Kota Kinabalu: Parti Warisan Supreme Council member Azhar Matussin called on Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs), Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili, to fight for the return of 40 per cent tax collection revenue to the State since 1963.
He said the rights stipulated under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) had already been set and agreed upon when the Federation of Malaysia was formed.
“So, there is no need to pick and choose what can be applied and what cannot be implemented,” he said in a statement, Tuesday.
Azhar said the statement by Maximus that 15 issues under MA63 were still being monitored and unresolved should not happen.
Maximus had said the issues included the State’s authority over health issues, the remaining legislative authority on the environment, labour force in Sabah and Sarawak, and the release of land given ownership rights to the federation in Sabah and Sarawak. He said this in a media conference after attending the “1963 Malaysia Agreement Awareness Forum MA63: From the Perspective of the Millennial Generation” at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) on Monday.
“Maximus should be fighting to get back our rights under MA63, not selecting which to implement and which not to,” said Azhar.
He asked what was the problem and difficulty to fulfil what had been stated in the MA63, as the terms had been clearly stated and signed prior to the formation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.
The Darau Assemblyman said there should not be any problem or need to discuss these matters anymore because the agreement was an international agreement that involved the United Kingdom of Britain, Northern Ireland, North Borneo, Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore.
“The MA63 cannot be altered. No words can be added or deleted. The agreement has been signed and sealed for 59 years and it has to be fully implemented immediately,” Azhar said.
Any attempt to alter the words or even an alphabet in the agreement needs the involvement of all parties that signed the MA63, he said.
He said as a Sabahan and a federal leader in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs, Maximus should not put the rights of Sabah at stake, but instead, fight as hard as possible to ensure that all the rights owed to Sabah were fulfilled.
