KOTA KINABALU, March 12 — New Sabah and Sarawak Affairs minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili said his first order of business will be restoring equal status to Sabah and Sarawak within the Malaysian Federation.
The Kota Marudu MP said that he took the newly-created ministry portfolio and would ensure that it will not just be a white elephant that could not deliver the people’s aspirations.
“My priority will first be to restore equal status to Sabah and Sarawak. We want to amend Article 1(2) of the Constitution that would give Sabah and Sarawak back its original status within Malaysia. We hope to achieve this within six months,” he said.
Ongkili was speaking to reporters after arriving from Kuala Lumpur where he had sat for the first Cabinet meeting under the Perikatan Nasional coalition government.
Ongkili said that the first attempt to amend the article last year was a failure because it did not include in detail the terms as per the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and left it up to interpretation.
He said the proposed amendment did not get constitutional support because there was no mention at all of MA63 in the Federal Constitution and only mentions the Malaya Agreement 1957 in Article 160(2).
“We want it spelt out and the government of the time did not include it. I spoke to the prime minister about this, and he openly said he was in support of it and will deal with it as soon as possible,” he said.
The Pakatan Harapan government had in April last year tried to pass a bill to amend Article 1(2) of the Federal Constitution but did not get enough support in the House to pass the bill.
Ongkili said his other priority would be financial provisions that will give Sabah back 40 per cent of its total revenue, an issue that would essentially mean billions of ringgit if backdated since the 1970s.
“If we can handle these two things, it will go a long way,” he said.
To this end, he said there would be a working committee on it, that would be in problem-solving mode.
He also said his other focus would be on petroleum royalties and other development matters.
“We have had enough of studies. We want problem solving and solutions now. I don’t want my ministry to be akin to a public complaints bureau. We want to solve matters constitutionally and legally,” he said.
On critics who said his ministry may just be a think tank or conceptual ministry that did not have enough power to bring changes and reforms to the two largest Malaysian states, Ongkili said he was aware of the concern and had brought it up to the prime minister when accepting the post.
“I told him there is no point of this ministry if it’s just in name. He said he was committed to being a prime minister to all Malaysians and told me to take control of matters. I think, I know, he means well.
“He will give us the mandate, he wants things to be fair and just in law and will give us the financial provisions to see it through,” he said.
Ongkili, who is also Parti Bersatu Sabah president said that after meeting the Cabinet yesterday, he was confident of its capabilities and ability to work together.
“I think it’s a balanced, good Cabinet with a good combination of senior and well-educated people. I believe if we are united in our support for the PM and work hard, we can work together. I am enthusiastic and confident we can achieve something to be proud of,” said Ongkili.
