KOTA KINABALU, April 14 — The Sabah state government is standing its ground in its discussions with Putrajaya on what rightfully belongs to the state as declared in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Hajiji Noor said that he has insisted the state’s rights be reinstated and any claim be honoured by the federal government as per the agreement during the formation of Malaysia.
“This is the message we gave during the virtual meeting with the Special Council on MA63 chaired by the prime minister yesterday.
“We don’t have to make a big deal out of it anymore because we have already put forward our views and stance on the matter and Putrajaya has responded positively,” he said.
He said that during the meeting, both sides were committed to reaching a solution.
“We also have to take into consideration that the prime minister has openly stated his commitment and guarantee to go through the claims and find a resolution to all the claims that the state has raised,” he said.
Yesterday, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan expressed his displeasure at the continuous implementation of the Territorial Sea Act 2012 which reduces Sabah’s territory at sea from 12 nautical miles to just three nautical miles.
The Sabah Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) president said it was a violation of the Constitution and demonstrated once again how the federal government was taking away the state’s potential resources.
He demanded that the federal government revoke the Act and return the territory to the state.
This is among the other major issues yet to be resolved between Sabah and the federal government.
Others are the oil royalty issue and petroleum cash payments, oil mineral and oil fields, and state rights over the continental shelf.
