KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — The issue of return of 40 per cent of Sabah’s own net revenue collected by the federal government as stipulated in Article 112C of the Federal Constitution will be discussed at the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) Special Council Committee Meeting.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah and Sarawak Affairs), Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili said the meeting was expected to be held after the end of the current Dewan Rakyat sitting next week to discuss the decision of the Joint Consultative Council (JCC).
This followed the statement by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, who is also the JCC chairman, through his oral reply last March 3 that giving of the special allocation no longer applied.
“The JCC’s decision still needs to be tabled to the special council and the amount for Sabah to be decided upon. I have discussed this with the Finance Minister and he stated that the decision had yet to be discussed.
“Sabah indeed has its own views on this matter, so we wait for the Special Council meeting after the end of this parliamentary sitting next week.” Ongkili said when winding up the debate on the royal address today.
During the debate, a number of parliamentarians from Sabah asked the minister to state the government’s stand on resolving the issue as it was still at the discussion stage and not finalised yet, hence in contradiction to Tengku Zafrul’s statement.
Among the MPs who raised the issue were Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman (Warisan-Sepanggar), Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Warisan-Kota Belud), Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau (UPKO-Tuaran) and Ahmad Hassan (Warisan-Papar).
Ongkili also said that the suggestion to increase the number of parliamentary seats for Sabah and Sarawak to one-third of the total had been discussed at the MA63 Partners Working Committee meeting on Feb 8.
“The meeting decided that the matter be referred to the Technical Committee which is chaired by Attorney- General Tan Sri Idrus Harun to further study it.
“I suggest that the Sabah and Sarawak MPs discuss the claims openly and properly, and forward the decision to the Election Commission for further action.
“There are some groups in Sabah and Sarawak who opine that the claims to be first tabled at the Sabah and Sarawak State Legislative Assemblies,” he said.
Meanwhile, the motion of thanks for the royal address was passed after 27 ministries wound up the debate which was held for four days from last Monday.
The Dewan Rakyat sitting continues next Monday. — Bernama
