PETALING JAYA: Warisan vice-president Junz Wong says the Sabah-based party can work with Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) to fight for the rights of the two East Malaysian states under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Wong urged Sabahans to vote for Warisan, saying the party would be the only Sabah-based national party contesting in the coming general election (GE15).
“Sabah cannot afford to be left behind by underdevelopment and unfair treatment from the peninsula any more.
“Together with the strong Sarawak bloc, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Warisan can voice out and regain the rights of Sabahans and Sarawakians,” the Free Malaysia Today quoted him in a statement.
Wong said Warisan would continue to pursue Sabah’s rights under MA63, particularly regaining full autonomy over the continental shelf.
He said this would ensure that Sabahans could reap economic benefits from the state’s abundant oil and gas resources.
The Territorial Sea Act was passed in Parliament in 2012, limiting the territorial waters of Sabah and Sarawak to three nautical miles instead of 12, as was the case before the formation of Malaysia in 1963.
Essentially, this denied the two states revenue from resources beyond three nautical miles.
“Although Sabah produces the highest number of barrels of oil per day, accounting for 52 per cent of oil generated in Malaysia, Sabahans still cannot reap the economic benefits from oil and gas production.
“Aside from limited human capital and inadequate provision of physical infrastructure, the issue of state rights over the continental shelf has also hindered Sabah from improving its state economy through oil and gas production,” he said.
Wong also noted that Warisan would seek to resolve other MA63 issues, including those related to oil royalties, petroleum cash payments and oil minerals and oil fields.
