One step closer to reinstating special rights for Sabah, Sarawak

SABAH, Sarawak CMs, A-G among top officials in special cabinet committee to realise provisions enshrined in Malaysia Agreement 1963.

SABAH Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal and his Sarawakian counterpart, Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Abang Openg, will be among the top officials sitting in the highpowered cabinet committee formed to realise provisions enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).

They will be assisted by Sarawak Attorney-General Datuk Talat Mahmood Abdul Rashid and Sabah Attorney-General Zaleha Rose Pandin.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong, when contacted, confirmed that Attorney-General Tommy Thomas would sit in the committee.

“The full line-up of the committee, which was set-up following instructions from Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, will be revealed soon,” Liew, the minister in charge of judicial affairs, told the New Straits Times. Liew did not reveal the number of members of the committee. The Batu Sapi member of parliament, however, had said the committee would comprise odd numbers of members from Sabah, Sarawak and the peninsula.

The committee, he said, would include opposition leaders to ensure that it was inclusive and took all views into consideration.

On when the Pakatan Harapan Government will unveil the full line-up of the committee, Liew said it was in the pipeline.

“Wait and see,” he said.

The committee, he said, was expected to convene its first meeting immediately after the line-up was revealed.

It was reported that among the issues that would be deliberated by the committee included Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution, where upon amendment to the article in 1976, Sabah and Sarawak were “downgraded” from being equal partners of the Federation of Malaysia to being on the same level of other states.

At the national-level Malaysia Day celebration in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday night, Dr Mahathir reassured Sabah and Sarawak folk that his administration was committed to reinstate the position of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners in Malaysia as provided for in MA63.