MA63 : Madani Govt Settles Nine Claims So Far - Fadillah

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- The MADANI government has successfully resolved nine claims related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), to date, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

Fadillah, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, said the resolution included the recognition of the Public Works Department (JKR) and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) of Sabah and Sarawak as Technical Departments under Treasury Instruction 182 (AP182).

He said the resolution also involved amending the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) Act 1995 to appoint representatives of the Sabah and Sarawak state governments as permanent members of IRB.

“Other matters resolved were the handover of power to regulate gas supply in Sabah; the administration of the judiciary in Sabah and Sarawak as well as the preparation of special guidelines for the resumption of land reserved for federal purposes in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said in a statement, here today.

Earlier, Fadillah chaired the first Malaysia Agreement 1963 Implementation Action Council Technical Meeting (JKTMTPM63) for the year 2025 at the Prime Minister's Department, Putrajaya.

Explaining further, Fadillah said the MADANI government had also completed the transfer of electricity regulatory powers to the Sabah state government as well as the proposed amendment to Article 95B of the Federal Constitution regarding the modification for Sabah and Sarawak regarding the division of legislative powers.

He said the MADANI government had also successfully completed the conversion of the status of Bintulu port from a federal port to a state port in addition to the labour force in Sabah and Sarawak.

"In addition, the special interim grant to Sabah and Sarawak has been doubled to RM600 million each starting this year," he said.

Regarding today's meeting, Fadillah said it was very important to enable the government to plan pragmatic follow-up actions regarding the status of matters or demands under MA63 that have not been implemented.

He said it was in line with the decision of Meeting (MTPMA63) Number 1 of 2024 chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Sept 12.

Fadillah said the meeting also discussed six presentation papers from several relevant ministries/departments, including the status of actions for matters under the Ministry of Finance as well as the report of the Working Committee Meeting on the Sabah and Sarawak State civil service.

In addition, he said also discussed was the proposed amendment of item 25A (Tourism) in List I (Federal) of the ninth schedule of the Federal Constitution to List III (Joint) of the ninth schedule of the Federal Constitution.

“Also discussed were the development of the Sabah-Sarawak-Kalimantan border area, the report of the Sabah and Sarawak Health Development Joint Action Committee Meeting and the report of the Sabah and Sarawak Education Development Joint Action Committee Meeting,” he said.

He said all decisions agreed upon today would be brought to the next meeting for consideration and agreement.

Meanwhile, other matters or claims related to MA63 which are still pending will continue to be discussed and monitored by the Technical Committee under MTPMA63, said Fadillah.

-- BERNAMA