KOTA KINABALU, June 23 —The move by political parties in Sabah to resort to polemics and fact-twisting with regard to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) to the point of confusing the people brings no benefit but rather makes it difficult for the government to effectively realise the rights as contained in the agreement.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions) Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the determination and commitment to fight for the rights and interests of Sabah through MA63 should come with the responsibility of ensuring that every fact presented, especially to the Federal government, is accurate.
“Our arguments to the Federal government need to be based on evidence and the right legal basis to ensure the legitimacy of our demands and at the same time bring beneficial results. The people of Sabah need 'outcomes' in the form of benefits and not just the 'output' of political rhetorics laced with factual errors,” he said.
Armizan was speaking at an engagement session with the Sabah Student Consultative Council, organised by the Institut Kerjasama Kerajaan dan Rakyat (IKRAR), the Chief Minister's Department and Gerakan Mahasiswa Sabah, earlier today.
He said the current Sabah government has never stopped fighting for the state's rights, including demanding an increase in the rate of special grants from the Federal government through an interim settlement starting with a rate of RM125 million per year last year.
“Alhamdulillah, the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) has announced that this year the rate will be increased to RM300 million because our needs are quite huge in Sabah. We need to unite so that the rate of special grants continues to be increased further to resolve the issues arising in Sabah,” he said.
On today’s event, Armizan said that programmes with student leaders are the best platform to shed light on MA63 and further ensure that the younger generation understands its implementation and actions in a more comprehensive manner.
— Bernama
