PRIME MINISTER Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has stressed that the demands and development needs of Sabah and Sarawak must not be treated as secondary issues, but placed firmly within the national agenda to ensure Malaysia progresses as one nation.
He said both states required greater attention and resources to enable them to develop in tandem with Peninsular Malaysia.
"But to my friends in Sabah and Sarawak, I want to say that whatever our weaknesses may be, this is the first party and government in history that does not regard the demands of Sabah and Sarawak as secondary demands.
"They are a national agenda. Everyone wants to succeed as a nation... Sabah and Sarawak must be part of the national development agenda," he said in his presidential policy address at the 2026 PKR National Congress at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) in Ayer Keroh today.
Anwar said Malaysia’s success as a nation depended partly on its ability to fully incorporate Sabah and Sarawak into the country’s broader development agenda.
He said the development gaps affecting the two states required greater attention and larger allocations to ensure they could progress on an equal footing with the rest of the country.
"If we want them to be on an equal footing and to be lifted together with us, allocations must be increased and their problems must be examined more closely, not merely as part of state-level political calculations, but as specific issues requiring special attention.
"And that is what we are doing. In fulfilling the aspirations of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), there is still room for us to improve and do more," he said.
Anwar also said the Government’s policy must reflect a willingness by the Federal Government and Petronas to establish stronger cooperation with Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros).
"I believe that if we want to succeed as a nation, we must be prepared to accept the fact that the Malay Peninsula must work together with Sabah and Sarawak. We must grow together.
"Our choice is to do what is right, even though we may not have sufficient trust in the process.
"And the right thing is justice for all, development for all," he said. - August 15, 2026
