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KOTA KINABALU: Sabah and Sarawak Affairs Minister Maximus Ongkili says Putrajaya stood firm by refusing to make public the findings of the Cabinet Special Committee of the 1963 Malaysia Accord (MA63).
He said the committee was established by the Pakatan Harapan government on September 5, 2018. The report was technical and was still the subject of negotiations between the federal government and Sabah and Sarawak, he added.
Ongkili said the committee had met five times: on December 17, 2018 and on March 5, May 17, July 23, and November 18, 2019.
“The Sabah and Sarawak state governments submitted a total of 21 claims for discussion.
“Of these 21 topics, 17 were discussed. Three of them were considered resolved, while the other 14 need further action, “he said today in his closing speech on the 2021 budget debate at the Dewan Rakyat.
He said pending issues that were not resolved included oil royalties, cash payment for oil and oil fields, the Territorial Sea Law of 2012 and the Continental Shelf Law of 1966.
He said that no decision had been made on a proposed amendment to Article 1, Clause 2 of the Federal Constitution, as this had legal implications.
He said the Special Council on MA63, made up of the prime minister, the chief ministers of Sabah and Sarawak, eight federal ministers and representatives of the federal and state governments, would hold its first meeting on November 30.
