sabah’s top concerns are revenue rights and oil-and-gas royalties.
