DPM Fadillah: MA63 technical committee to be reorganised to address issues related to agreement

Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof

KUCHING, Jan 21: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof has announced that the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council Technical Committee (JKMTPMA63) will undergo reorganisation to address issues related to the agreement.

Fadillah highlighted the necessity for reorganisation due to the reshuffling of the Federal Cabinet in December of last year, which resulted in Papar MP Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali no longer being responsible for the affairs of Sabah and Sarawak, as reported by Bernama.

Armizan currently holds the portfolio as Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living.

“We need to reorganise the structure and then call a meeting to present a new paper,” he told reporters in Tuaran, Sabah, yesterday (Jan 20), as quoted by the news outlet.

Fadillah mentioned this in response to a question about whether the MTPMA63 had addressed the implementation mechanism for reimbursing 40 per cent of the federal net revenue obtained from Sabah.

He also said the restructuring of the JKMTPMA63 was to bring Armizan back to the committee, among other things.

Furthermore, the minister noted that he visited Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor on Jan 19 and discussed matters related to the MA63.

“We have sat down to get directions from him (Hajiji). And what I’m going to do, as far as MA63 is concerned, is get both Armizan and Datuk Ewon Benedick (Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister) to sit on the committee. From there on, we will start our discussion,” said Fadillah, who is also responsible for Sabah and Sarawak affairs.

Meanwhile, it was reported in December last year that Ewon, who is also a member of MTPMA63 and JKMTPMA63, was set to propose a mechanism framework for the repayment of 40 per cent of the Federal revenue to Sabah and would submit the proposal to the Federal and Sabah governments.

The Penampang MP has been reported as saying that the proposed mechanism framework took into account technical issues related to the availability of data related to the collection of Federal revenue in Sabah since 1974, aiming for a more practical and forward-moving approach. — DayakDaily