KUCHING: The federal government has no intention to remove Sabah and Sarawak’s immigration autonomy, said Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii, today.
In a press statement, Dr Yii said the government has no intention to remove legal rights enshrined in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the Federal Constitution.
“Pakatan Harapan (PH) has always acknowledged and respected the special autonomy given to Sabah and Sarawak under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63),” he said in response to a statement by Petra Jaya MP Fadillah Yusof, whom he accused of having created misleading picture of the intentions of the federal government.
“Our immigration autonomy cannot be tampered with, let alone eroded or taken away. Yet this issue is played up because it touches on the people’s sentiment and emotion. This ploy is not new,” he said.
He insisted that Pakatan Harapan government has shown its sincerity time and time again to honour and recognise the special status of Sabah and Sarawak in the federation.
As an example, he mentioned the recently tabling of the amendments of Article 1(2) in Parliament to restore the rightful status of Sabah and Sarawak and correct historical injustice against them.
This proposed constitutional amendment, he argued, showed the special interest given to Sabah and Sarawak.
“The Pakatan Harapan government did set up a high-level bipartisan Special Cabinet Committee of politicians, academicians and legal experts who will identify and examine the rectifications needed to restore our rights under the Malaysian Agreement 1963,” he said.
Other rights he mentioned are the right to receive the proceeds of taxations, oil and gas royalties, healthcare, education and special grants are currently in discussion in that committee made up of members of the state government including the chief minister himself.
He pointed out that after all the years of negotiations all that was achieved was some administrative devolution of powers.
“In comparison, in less than a year, the PH government has attempted to address of the core issue of our rightful status and the Special Cabinet Committee will also produce its report soon on all the different core issues including the review of special grants to Sarawak under Article 112(d) of the Constitution,” Dr Yii continued.
