TWENTY-seven matters will be raised in the Cabinet Ministers’ Memorandum on Sabah’s and Sarawak’s demands, particularly on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), that will be presented to the Cabinet on Jan 4.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said matters raised in the memorandum were based on feedback from the Sabah and Sarawak State Governments.
“Of the 27 matters, 22 are directly related to MA63 and the Inter-Governmental Committee, while the other five are additional recommendations,” he said after visiting Kampung Tanjung Aru Baru residents who were affected by the high tide phenomenon in Kota Kinabalu.
He said one of the additional recommendations had been announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently, which is to hand over the gas supply regulatory power in Sabah to the State Government.
“It was previously under the state of Sabah, but there were legal amendments in the 1980s and the authority was transferred to the federation. Acting on the State Government’s request, the Cabinet has approved it. InsyaAllah, this January, the authority will be transferred back to Sabah.”
On the floods, he said proper coordination between agencies dealing with disasters was important to ensure minimum impact on the people.
He urged government agencies to work together efficiently and with other parties such as non-governmental organisations to better deal with the disaster.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the Government will announce several matters that have been agreed upon regarding the MA63 on January 4.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would make the announcement after chairing the weekly Cabinet meeting.
He said the MA63 technical committee is currently examining and finalising a number of matters, including the delegation of authority to agencies such as the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID).
There are also some matters outside of MA63 that have been requested by Sabah and Sarawak to be considered by the Federal Government, he added.
