Hajiji (middle) with Armizan and Ewon during the courtesy call.
KOTA KINABALU (Dec 12): The Cabinet Ministers’ Memorandum on Sabah and Sarawak’s demands, particularly concerning the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), will be tabled early next month (January), said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the Cabinet meeting on Dec 4, had given Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and himself a period of one month to receive comments and feedback on the matter from all parties concerned.
He added that the process to get feedback from the Sabah and Sarawak governments, as well as other ministries and government agencies are ongoing before preparing the memorandum and submitting it to the Cabinet.
“One of the things this can do is to ensure that claims and applications submitted by the two state governments can be dealt with by the federal government… there are already matters (claims) that are enshrined in the Federal Constitution and we need to implement them fully.
“At the same time, our basis (demands) is also based on MA63 itself and the IGC (Inter-Governmental Committee),” he told a press conference after a meeting with Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor at Menara Kinabalu here on Monday.
Armizan, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Papar, said the main comments and responses so far have been on financial and economic matters, as well as the return of 40 per cent of the revenue collected by the federal government in Sabah to the state.
He said the implementation of Sabah and Sarawak’s demands required the cooperation of all ministries as they were matters under the purview of the respective ministries, including the economy, legislation, agriculture, and human resources.
“The matters that are being pursued involves various ministries, and it is my responsibility to coordinate them to ensure that they (demands) are implemented well… Let the relevant ministers give the details of the matters agreed upon by their respective ministries,” he said.
He said MA63 does not only belong to the people of Sabah and Sarawak, it belongs to all Malaysians so that all Malaysians can work together to move the country forward under the umbrella of the federation called Malaysia.
Hajiji yesterday also received a courtesy call from Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick.
This was the first courtesy call on the Chief Minister by the two federal ministers from Sabah since their appointment by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim early this month.
The two ministers briefed Hajiji on their respective ministries’ responsibilities and programs they will be implementing in efforts to assist the development of Sabah.
Hajiji, who welcomed Armizan and Ewon’s appointments into the cabinet of the unity government, expressed confidence that the two young leaders are capable of carrying out the duties and trust expected by the Federal Government and the people of this state.
Meanwhile Ewon in a statement said the courtesy call on the Chief Minister was aimed at discussing the commitment of his ministry under the Unity Government to work with the state government to help the people of Sabah, especially in entrepreneurship and job opportunities.
“This includes the ministry’s efforts to bring in several agencies under it which do not yet have regional offices in Sabah to open one and offer their services here. So far there are two agencies that have agreed to open their office in Sabah,” he said.
Ewon, who is also Penampang Member of Parliament said the ministry will also hold the national-level ‘Hari Penjaja dan Peniaga Kecil’celebration and the Entrepreneurs’ and Cooperatives’ Carnival in Sabah next year.
“Previously the two national level celebrations were held in the Peninsula. The time has come for us to bring these two big programs to Sabah in our efforts to further strengthen the services of all agencies under this ministry,” he said.
Ewon also invited the Chief Minister to make both programs a success.