KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will likely chair the panel to review and enforce the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) to give effect to Sabah and Sarawak’s rights, said the law minister.
Datuk Liew Vui Keong said he is finalising the line-up of the Cabinet’s special committee to review and monitor the fair implementation of MA63, but provided hints of the potential line-up.
“Basically I think it will include the PM as chairman.
“It’s got to be very high-powered because the members will include the chief ministers of Sabah and Sarawak, Cabinet ministers, the attorneys-general of both states and certain judges and also we include a few academicians,” he said in an interview this morning with radio station BFM.
Liew said the committee will have sub-committees at three levels with different terms of reference, namely the working committee, the technical committee and steering committee, with the latter to take a final look at the matter.
“This is going to take about six months from the announcement of the line-up,” he said of the committee’s work.
Liew said the process in forming the special committee started after his July appointment as de facto law minister, and the Cabinet papers had to be distributed to stakeholders for feedback.
After this was obtained, the Cabinet approved last week the committee’s formation, Liew said.
Pakatan Harapan pledged to form the committee in its first 100 days of power, with the review body’s main task including the proposing of measures to rectify administrative rights, Sabah and Sarawak’s rights to revenue from their natural resources such as oil and gas, and the share of funds that rightfully belongs to them.
PH also claimed in its election manifesto that this committee would look into the status of MA63 and efforts to enhance Malaysians’ understanding of the treaty through the national education system, as well as the implementation of the concept of federalism for the three territories of peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
