Kota Kinabalu: The process on the appointment of Sabah and Sarawak representatives as board members in the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) is expected to be tabled in the next Parliament sitting scheduled from Oct 9 to Nov 30.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions), Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, said this would involve the tabling of the Malaysian Inland Revenue Board (Amendment) Bill 2023.
He said the tabling of the Bill is in line with the decision of the Federal Cabinet meeting on June 5 which certified the recommendations of the Action Council for the Implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MTP-MA63) which met on Jan 19, this year in Kuching, Sarawak.
He said the MTP-MA63 was chaired by the Prime Minister and was attended by Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
Armizan said although representatives from Sabah and Sarawak are now on the IRB Board of Directors, the appointments were done administratively and are retractable.
“We know the importance of having representatives (from) Sabah and Sarawak so that Sabah and Sarawak have access to information related to revenue collection to make other demands, for example, related to special grants,” he added.
He said this in a press conference after delivering a special talk on MA63 through Wacana Madani programme of MA63: Sabah’s 60-Year Aspirations at Menara Kinabalu, here, Monday.
Armizan, who is Papar Member of Parliament, said the move was a commitment by the Federal Government that reflects the political will to interpret the MA63, particularly in resolving the pending issues in the agreement.
He said the matter was one of the pending issues in MA63 and had been raised by the Sabah and Sarawak governments in the MA63 Special Council Meeting on Oct 18 last year.
The membership of Sabah and Sarawak representatives in the IRM was halted when the IRB and related laws were abolished and regulated by the IRB starting in 1967 and then continued by the IRB which was established in 1996 under the IRB Act.
Meanwhile, Armizan reminded all parties to give meaning to the struggle for the demands in the MA63 so that it can be implemented through the union and the Federal Constitution as a reference, as well as the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) report.
“This is quite important because if there is polemic, then we are showing that we are not united (in resolving the issues) to the quarters that we are claiming from.
“Therefore, our demands and our recommendations may not be taken into account because there is a perception exists that those demands come from certain quarters in Sabah, and not the consensus of the entire community and leaders in Sabah,” he said.
