Kota Kinabalu: Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick assured Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor of his commitment to fight for the rights and aspirations of Sabahans at the Federal level.
During a meeting at Menara Kinabalu on Thursday
(pic), Ewon said his efforts complement those of the Sabah Government.
“The meeting discussed, among other things, the approach to Sabah’s rights claims in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the Federal Constitution, especially in relation to the return of federal revenue to Sabah.
“Although nine matters relating to Sabah’s rights claims in MA63 have been fully resolved, there are still many that are being negotiated, including the right to 40 per cent of federal revenue in Sabah,” he said.
Ewon who is also the minister who assists Deputy Prime Minister II Dato Seri Fadillah Yusof in coordinating Sabah issues expressed the commitment of the Federal Government to find a solution to the demands through the MA63 Implementation Action Council and also the MTPMA63 Technical Committee consultation platforms.
During the visit, Ewon also led the Bank Rakyat delegation to inform about various initiatives of the country’s largest cooperative bank in Sabah.
The briefing to the Chief Minister was delivered by Chief Executive Officer Dato Dr Mohammad Hanis Osman.
He informed of the development of Bank Rakyat in Sabah, financing programmes, zakat contributions and corporate social responsibility programmes as well as the bank’s future plans in Sabah.
Hajiji was a former member of Bank Rakyat’s Board in the 1990s and was among those responsible for expanding Bank Rakyat’s operations to Sabah.
