KUCHING: Sarawak’s demands for the reinstatement of some of its rights should not be misinterpreted as challenging Putrajaya.
Rather, according to Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman, every issue or right claimed aligns with Sarawak’s rights under the Federal Constitution and the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
The Chief Political Secretary to the Premier said it must be clarified that the demands made by Sabah and Sarawak is not a new issue.
“These demands are based on and aligned with what is enshrined in the MA63, an agreement crucial to the formation of Malaysia. Without this agreement, there would be no nation called Malaysia,” he said in a statement.
He was responding to Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim’s recent statement who claimed, among other things, that Sarawak is challenging the powers of the federal government.
“The MA63 has been referred to as a constitutional instrument within the Federal Constitution.
“This highlights the importance of this agreement in determining the rights and status of Sabah and Sarawak within the Federation of Malaysia.
“All the demands are rightful claims based on the original agreement and the Federal Constitution. As the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem once stressed, ‘Sarawak seeks no more, no less’,” Fazzrudin said.
On oil matters and the establishment of Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros), he matter is also based on Sarawak laws such as the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 and the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016.
“Similarly, on the issues of education and the use of English in Sarawak, these have been stated in Paragraph 17 of the Inter-Governmental Committee Report (IGC) 1962 since the beginning,” he added.
Therefore, the requests and demands from Sarawak are not challenging the federal government.
“The rights are even pursued through diplomatic and harmonious negotiations between the state and federal governments, and this demonstrates Putrajaya’s ability to collaborate effectively with the Sarawak government. It is not a sign of weakness,” he said.
He added the capacity to collaborate and resolve issues, including addressing demands from Sarawak and Sabah, is evidence of the success of the federal system and the good relationship between the federal and state governments.
“Sarawak’s courage in voicing its demands is actually influenced by the federal government’s open attitude towards listening to state issues, something different from the past,” said Fazzrudin.
