SUPP wants neutral person to head MA63 committee
SIBU: SUPP Bawan Assan Branch chairman Robert Lau Hui Yew opines that the committee looking into the breaches of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the accompanying Inter Governmental Committee Report must be headed by someone neutral.
In a statement posted in his Facebook yesterday, he stressed that the breaches were made by the Malayan-led Government in the guise of Malaysia while the complainants were Sabah and Sarawak.
He asked: “How come the committee that is looking into these complaints is chaired by the same party that has been accused of committing the breaches?
“Take the example of oil and gas. It is as good as inviting Petronas to be the arbiter over the claims by Sabah and Sarawak for their rights and sovereignty over oil and gas to be returned.”
Lau said he had already previously proposed that the chairperson had to be a neutral person.
“I went further to propose the person should come from the United Kingdom.
“They are the creator of MA63 and the Queen has given her assurance to the people of Sarawak that their rights will be protected under the new country, Malaysia.”
A Bernama report on Thursday said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew View Keong had announced the names of the 16 members of the Steering Committee headed by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to review and streamline the Malaysia Agreement 1963 ( MA63).
The other committee members are Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Communication and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Works Minister Baru Bian, Minister of International Trade and Industry Darell Leiking, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Bakar, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk David Wong Dak Wah, Attorney-General Tommy Thomas, Universiti Malaya Law Professor Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi, Sabah Attorney- General Zaleha Rose Pandin and Sarawak Attorney- General Datuk Talat Mahmood Abdul Rashid.
Liew said the committee would meet in about a month’s time in Putrajaya to determine the direction on MA63.
He also said among the issues to be studied included oil royalty and development in Sabah and Sarawak.
Under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore and Malaya formed the Federation of Malaysia.
Singapore exited the federation in 1965.