Fadillah: MA63 Technical Committee to be reorganised

TUARAN (Jan 20): The structure of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council Technical Committee (JKMTPMA63) will be reorganised to discuss matters arising from the agreement, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

Fadillah said the reorganisation is needed after Papar MP Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali, previously in charge of Sabah and Sarawak affairs, was appointed as the Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living in the Cabinet reshuffle in December last year.

“We have to reorganise the structure and then call the meeting to put up a new paper,” he told reporters here today.

Fadillah said this when asked if the Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council (MTPMA63) had discussed the mechanism for the repayment of 40 per cent of the Federal revenue to Sabah.

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

Fadillah also said he visited Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor yesterday 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.

It was reported in December 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 Member of Parliament 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. – Bernama