KUCHING: Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar is optimistic that more can be achieved under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s leadership with regard to looking into the rights of Sabah and Sarawak as contained in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
These rights have been eroded over the years.
“Although previous prime ministers, namely, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin have been accommodating and attentive to the welfare and wellbeing of Sabah and Sarawak people, I expect to see significant improvements under the present leadership as it is able to do things that were not possible before this,” said the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Parliament and Law on Friday (Sept 17).
He said that there would be amendments of law for this purpose.
On top of that, he pointed out that the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the government and the main opposition bloc Pakatan Harapan (PH) to establish a bipartisan cooperation was also expected to contribute significantly to this.
“As mentioned earlier, the Premier has entrusted me to look into matters pertaining to MA63. This is also part of my 100-day KPI (key performance indicator), together with transformation of government and transformation of Parliament,” he said.
He assured that the MA63 issue would be one of the government’s top priorities.
“I am sure if Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is given the opportunity to lead this country until the end of the term, more can be done for the people in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.
In a Facebook post today, Wan Junaidi thanked the prime minister who had allocated RM4.66 billion to Sabah and RM4.47 billion to Sarawak under the Rolling Plan 1, 2021 of the 12th Malaysian Plan, which will be tabled in Parliament on Sept 27.
He noted that in the prime minister’s Malaysia Day 2021 message, he had also expressed the government’s assurance and commitment to refine various matters which need to be resolved via negotiations through the MA63 Special Council.
“Holding onto the principle of ‘Working With the People’, I also assure that the government of today will continue to focus on empowering the people of Sabah and Sarawak, so that we can all enjoy the progress, prosperity, and wellbeing of the country fairly,” he said in his Facebook post.
