KUCHING, Nov 23 — The Sarawak government has submitted its paper to the federal government proposing to increase the combined number of its representatives as well as for Sabah in Parliament by up to 35 per cent.

State Deputy Minister of Law, Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and State-Federal Relations Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said the MA63 working committee had held meetings on August 10 in Kuching and October 30 in Kota Kinabalu held meetings to discuss the proposal paper.

"Any decision made at the working committee level will be brought up to the Technical Committee Meeting, and subsequently be presented to the MA63 Implementation Action Council chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for endorsement,” Sharifah Hasidah told backbencher and Tamin assemblyman Christopher Gira in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly today.

She said the Sarawak government hopes that its proposal to increase the number of representatives from Sarawak and Sabah will be realised and endorsed by the technical committee.

"Thereafter the amendment to Article 46 of the Federal Constitution to be passed, to ensure a balanced representation in Parliament, in accordance with the spirit and the intention of the formation of Malaysia in 1963,” she said.

Sharifah Hasidah said the state government does not impose any time limit for all the claims by the state relating to the MA63.

"This exercise of negotiation is moving progressively forward, therefore, there shall be no time-frame as to how long the Sarawak government will negotiate,” she said.

She said should there be any necessity for the state government to negotiate further with the federal government to any other encroachment to Sarawak rights, the state will continue to pursue to safeguard its rights under the Federal Constitution and MA63.

She said throughout the MA63 implementation exercise, the Sarawak government has successfully achieved agreement with the federal government, including restoring Sarawak's status as an equal partner in the formation of Malaysia in 1963 through an amendment to Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution in 2021.

She said Article 160 of the Federal Constitution has also been amended, in particular the amendment to the interpretation of the expression "federation”, which incorporates the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and its annexes as part of the Federal Constitution.

She added the amendment to Article 161A of the Federal Constitution empowers the state to determine a more complete interpretation of "native” to ensure that no race is left out.

"Following this amendment, the state Interpretation Ordinance, 2005 (Cap. 61) was amended in February 2022 to update the list of native races recognised in the state.

"This amendment also allows children from mixed marriages where one of the parents is a native to be recognised as a native subject to conditions and requirements imposed by the state Cabinet,” she said, adding that the amendment to the Interpretation Ordinance, 2005 (Cap. 61) came into force on November 1, 2023.

Sharifah Hasidah also said that the Sarawak government also succeeded in its demand to have a representative on the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia as provided for in paragraph 24 (1) of the Inter-Governmental Committee Report.

She said subsequent to this appointment, the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (Amendment) Act, 2023 was passed in Parliament on October 11, 2023 to provide for the appointment of a representative from Sarawak as a permanent member of the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia.

She said both Sarawak and Sabah Public Works Departments (PWDs) have been recognised as Technical Departments under Treasury Instruction 182 which gives power to the PWDs to administer federal government development projects implemented in the two Borneo states with a project value limit not exceeding RM50 million.

She said the recognition was also extended to the Departments of Irrigation and Drainage of both Sarawak and Sabah.