Public feel London MA63 trip beneficial, not waste of funds
KUCHING: The upcoming factfinding mission on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 ( MA63) has been branded as a waste of public funds by some opposition politicians.
With the state legal team, headed by Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring assistant minister Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali set to leave for London this Sunday, The Borneo Post met the general public on their opinions towards the issue.
For 26-year- old Josephine Jelawat James, she opined that if the trip was for the benefit of the state and its people, then everyone should be supporting it.
“For me, if it is for us, Sarawakians, why go against it? We all should be up for it. The trip is for them (state legal team) to look further in case there are other documents that can be revised, or things that can be used for our state government in their discussion with the federal government,” she said.
Josephine added that it was vital for the state to know its rights under MA63, stressing that the rights of Sarawak under the agreement should always be adhered to.
Hanif Hazemi, 31, said the trip to relook at important archive documents in London in regards to MA63 can open up more issues that can be utilised by the state government.
For me, if it is for us, Sarawakians, why go against it? We all should be up for it. The trip is for them (state legal team) to look further in case there are other documents that can be revised, or things that can be used for our state government in their discussion with the federal government. Josephine Jelawat James
“The state government really need these to claim our rights from the federal government. Why raise the issue on wasting public funds when this is for the benefit of our country,” he stressed.
He further pointed that the issue of oil royalty, which the late Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem had fought for, should always be among the main agenda in discussions between the state and federal government.
For Melvin Chong, 34, the London trip must be fully utilised to seek the ‘full truth’ on MA63.
“I am not sure if a week is enough for them to gather facts and look into the archives, but I do hope that they bring something really useful back to Sarawak,” he said.
“I laud the effort by Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg who initiated this move which, for me, will show that the state government is really serious about regaining the rights of Sarawak.”